Lam Kam Chuen

First of all, I am not impressed by this book! The facts that the author calls himself "Master" and in the description of the authors (page 140) he is presented as a master of several Arts, from Feng Shui to Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the paragraph "Master Lam has also studied Feng Shui extensively under four masters [...], each of whom is an acknowledged master in specialised aspects of Feng Shui." should warn anyone that this is more of a New Age-book then a book about Tea. Add to show more this that the publisher, Gaia Books, has published several books about Feng Shui and how to use Chinese ideas about e.g. your Chi to archive "optimum health" and you get in my opinion a book targeted at the New Age-dupes, and I'm not one of them.

Another sign of warning that this might not be a good book to buy is the page that deals with monkey picked tea. The myth says that in some provinces, specially trained monkeys pick the tea, and this is a prevailing myth. Such tea does not (according to my sources in rec.food.drink.tea) exists and never have. The sad part is that this book claim it is true and and in other parts it also has some trouble to distinguish between legends, myths and facts. It seems like the myths and legends has been a greater source of information then historical facts when the book was written.

Nonetheless, it has some virtues; it contains a very nice description of the Chinese tea ceremony (considering what I've just have said, I won't claim that this is the ceremony or from which province or time period it is from, even if it really is a Chinese one) and if I ever would get hold of the necessary utensils, I would probably perform it. It is far from as elaborate as the Japanese and it is sufficient to perform in about half an hour to an hour.

Besides the content already mentioned, the book contains the usual parts: The history of tea, the making of tea and the health benefits of tea. My opinion of the quality of the text is probably known by now, but at least the chapter of the making of tea is nice, it contains a description of the various forms of tea--white, black, red, yellow and green--and some information about how to boil the water and about the tea pot. The pictures are nice and skillfully taken and the typographer has done well.

Besides the first chapters, about the history of tea, of which I will not go any further into, the last chapter reflects "Master" Lam's traditional medicine background: What about a recipe against flu? (Green tea, ginger root and uncooked rice.) Some of the recipes are similar to western "house hold cures", other are more "China" in the taste and ingredients (ginger seems to be a popular ingredient). Whether one believes in these cures or not is something I leave to the reader, but I don't think this book is worth to buy if you're looking for such recipes.

To sum it up: This is a New Ageish book which contains sufficiently many errors and mixing of facts and myth that I won't recommend it to anyone, or more correctly: I would recommend everyone to buy another book. show less

Exercising the body while relaxing the mind is what every stressed, time-crunched American dreams of in a fitness program. In Chi Kung: The Way of Healing, Master Lam Kam Chuen combines simple Chi Kung (pronounced 'chee gung') and Tai Chi exercises to offer relief from the stress-related symptoms and illnesses Western medicine and exercise are ill-equipped to treat. Practiced calmly and slowly, these exercises improve your internal energy flow, or chi, to:

Increase energy and stamina

Release show more tension

Relieve headaches and backaches

Head twists, sprains, and bruises

Improve posture

Everyone can receive the health benefits of Chi Kung since these exercises can be practiced by anyone at any age and can be modified for the handicapped and ill. Bringing peace of mind and numerous health benefits, and working major muscle groups at the same time, you'll welcome Chi Kung as an antidote to 'no pain, no gain' exercises.

Mastr Lam Kam Chuen is an international authority on a wide range of Chinese arts, including Chi Kung, Tai Chi, Feng Shui, and traditional Chinese medicine. He has been teaching in the West for more than two decades and is the bestselling author of The Personal Feng Shui Manual, Feng Shui Handbook, Step-by-Step Tai Chi, and The Way of Energy. He lives in London.

Contents

Introduction
Part One The inner sea: Sustaining your health
Introduction
Chi
Gathering your chi
Arousing your chi
Increasing your inner warmth
Raising your internal power
The pisition of primal energy
Finding your centre
Calming the spirit
The two powers
The full belly
Part Two The great river: Increasing your energy
Introduction
Long life
Drawing silk from the cocoon
Rolling the golden sphere
Rotating the golden sphere
Looking back at the moon
Waving hands like clouds
Reaching outward and pulling back
Pressing froward and poushing out
Part Three Riding the waves: Working with inner strength
Introduction
Holding the balloon
The galaxy
Opening outward
Extending to the sides
The full sequence
Strengthening the golden sphere
The tiger and the mountain
The butterfly
Part Four Removing the obstacles: Healing yourself and others
Introduction
Hands of bliss
The two poles
The five energies
The healing energy of metal
The healing energy of water
The healing energy of wood
The healing energy of fire
The healing energy of earth
Dispersing bruises
Tending twists and sprains
Alleviating backaches
Relieving headaches
Part Five Returning to the source: Recovering your health
Introduction
The immortals
Gathering your chi
Strengthening your chi
Filling your reservoir
Drawing silk from the cocoon
First movements
Crystal
About the author
Index
Publisher's acknowledgements show less

As a taichi beginner, I've been looking around for books explaining various aspects of the practice. As a fairly rationale mind, it's been a tough quest: there are lots of fluffy comments around. Let's be clear, this book is no exception and you have to endure a certain level of cosmic energy quasi non-sense. The big upside is that it focuses on a few basic exercises and explains them fairly well. In other words, it is feasible to practice these on your own feeling that you're getting it. show more The fact the exercises are deceptively simple doesn't mean they're ineffective (can't say how effective they are: I've just started). show less

I am working through this book at the moment. It does seem to be both more demanding and more rewarding than many of the other books on chi gong that I have read. That said, I must point out that this is not a book that requires you to be able twist and contort your body in unusual ways. Quite the opposite - all of the exercises are simple to do. It is holding them that is hard. Standing like a post ... should be easy ...