Reddit mentions: The best tai chi & qi gong books

They aren't really uechi-ryu books, but here is a list of my favorite martial arts books:


[Karate-do My Way of Life] (http://www.amazon.com/Karate-Do-Way-Life-Gichin-Funakoshi/dp/1568364989/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368043735&sr=1-1&keywords=Karate-do+my+way+of+life) by Gichin Funakoshi - definitely my favorite martial arts book. This is the autobiography of Gichin Funakoshi. He talks alot about the history and culture of Okinawa and karate in general. His life is clearly a prime example of the spirit of karate-do.


[Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Twenty-Guiding-Principles-Karate/dp/4770027966/ref=pd_sim_b_2) by Gichin Funakoshi.


Basically anything by Gichin Funakoshi


[Beyond The Known] (http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Known-Ultimate-Martial-Classics/dp/0804834652) - More abstract. Presents some wonderful philosophical ideas about the unity of martial arts, the unity of spirit, and the higher purpose of the martial arts. Perhaps a better read for later in your training.


[Zen in the Martial Arts] (http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Martial-Arts-Joe-Hyams/dp/0553275593/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368043973&sr=1-1&keywords=zen+in+the+martial+arts) - Everyone should read this once. It presents basic, but very important spiritual ideas relevant to the martial arts.


[Way of The Peaceful Warrior] (http://www.amazon.com/Way-Peaceful-Warrior-Changes-Lives/dp/1932073205/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368044020&sr=1-1&keywords=Way+of+the+peaceful+warrior) - Absolutely fantastic (and entertaining) spiritual, development novel about a college age student seeking a higher meaning in life. Not exactly about martial arts, but the mindset and spiritual lessons are the same. I highly recommend this book.


[The Weaponless Warriors] (http://www.amazon.com/Way-Peaceful-Warrior-Changes-Lives/dp/1932073205/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368044020&sr=1-1&keywords=Way+of+the+peaceful+warrior) - More of the mythical/legend type stories about many of the famous okinawan karate practitioners. None-the-less an exciting and entertaining read about the many legends of karate.


My top recommendations is "karate-do my way of life" by Gichin Funakoshi. My second recommendation would be "way of the peaceful warrior". Most of the books I recommended are not technique books. Honestly, I don't find technique books very useful. They have their places, but I think the spiritual lessons are better learned from books, and the motivation that can be derived is beneficial as well.

Here is most of my library, broken down, with links and some thoughts on each.

Karate Specific

• The Bubishi by Patrick McCarty (Amazon) - I think this book needs to be in every library.
  
• Classical Kata of Okinawan Karate by Patrick McCarthy (Amazon) - One of the first books I purchased by McCarthy. Details older version of classic kata found in a lot of traditional styles.
  
• Karatedo by My Way of Life - Gichin Funakoshi (Amazon) - Great read! I really nice view at the life of Funakoshi.
  
• The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate by Gichin Funakoshi (Amazon) - Another great read. While I'm no longer a practitioner of Shotokan, I believe the teachings of Funakoshi should be tought to every karateka.
  
• Okinawan Karate : Teachers, styles and secret techniques by Mark Bishop (Amazon) - Great amount of historical content, and helped link a few things together for me.
  
• The Study of China Hand Techniques by Morinobu Itoman (Lulu.com) - The only known publication by Itoman, this book detains original Okinawan Te, how it was taught, practiced, and some history. This was one of my best finds.
  
• The Essence of Okinawan Karate-do by Shoshin Nagamine (Amazon) - Great details on Matsubayashi Shorin-ryu kata, and some nice historical content.
  
• The Way of Kata by Lawrence Kane & Kris Wilder (Amazon) - Fantastic book on diving deeper into kata to find the application of the techniques.
  
• Classic Kata of Shorinji Ryu: Okinawan Karate Forms of Richard 'Biggie' Kim by Leroy Rodrigues (Amazon) - Not quite accurate as to the title, this book details the versions of shorinji-ryu kata as if they were taught by a Japanese school. Still able to use, as long as you understand what stances and techniques have changed between Okinawa and Japan.
  
• Black Belt Karate by Jordan Roth (Amazon) - This was a gift from a friend. I have a First Edition hard cover. Shotokan specific, and has some nice details on the kata.
  
• Karate-do Kyohan: The Master Text by Gichin Funakoshi (Amazon) - Love this book, especially for the historical content.
  
• Kempo Karate-do by Tsuyoshi Chitose (Shindokanbooks.com) - The only known book from Chitose, highlights his history, his thoughts and ideas for practicing karate-do as a way of life, and contains steps for practicing Henshu-Ho. Chitose is the creator of the style I study. I have this book for obvious reasons. Your mileage may vary.
  
  Kobujutsu Specific
  
  
• Okinawan Weaponry: Hidden methods, ancient myths of Kobudo & Te by Mark Bishop (Amazon) - Really great detail into the history of some of the weapons and the people who taught them from Okinawa.
  
• Okinawan Kobudo Vol 1 & 2 (Lulu.com) - Fantastic books detailing the kihon and kata of Okinawan Kobudo. Anyone who takes Ryukyu Kobujutsu, and doesn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on the original texts by Motokatsu Inoue, this is the next best thing.
  
• Bo: Karate Weapon of Self-Defense by Fumio Demura (Amazon) - Purchased it for the historical content. Doesn't actually apply to anything in Ryukyu Kobujutsu, but still a decent read. I also have his Nunchaku and Tonfa books.
  
  Other Martial Arts
  
  
• Applied Tai Chi Chuan by Nigel Sutton (Amazon) - A great introduction to Cheng Style Tai Chi, detailing some of the fundamentals and philosophy behind the teachings.
  
• Tai Chi Handbook by Herman Kauz (Amazon) - More Cheng Style Tai Chi, but this one has more emphasis on teaching the shortened form (37 steps).
  
• Tai Chi Chuan: Classical Yang Style: The Complete Long Form and Qigong by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming (Amazon) - Just received this for Chirstmas, and looking forward to diving in. Includes some history of Tai Chi Chuan, Yang style Tai Chi, philosophy, and has instruction on the complete long form (108 steps)
  
• The Text-book of Ju-Jutsu as Practiced in Japan by Sadakazu Uyenishi (Amazon) - I have a very old version of this book (1930ish). Picked it up for the historical content, but still a great read.
  
• Tao of Jeet Kun Do by Bruce Lee (Amazon) - Notes on technique, form, and philosophy from Bruce Lee. Another must read for every martial artist, regardless of discipline.
  
• Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: The Ultimate Guide to Dominating Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts Combat by Alexandrew Paiva (Amazon) - Excellent step by step illustrations on performing the basic techniques in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Easy to understand and follow. Contains several tips on what to watch out for with each technique as well.
  
  Health and Anatomy
  
  
• The Anatomy of Martial Arts by Dr. Norman Link and Lily Chou (Amazon) - Decent book on the muscle groups used to perform specific techniques in martial arts. On it's own, not totally useful (but not useless), but with the next book, becomes gold!
  
• Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy by Bret Contraris (Amazon) - Brilliant book that details what muscles are use for what type of action, and gives examples on body weight exercises that pin-point those specific muscle groups. My best purchase of 2014, especially when paired with the previous book.
  
• Martial Mechanics by Phillip Starr (Amazon) - Slightly Chinese Martial Arts specific, but contains great material on how to strengthen stances and fine-tune technique for striking arts.
  
  EDIT: I can't believe I forgot this one...
  
  
• The Little Black Book of Violence by Lawrence Kane & Kris Wilder (Amazon) - Fantastic book about situational awareness, what happens during fights, and the aftermath. LOVED this book.
  

It all depends on what you are looking for in Tai Ji Quan. The Americanized version extols the meditative and health aspects of the form, but the original Chinese form is an extremely competent style of internal boxing.

If you are looking to become an internal boxer (a classification of Chinese Gong Fu "soft" martial arts; namely: Xingyi Quan, Ba Gua Zhang, and Tai Ji Quan), then Tai Ji is a long hard road. Competency in this style takes somewhere around twenty years of practice.

Here's the thing: if you are looking for the health aspects, in my experience, the path of the internal boxer is best. Training a soft style with martial intention teaches you the subtle body mechanics that strengthen your joints and better relax the tissues around your spine, among other things.

If you aren't interested in the martial aspect, but you still really want the health benefits, take disturbedandsexy's advice and look into Qi Gong. It is a moving meditative practice that unlocks some pretty cool physiological benefits. I have experience with the Wang Ji Wu Longevity Exercises and find them to be great introductory material. It's also a good Nei Gong you can teach to your grandmother to keep her joints healthy through daily exercise.

If you are looking for good reading material on Ta Ji, avoid the books targeted toward an American consumer. They tend to follow the McDojo philosophy toward transferring traditional knowledge. Instead, try consulting Chang Man Chi'ing, or for an easier read, his student T.T. Liang. Both come from the a taiwanese tradition of Yang style Tai Ji, America's first widespread experience with the internal arts, being as the Communists drove all of their artists underground.

A word of caution, there are a lot of bad teachers out there. Even if they are very skilled personally, use a discerning eye. The hall mark of a great teacher is a skilled group of students. Looking at the senior students in the class and ask yourself if that is where you want to be in 5-6 years.

Personally, I would recommend the North American Tang Shou Tao schools, but I am biased as I am an instructor with them.

Best of luck in your pursuits.

Hmmm… I need to create a "Taoist Starter Kit" article…

As far as translations go… one I like is Red Pine's translation because it has commentary and the Chinese. The nice thing about the commentary is it lets you see all of the different ways each chapter can be interpreted. Political strategists see strategy and alchemists see instructions for spiritual immortality. :)

https://www.amazon.com/Lao-tzus-Taoteching-Lao-Tzu-ebook/dp/B00APD9VP2

If you want something chill and direct. I like these comics:

https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Speaks-Lao-Tzus-Whispers-Wisdom/dp/0385472595/

https://www.amazon.com/Zhuangzi-Speaks-Nature-Chih-chung-Tsai/dp/0691008825

If you wanna compare a bunch of translations…

https://ttc.tasuki.org/

I don't really think you can go "wrong" with any translation/interpretation if you're planning on reading more than one. If it was just the one, I'd go with Red Pine's.

As for meditation, I would look into Zen or Chan Buddhism close to where you are. You can also get started right away by just closing your eyes and breathing for a minute a day and build up to more as you do more research (via videos, books, seminars, teachers, etc.)

More important than any technique is developing the habit of doing it every day.

This app is awesome and it comes with a bunch of free guided meditations. I just use it for the timer. :)

https://insighttimer.com/

If you start getting serious I'd look for a teacher of some kind, but good teachers for Taoism seem kind of elusive. I think that's from the nature of the practice and it's history.

Google searches, reading reviews, talking to people, etc will take you where you want to go although in the beginning it's hard to tell the difference between "good" and "bad", but there's no way around that other than to start doing stuff and getting some experience under your belt. :) Also "bad" for you might be "good" for someone else. :P ;)

There are probably some good books for beginners as well, but I'm not familiar with those yet. I'm gonna start ordering and reading through them… (I haven't been a beginner for a long time… that said… I'm still a beginner… lol)

Oh! There's a cool Eva Wong book on Taoism that gives you a nice historical overview and breakdown of the different styles.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1590308824/ref=dbs_a_w_dp_1590308824

Hopefully you'll get some other recommendations! :)

There is good old John Chang, in the Magus of Java books. While John Chang is an interesting dude, don't expect anything practical from the books.

Chronicles of Tao is fiction, but an entertaining story. His writing is esoterically accurate in that he draws from other teachers. For example, the different planes described in Astral Dynamics are things he sees while in deep meditation. This absolutely blew my mind at the time until I read a little more about the guy who the books is about. Now I've come to the conclusion that he draws from other authors and teachers.

The author Hua Ching Ni writes a lot of books. He has an acupuncture school in Los Angeles called Yo San University. Some of his stuff is pretty esoteric, but not much practical instruction.

It's definitely worth it to learn some TCM theory.

I honestly haven't come across any good qigong books. I took a class with one of this guy's students, it had a good breadth of standard stances. The book would probably make a good introduction. I'm pretty sure that book is available online somewhere if you are willing to violate copyright laws.

I read a pdf of this book on Taoist Sorcery. It gave some insight to some of the esoteric spirit petitioning crazyness. A lot of ritual and burning of yellow paper.

Other than that it is a lot of meeting different teachers, learning their practices, then going home and working on that stuff. You shouldn't need to keep paying someone in order to keep practicing.

There's also /r/taijiquan (using the pinyin system for Chinese). I do personally like to read up, but a good instructor - or at least occasional clinic/camp style instruction is more or less a must.

It probably takes quite long to practice tai chi ch'uan to have fighting proficiency, but if that's your goal, doing something else as well and trying to apply the principles might be a shortcut. The practice of taiji could be roughly divided into three categories: First and most popular is health-oriented light calisthenics. (These often do drop the "ch'uan" or "fist" from the name of the art.) Second is "wushu", Chinese martial arts tricking ("wushu" means "martial arts", but these days it usually refers to the acrobatic sport). And third is traditional martial arts. The likelihood of finding someone with combat proficiency increases as you go down the list, but even if someone's doing "traditional tai chi" and can track his or her lineage back to the Chinese big shots, it's no guarantee of actual proficiency.

For the closest westerners can get to original sources, there's Paul Brennan's translations on old manuals. Do note, those aren't how-to manuals, but rather reference for someone who already knew the arts.

This book is a good introduction, IIRC. I'd need to check my library.

If you use Amazon's Kindle, Ken Gullette has a nice no-nonsense material on the Chen Xiaowang short form as well as the body mechanics. (Also runs an "online school" with video material.)

This book is a very comprehensive intro on the subject of Yang style taijiquan. This book is a good intro on one of the short forms, along with video sources to cross-reference, such as Ian Sinclair's YouTube series.

Actually I agree with you. That video doesn't appeal to me either. I only felt obligated to correct people's uninformed and knee-jerk reactions about the man's skills and huge body of work based on a random 6 minute video.

He's actually one of the best teachers I've ever come across, but his work is odd and he's very aware of it. Of the students I've exposed to his written works about half want to trash it instantly and half are blown away to the point of it being life changing. Last year I was training this ex-crack dealer who'd just gotten out of prison. He'd expressed an interest in both internal arts and figuring out what life was really about as he was very committed to changing his. I gave him a copy of Ralston's book for beginners 'Zen Body Being' and literally within 48 hours he was a changed man. Unbelievable and probably the high point of my year to see it and know I had a small part in it.

I'd feel safe saying Ralston's work is some of the most powerful available for a person in a position of questioning, while those who are confident they have a firm handle on 'things' could well find him insufferable. If you are at all curious I'd suggest reading the reviews of his books on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Cheng-Hsin-Principles-Effortless-Power/dp/1556433026/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1483422780&sr=1-1&keywords=principles+of+effortless+power

They range from "This is the worst crap I've ever exposed my eyes to!", to "OMFG where has this been all my life?" Pretty funny really.

Might not be popular advice, but this really helped me. I was reading a book called the dao of taijuquan and somewhere in the philosophy section, he says, even if you have a great master, ultimately it's you that's studying tai chi, not just the form, but the actual forces out there in the universe. So ultimately you have to teach yourself. It was pretty mind-blowing for me, and it got me out of the rut I was in of feeling like I needed to find some super high level master or I couldn't make any progress. No. Even if you do the opening move over and over, you're learning. Different people have different aptitude to extract knowledge directly from life itself, but once I realized that was possible life got very cool for me.

Oh man, I could recommend so many.

Kung Fu and Taoism:

The Making of a Butterfly is one of my favorite books. It is about a white kid who starts learning Kung Fu out of a Chinese master's basement back in the 70s, well before Kung Fu was popularized in the West.

Chronicles of Tao by Deng Ming Dao is excellent, a narrative perspective of how Taoism intertwines with the life of a Kung Fu practitioner.

American Shaolin by Matthew Polly is an entertaining and illuminating story that disseminates a lot of the mysticism surrounding the Shaolin Temple.

The Crocodile and the Crane is a fun fictional book that is basically about Tai Chi saving the world from a zombie apocalypse.

My next goal is to tackle The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Of course, I highly recommend the Tao Te Ching and the Art of War as well.

Buddhism: I highly recommend anything Thich Nhat Hanh. Anger and Peace is Every Step are two of my favorites.

Karate and Japanese Arts:

Moving Toward Stillness by Dave Lowry is one of my favorite books, taken from his columns in Black Belt Magazine over the years. A really excellent study on Japanese arts and philosophy.

Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings by Kenji Tokitsu is wonderful. It includes the Book of Five Rings as well as some of Musashi's other works, including many of his paintings.

The 47 Ronin, by John Allyn, a dramatization of the Genroku Ako Incident, is still quite poignant in 2016.

Here he is doing the form for you to use as a reference.

If you're willing to do books instead of videos I'd also highly highly recommend his book on the form as its super easy to follow along with yet still very good for learning with. Definitely worth your time

Hi! Of course it's possible to do Tai Chi for the reasones you said (health and stress relief). You just a good source (teacher or online), and put that into practice beginning from tomorrow xD. It has to be a simple thing: practicing the parts from the form once or twice a day, plus some song exercises (for relaxation and structure).

Let's start by searching for a good teacher. You said you are from north Texas. The Yang Family Tai Chi association (held by the lineage holder of the Yang family taichi, Yang Jun) has a center in Lewisville. Now I personally don't know how good are they. The fact they are the lineage holder is surely an up. But I don't know, you might it give a try if you want/can.

Other than that I personally don't know other centers.


Now, about online resources. Many will recommend you this Book by Cheng Man Ching (it has great reviews tho).

Another great master is Liang Shou Yu: this Book has great reviews. There's also a dvd version of this, at higher price.

There are also other materials, and also "online courses" (monthly pay), but for now I'd wait what others have to say.

Don't worry if many instructors seem to do the same movements in different ways. It doesn't matter which way you make the movements, the principles are what matters.

I don't know about chen style but for yang style here's a good list.

Start with this: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Chengs-Method-Taichi-Self-Cultivation/dp/1883319927

Combine it with this: https://www.amazon.com/Cheng-Tzus-Thirteen-Treatises-Chuan/dp/1583942203

And then read through some of these: https://brennantranslation.wordpress.com/

If you go through the first book I mentioned, that'll be a good start for pretty much all taichi basics, no matter what style. Basically all taichi is the same, the principles are all the same, it doesn't really matter what style you go for.

But if you want to learn the martial side I'm afraid you will need a knowledgeable teacher, or someone else that's just as interested who you can experiment push hands with until you figure it out.

Also search for videos of Cheng Man Ching and Huang Sheng Shyan on the internet to see it in action.

Here are a few good titles that come to mind. Some are older:

• Nei Jia Quan by Jess O'Brian
  
• Way of Hunyuan by Chen Zhonghua
  
• T'ai Chi's Ancestors translated by Douglas Wile
  
• Lost T'ai Chi Classics from the Late Ch'ing Dynasty translated by Douglas Wile
  
• Xing Yi Quan Xue The Study of Form-Mind Boxing by Sun Lu Tang
  
• Xing Yi Nei Gong Xing Yi Health Maintenance and Internal Strength Development by Dan Miller and Tim Cartmell
  
• Combat Techniques of Taiji, Xingyi, and Bagua by Lu Shengli
  
  They are fun to read, but no replacement for a good teacher.
  
  Enjoy!

It is martial indeed. In his book he actually talks about the different stages of Taijiquan training (he has 3 stages for earth, 3 for man and 3 for heaven), and the last ones are actually spiritual. He adds that he hasn't reached that level though.

I don't practice his style though but I do know his teaching, very popular in the US, he was a great master, very kind and very skillful.

You might find 'The Life-Giving Sword' a bit interesting on an intellectual level then.

There's an interesting couple of pages at the back where there are plates and some poetic verses, just like how Talhoffer is set out.

"The Art of Expressing The Human Body", by John Little. You can find it on amazon here

If you are interested in these types of books, then I would also recommend "Zen In The Martial Arts" by Joe Hyams. (My personal favorite)
You can also find it on Amazon here

Enjoy!

"The Art of Expressing The Human Body", by John Little.
You can find it on amazon here

If you are interested in these types of books, then I would also recommend "Zen In The Martial Arts" by Joe Hyams. (My personal favorite)

You can also find it on Amazon here

Enjoy!

I see what you're saying…
Maybe my opinion is somewhat extremely colored by seeing the EWTO stuff…
Pure Leung Ting… OK.
But KRK is just clearly not Wing Chun anymore.

As for LT WT:
I'm using the Document "Wing Tsun Kuen" as a reference here.
The SNT, we can more or less agree on.
We put the main focus on the elbow here.
LT seems to be more concerned with "applications", we don't think that way about the form.
But Cham Kiu is where it starts to differ greatly.

We know that the motions, which are performed three times, tell us "hey, this is important!"
Cham Kiu turning, the pivot, is very important!
Both the Lan Sao turning, and the Bong-Jut turning.
For us the correct way is defined as such:

1. When you pivot, the heels have to stay where they are, they cannot move. Otherwise, it's a step.
   
   
2. When you pivot, looking square onto a mirror, your head stays where it is. In WT, the head moves from side to side, as the body weight shifts from left to right.
   
   Please consider the following sources:
   
   

• "Wing Chun" Documentary
  
• VING TSUN MONTREAL / Wing Chun Kung Fu in Montreal / IP MAN, also the book The Wing Chun Compendium, Volume One
  
• Wong Shun Leung Chum Kiu
  
  Observe how these three different lineage all coordinate the pivot the same way, while the LT way differs.
  These three lineages are well separated, yet they are much closer to each other than WT's way is to any of them.
  From a sort of "evolutionary" point of view we can deduce that LT's way is the "unusual" one.
  
  What do you say to that?

A little different from what you are looking for; but I have found this book to be a great teaching tool not only for Karate training but for life as well.

Zen in the Martial Arts

What about the principle of 'being rooted'?

For those interested, please purchase this book by Peter Ralston:

https://www.amazon.com/Cheng-Hsin-Principles-Effortless-Power/dp/1556433026

Ralston provides actual imagery and guidance for maintaining a center of gravity. With respect, the contents of Ralston's book are not what our learned OP is saying here. Straight back does not give one a root.

I hope you find someone to learn from.

You can try this book, but it'll probably be limited to health, since martial learning requires instruction or at least a practice partner.

Good luck!

At some point you have to decide whether you want to spend your entire life learning only what some teacher wants to teach you, or if you're going to explore past what you experience on the mat.

If nothing else, read the book "The Art of Peace" translated from the writings of Ueshiba himself. I also highly recommend "Aikido in Everyday Life" by Terry Dobson.

For good or bad, no sensei will be there to help you train in these ways. Again, sometimes the best training is what you end up teaching yourself.

I picked up this book for a friend. Self-Defense for Gentlemen and Ladies: A Nineteenth-Century Treatise on Boxing, Kicking, Grappling, and Fencing with the Cane and Quarterstaff. It was neat to read. Have you seen it? Any thoughts?

Some books:

• Jingwu
  
• Chinese martial arts from antiquity
  
• Sword polisher's record
  
• Research of martial arts
  
• Chinese martial arts manuals
  
• The Shaolin Monastery
  
  
  Fairly sure that Qi Magazine can now be accessed online for free, and the Journal of Baguazhang.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Dao-Taijiquan-Way-Rejuvenation/dp/0804813574

This goes into it a good bit, in addition to being a fantastic book on Tai chi in general.

The one he let the kid borrow? It looked a lot like the Art of Peace which is an Aikido book (so would make sense).

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Peace-Teachings-Founder-Aikido/dp/0877738513/ref=sr_1_67?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1477966943&sr=1-67&keywords=the+art+of+war

There are a number of books like that. American Shaolin and Tapped Out by Matthew Polly are both entertaining reads about martial arts training. Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman is another. Zen in the Martial Arts by Joe Hyams.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1583941290?pc_redir=1404977283&robot_redir=1 one of the best books I found

Here is a very reasonably priced book on the subject:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1583948686/

And here is a lengthy online article about the history of cane defense, with an overview of, and links to, period sources:

https://martialartsnewyork.org/2016/08/16/a-history-of-cane-self-defense-in-america-1798-1930/

I hope this helps!

One good book that might help give you some perspective:

Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals: A Historical Survey
by Brian Kennedy

A website with information that is slightly more scholarly than your typical kung fu "history" website:

Taiping Institute of Traditional Chinese Martial Arts

I do a lot of research into various styles and lineages that existed before and up to the time period you're talking about. PM me if you want to chat, and I can possibly lead you to some other good resources.

Musashi's Book of Five Rings (Gorin-no-sho) is often referenced but many people do not know about Yagyu Munenori's Heihokaden, translated as The Life-Giving Sword.
Even less known is Chozan Shissai's Tengu-geijutsu-ron. I'm not sure if Chozan's Neko-no-Myojitsu was also translated but it's similar though a little more accessible.

Disclaimer: I've never read the translations so I can't comment on the quality but the content is interesting.

https://www.amazon.com/Dao-Taijiquan-Way-Rejuvenation-Tai/dp/0804813574
Master Jou's book is a good one.

If you want to do an energetic style, do qigong, but if you want to do taiji, then do chen style. This book will make you practice the basics: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1583941452

GRAPPLING and the SWORD. During the 19th century, Colonel Thomas Monstery was known to use seizures and disarms in both actual duels and contests with the sword. His rival, Regis Senac, once complained that during a private bout with Monstery in the 1870s, the latter had resorted to seizures and disarms when they came into close distance. On a similar note, an account of Monstery's duel with the Mexican General Bragamonte describes such techniques:

"At length Bragamonte tried his last secret trick, which would have puzzled any merely school fencer. Monstery made a light cut at his arm, outside, and Bragamonte threw up his own sword to bind his enemy’s blade there, quick as a flash threw forward his left foot and clutched for Monstery’s sword-wrist with his left hand. It was the end of the duel. Quicker than even the Spaniard, the American threw forward his own left foot, drawing back his sword out of danger, and in an instant had reversed the trick. Bragamonte’s sword-wrist was in his grasp, and he plunged his own blade deep into the Spaniard’s vitals, so that the point came out behind Bragamonte’s back, and the hilt struck his breast."

At another time, during a fencing bout with Monstery at the latter's academy, student Francis Wilson recounted how he momentarily caught the Colonel off guard, and succeeded in disarming him.

Wilson described what happened next:

"When I tried to follow up the advantage, he deftly disarmed me with his bare hand and turned the point of my sword against me."

• Self Defense for Gentlemen and Ladies

Yang Jwing-Ming describes them in his book, Taijiquan Theory, beginning on page 146. Jou Tsung Hwa describes them in his book, The Dao of Taijiquan, starting on page 220. I know they are mentioned in the classics as well as books by Yang Chengfu, although I don't have any in front of me. Would you agree that these people understand taijiquan?

I heartily disagree with your statement that they are borrowed from other arts. These energies are the core of taiji. Without sticking, listening, and understanding; you do not have true taijiquan. Without neutralizing, seizing, and issuing; you do not have solid martial skill.

I vaguely recall references to an unusual smallsword manual in connection with the Colonial Williamsburg historical society.

Seconding the recommendation of Col. Monstery's self defense manual, which has recently been republished - http://www.amazon.com/Self-Defense-Gentlemen-Ladies-Nineteenth-Century-Quarterstaff/dp/1583948686.

You should read the whole book it's from. It's incredible.

Two birds, one stone:

CK Chu's Book of Nei Kung.

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Nei-Kung-C-Chu/dp/0961658606

Or, if you are a Walking Dead or Akido fan

The Art Of Peace

If you want to be historical both Col. Monstery and Allanson-Winn both recommend the whole fist with a slightly different type of jab where the fist is upside down and comes up slightly at an angle.
Both of these men had many fights behind them and had proven that their technique didn't end up with busted hands and also did account for grappling.
Col. Monstery Book
In the book he talks about his boxing system, conditioning your knuckles, and addresses different threats faced back then. He also has an biographical section and advice on weapons.

T'ai chi instruction is like going somewhere to find a Zen teacher but not quite as bad.

1. Find some old people to practice with. The older the better. Seriously. There are lots of macho types doing tai chi wrong and, like judo, those kinds of errors will kill your knees eventually if you practice enough. Old people don't mess around though. The ones who practice seriously (and their instructors) know old parts aren't playing.
   
   
2. http://www.amazon.com/Master-Chengs-Method-Taichi-Self-Cultivation/dp/1883319927
   
   
3. Here he is doing his thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsDPy7zMrA4
   
   I warn you though and don't say I didn't: It's like tea.