Tai Chi Bible (read for knowledge, and fun)

Tai Chi Bible

This is yet another book I found at my local library (libraries are great!).

The first thing one should know about this book and its author, Dan Docherty, is that it is a book on practical Tai Chi. That is, this Tai Chi is meant to be a form of self-defense that would be effective in real-life situations. Mr. Docherty distinguishes this (Tai Chi Chuan) from Tai Chi that is practiced purely for competition aesthetics or for health benefits. The latter of these is the stereotypical really-slow one. Mr. Docherty considers these latter two kinds to be incomplete at best, and missing the entire point/corrupted at worst. This is one reason why some other Tai Chi practitioners consider him to be a "heretic". He addresses this in the front and back chapters.

I like practical applications of martial arts, so that was perfect for me. I wanted something that will be useful in addition to good exercise. I've been using several of the techniques in this book here every morning as part of my daily exercise. It is helpful to fully wake up and start my day. However, I do not think this book is quite practical enough.

The techniques are described with both pictures of people demonstrating the techniques and words that describe the technique and its application. Both are, in a word, laconic. It can take some time to figure out precisely how to perform the technique and how this translates into the practical application.

In particular, Mr. Docherty does not mention a starting position for each technique or says something along the lines of "from technique X", and I don't know if he means the start of the end of Technique X. It is rare for him to state which stance should be used. It is like he transliterates what he says to students in person and takes pictures of what said students look like after they take the right positions for each motion.

There is a section on weapons that has even less elaboration. They are one picture and a title; no words, instructions or diagrams present. I would hardly call this a "definitive guide".

After the core technique section, he references these techniques while discussing other subjects. He doesn't mention which page these techniques are on, so one has to either page through or go to the index. It is inconvenient.

At either end of the book, there are brief areas where Mr. Docherty talks about other things related to Tai Chi. He is unapologetic to say the least in his ideas about modern Tai Chi and practitioners that he disapproves of. He makes a lot of good points, but it feels like trashing people who trash on him.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Tai Chi Bible" a C+

Click here for my next book review ( a request): The Endless Lands


Click here for my previous book review A Witch's Printing Office - volume 1

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

A Witch's Printing Office - volume 1 (read for fun)

A Witch's Printing Office - volume 1

This is something I found at my local library, and I like it so much I purchased a copy for myself. It is that much fun.

This is the story of Mika Kamiya, a witch who runs a printing office in a typical medieval fantasy world. She is also the head of the Magic Market Prep Committee, which runs the Magic Market. It is a semi-annual event where magic-users can gather to purchase spells from each other, be they expert professionals of large factions or amateurs working overnight just for this event.
In other words, it is basically a magical world version of real life's Comic Market/comiket. That is where its humor lies.

This is a Low Fantasy comedy story, and it likes poking gentle fun at dark/ high/otherwise serious fantasy stories. Each chapter begins with a bait-and-switch joke that APPEARS as though something epic is going on when it is actually something more mundane/non-dangerous.
For instance, the first chapter has the patrons of a tavern noting that a lot of monsters are gathering in "the Holy Land", which makes them think that the demon lord is reviving. There's even a group of knights whose mission is to slay these monsters.  However, these monsters are revealed to be conjured familiars of of mages who are attending Magic Market, and the knights are slaying them because it is against the rules for a familiar to hold a mage's place in line, especially overnight.  This happens in real-life, apparently, and the people who do it are called "overnight fiends".

This is not the only joke that parallels the real life Comic Market. Some of them are quick and obvious, but some are more subtle, or take longer to prepare.  One in particular had me thinking "No way...This isn't leading up to that, is it?" Then I laughed when the story did indeed lead up to that.

It is not all jokes, though. Chapter 2 takes an unexpected turn for the dramatic, and has excellent catharsis. Chapter 5 is intense. Even though it is a Mundane-Made-Awesome sort of chapter, it is still an exciting chapter. Chapter 6 is a complete package of drama, character development, humor, and plot progression.

I like Mika as a character. She is cute and friendly, but also serious about her job and has admirable work ethic. It is her pride as a professional that leads her to pull an overnight-er to complete urgent print jobs, and her concerns about her office staying solvent that create packages like "dragon slayer", which makes the job cost twice as much if it needs to be completed by morning.

Other characters aren't quite as well-rounded or developed as Mika is, but they are still plenty distinct and have interesting arcs to themselves. Naki the Necormancer, for instance, is sympathetic and Gandolf is a funny old man.

The artwork is great.
--> The battle with the "overnight fiends" looks epic, as does the "battlefield" that Broadway fights upon.
--> The settings, magic market, taverns, and, of course, the titular printing press, are all detailed and interesting to explore.
 --> The characters, like Mika and Naki, are cute.

Trickster Eric Novel gives "A Witch's Printing Press volume 1" an A+

Click here for my next book review: Tai Chi Bible

Click here for my previous book review (for fun): Spice and Wolf: Town of Strife 1 - v 8


Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.