Tai Chi - 24 Forms DVD By Dr. Paul Lam****UPDATED!!!****

The best instruction would come from an instructor that you like. I have a neurological problem (ataxia) that precludes my using any classes. I have a balance problem and would end up knocking down others like bowling pins. Dr Lam's video is packed with warmup and cool down exercises. He breaks down each of the forms their individual parts and shows you how to do them and then put them together. I tried for a long time looking at YouTube and never quite got it. A week of his dvd and I could at least execute three forms. They need refinement, but I can do them. He speaks slowly, but very understandable. I watched a set of instructions on YouTube. Very good video but hard to understand the teacher. I still don't know what an "aerbol" is. One kind of funny part is when he demos the 4 or 5 forms he just went through. He faces his students and starts execution. He is facing the students and they are facing him. He ends up going left and the students to the right. After a minute or two, not much left on the screen. This is still one of the best instructional videos I have used. I would recommend this as an only source or for use to assist if you are attending a class.

For reasons that I'll leave aside, I wanted to start a gentle form of exercise. I've done yoga in the past - but it isn't really for me as an actual fitness regimen (as opposed to doing yoga poses here and there). I've done a little bit of Qi Gong breathing and poses in the past and have found those to be excellent, but I wanted more of a full-on whole body routine. I found Dr. Lam's free introductory lesson on YouTube by happenstance. After his explanation, he leads you through one of the basic fundamentals of the 24 forms. I highly recommend that you go and try his free lesson online because you can find out what Dr. Lam is about as a teacher and see if his style works for you. He is slow, deliberate, and breaks everything down step-by-step as you proceed so that you can follow along and get repeated chances to practice every movement (which aids memorization and muscle memory). After just under two months of practicing almost every day, I am now able to perform two rounds of all 24 forms and am also beginning to re-visit each form individually to really focus on getting my form as good as possible. I don't really have the time or money right now for in-person classes, so this has been amazing. Take your time, don't hurry, and "follow Dr. Lam" (as the annoying voice over says - the only part of this amazing DVD that I really don't care for)!

Excellent way to learn. Dr. Lam runs you through the forms step by step, practicing part if it first then teaching the rest of the form. I've wanted to learn the basics forms and to learn them correctly. This is just what I needed.

Supposedly, Tai Chi has several benefits and can help you age more "gracefully". Decided to find out for myself, and picked this dvd to give it a try. I will say that it does seem a bit slow - but that can be a good thing when you are first learning. He goes into detail for each form, explaining and showing the form / movement. Besides the 24 forms, there are other more basic forms and exercises included. It seems like a very comprehensive dvd, but Tai Chi is more involved and scripted than I expected. There is much to learn from this dvd, and in fact it is considered a level above beginner - something I did not know when I ordered it. The biggest drawback is trying to learn each movement while watching a TV - and of course having enough room to do the movements while watching a TV. I can see how having an actual instructor to critique and correct your movements would be easier than watching TV and trying to decide what you are doing wrong - but how much is that going to cost ? My only complaint about the dvd is the presentation of each of the 24 forms. They are explained and shown in pieces, then shown in a follow along flow from beginning to end. It would be nice if the dvd was indexed to the follow along segment of each form - so that once you have practiced the bits and pieces, you could just jump to the follow along segments, instead of having to hunt for them. There is also a complete sequence that Dr Lam shows - that I hope to be able to perform some day. But the individual forms that make up the sequence are not listed as he does them. Would be nice if it did, as many of the forms look very similar. Other than these very minor gripes, I do believe that if you want to learn Tai Chi, it can be done with this dvd.

This is a very well-produced instructional DVD and it's clear that a great deal of thought, care and experience went into making it. I bought it because I found I was forgetting and/or I needed to work on the finer points of instruction from my weekly class. This DVD has met my needs admirably. It starts from scratch and I found the section where the foundational movements were taught in isolation to be very helpful in co-ordinating my hand and arm movements with my steps. The menu chapters are laid out very clearly, so it's easy to access the parts you're looking for, and Dr. Lam takes a lot of time explaining and demonstrating each part of the 24 forms. Also, he has one of his students performing the same movements at the same time but from the opposite angle, so you don't have to stop and figure out that his right is your left etc. and then make the necessary adjustments. Besides breaking up the 24 forms into smaller parts and having his class demonstrate these parts after he has gone though them with another student, the DVD also has Dr. Lam performing the entire 24 forms from two different angles, which again facilitates understanding and makes it easy to practice along with the DVD. As I said, this DVD will really help you if you are just starting a 24 forms class and need to slow down and go back over things you've learned. If you live in a community where Tai Chi classes are offered, take the classes, because nothing beats in-class instruction, and it's also fun learning Tai Chi with other people. However, if there isn't a place where Tai Chi is taught close to where you live, or if you're on a tight budget, you can't do better than Dr. Lam's DVD.

Dr. Lam gives very clear and detailed instructions. Very satisfied with this tai qi dvd. Would recommend it to serious seekers.

Wish it were digital and not Disc. Other than that, this is excellent presentation of the 24 Forms. Glad I got it

Excellent DVD & much impoved format to me over the 1999 version. Very easy to learn from, review & follow. Each form is broken down into small parts that you can follow along with after being shown exactly how to move. Following repeats 3 times & the sequence at the end of each section is also repeated so you can build on putting it together as you learn. At the end the demo of the complete 24 form is shown from the front & also from the back. You can easily move from one part to another to review whatever part you wish to study. I still use it before a class to just refresh my memory of the entire sequence. This is a great tool to accelerate learning of this 24 form as an adjunct to classes & also useful if you aren't able to get to classes regularly but want to bring Tai Chi practice into your life.