excellent presentation of a beautifully coherent set of practices, deftly weaving together a huge swath of material from internal alchemy. the etymological explanations were a nice, and unfortunately seldom seen addition.

i do wish that the movements tho were explained a little more thoroughly, or the sequence order and transitions were examined in any detail. the text also tends to b a little too repetitive for its own good, sometimes impeding reading and understanding. ( )

First of all, this is a very short book. It is 104 pages including some blank pages, some title pages, some pages with pictures, the table of contents, dedication page, acknowledgements, the appendix--well, you get the picture. You can read it in an hour easily.

Second, since it is short, he refers you to some of his other books for more basic information.

Third, this is definitely not for a beginner. You should have some knowledge of acupuncture, Chinese medicine, and Qigong to get the most out of it. The author does explain some things in a more basic manner, but with other things you will be lost if you don't have the basics already.

Fourth, I like the exercise that he described in this book (said description of one exercise consisting of 12 steps basically being the purpose of the book). Once mastered, I think it would be an easy exercise to perform daily while covering a lot of Qi territory.

If I had been rating this book solely for a beginner, I would have given it one star. The extra star was for someone with the basics. For a beginner, I agree with the author when he states you are best served by studying under an experienced instructor. There are always subtle nuances that only a master can guide you in.

If you do elect to purchase this book, be aware you are spending retail $20 (or whatever the discounted price may be) for a short book comprised of instructions for one exercise.