David Carradine's Tai Chi Workout for Beginners (DVD, 2003)

There are a few things I really liked and disliked about this DVD that has caused me to rate it average. What I liked about it is that it included a ton of bonus material like an entire Kung Fu workout, which could have been another DVD by itself. It includes in depth stretching exercises that you could also consider borderline beginners yoga. The Tai Chi section is the worst part of this DVD. The camera changes angles too often and doesn't show the feet and legs, which makes it more difficult to learn. The back ground music is horrible and distracts you from what you are trying to do.

I really liked my dvd on Tai Chi but it was somewhat confusing as they change camera angles during exercises and forms leaving you wondering where you left off and where to pick up. You stand there going, "Wait, is that their left or right foot/arm?". The background and costumes are dated but that kind of adds to the chram of the video and delivered me a chuckle. The dvd had other things on it like an interview by David Carradine which was kind of neat. He discussed Kung Fu and Kill Bill projects. The video also had Kung Fu Exercises and form presented on that also so it's not just a Tai Chi video but Kung Fu. Two for the price of one..
JB~

This is a nice video, because it has an extensive stretch workout and a nice "chi" workout (rarely seen). The video takes you through all the moves of the form in several repetitions, and each move could be a light workout in itself, then the whole combined form is shown. Camera angles are excellent, but I wish they had gone less "hollywood" with the suggestive outfits for the women. Also, they obviously got a lot of limber, young dancers to do this video, and seeing it done by other "less developed" body types would have been nice. Seeing the master (at least in his late 40's) and David Carradine (in his 50's) do it was helpful, although Carradine's straight forward stare is a bit spooky. Overall, I liked this video, and have been using it in parts, to which it is well suited.