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The Art of Tai Chi A practical guide
209
Left: Cardboard boxes make giant building blocks
Play Helps Toys and activities for children with special needs by Roma Lear. Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford (4th edn), 7996 (ISBN 07506 2522 8). Illus. 254 pages. May be ordered from Customer Services Department, Heinemann Publishers, Oxford, PO Box 382, Halley Court, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8RU. f 7 6.99.
This is the fourth edition of a book that has been invaluable to many therapists and parents who work with children with special needs. Lear’s friendly and anecdotal style of writing makes for easy reading and it is h a r d not t o be enthused by her passion for play. The purpose of the book is to give all children access to toys that they can play with despite any physical or learning difficulties. It aims to do this without recourse to expensive equipment and consequently allows a continuing variety of toys to be produced. The toys described in the book can all be made simply with a few basic materials. This edition includes more toys and games t h a t the previous one and is organised in a different fashion. The two introductory chapters with hints on toy making and making play possible a r e useful additions. The book is conveniently arranged beginning with hints on toymaking and ideas on how to keep toys i n reach of children who have difficulty in reaching or retaining toys. The author cites such simple examples as cutting a box diagonally i n half to use as a play corner. The following chapters are divided into play activities to promote each of t h e five senses. This
edition of the book does not have a n index but each chapter h a s a contents list. This was introduced to encourage browsing and seems to be effective. The contents are grouped according to the function of the toy, eg in the sight section - learning to identify colours and aiming games. This makes selecting a n appropriate toy much simpler. The instructions on how to make t h e toys are clear and detailed with diagrams to aid explanations. The only poor element of the book is t h e illustrations. These a r e all line drawings and do not always provide a good picture of how t h e finished article appears. This book would be useful to any professional or carer who works with children with special needs. It is bursting with ideas for toys and games and is a resource book to inspire new ideas for activities. It should be available in special schools and paediatric therapy departments as a resource book.
Terry Pountney MA MCSP The Art of Tai Chi A practical guide by Paul Crompton. Element Books Ltd, Longmead, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 8PL, 1994 (ISBN 1 85230 430 8). Illus. 701 pages. f9.99.
The Art of Tai Chi: Apractical guide is at its best as just that, a practical guide. Paul Crompton is one of the most respected and knowledgeable people in t h e realm of British martial a r t s a s well as being a prolific writer. Having been aware of him since the late 1960s via the magazine Karate and the Oriental Arts, reviewing a book of his is somewhat like passing judgement on a n icon. He is obviously steeped in every aspect of Tai Chi and can connect it to his experience of Chi Kung, Pakua, Hsing-I and other martial arts. His two problems actually seem to stem from this depth of knowledge. How do you simplify something as complex and multifaceted as Tai Chi? Secondly, how do you take what is above all a physical experience, a behavioural change, which acts upon cognitions, emotions, and physiology, and reduce it to mere words? He is also a person who appears
to have a spiritual and poetic bent. His introduction reflects all these factors and obfuscates as much as it clarifies if you do not already possess some knowledge of Tai Chi. This may irritate more factually inclined and prosaic readers. The chapter on the historical background, in contrast, is very clear. The passages on t h e philosophy and on physics a r e simplistic. At best they result from a n attempt to be simple, specific and ‘down to earth‘, at worst they are the product of a too-specific knowledge base. Many of the elements which, in this book, appear to be peculiar to Chinese and/or Oriental thought are present in Western philosophy and approaches to the use of movement (eg in philosophy, Heracleitus and the unity of opposites; in movement, Laban, Feldenkrais, Alexander, and McLarg-Anderson, to name but a few). Quantum Physics lends more support to t h e concept of Chi (see Pribram Quantum Fields and Biological Data) t h a n t h e 18th century physics upon which Crompton relies. Reference to some research, for example t h a t Tai Chi has been shown to improve T-cell production, would have given more weight to his case. These, however, are minor cavils. The practical chapters on Chi Kung and on the Tai Chi form are clear, direct and simple. They, alone, make t h e book a worthwhile buy. As part of wider reading and above all a s a practical introduction to Tai Chi it is a n excellent book although it needs to be read in a context of broader knowledge. Hopefully it will encourage people to experience this remarkable, personally and clinically useful, positive and least ‘martial’ of t h e martial arts.
Mick Skelly MCSP
Crouching
cn
Physiotherapy, April 1997, vol83, no 4
Left: Cardboard boxes make giant building blocks
Play Helps Toys and activities for children with special needs by Roma Lear. Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford (4th edn), 7996 (ISBN 07506 2522 8). Illus. 254 pages. May be ordered from Customer Services Department, Heinemann Publishers, Oxford, PO Box 382, Halley Court, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8RU. f 7 6.99.
This is the fourth edition of a book that has been invaluable to many therapists and parents who work with children with special needs. Lear’s friendly and anecdotal style of writing makes for easy reading and it is h a r d not t o be enthused by her passion for play. The purpose of the book is to give all children access to toys that they can play with despite any physical or learning difficulties. It aims to do this without recourse to expensive equipment and consequently allows a continuing variety of toys to be produced. The toys described in the book can all be made simply with a few basic materials. This edition includes more toys and games t h a t the previous one and is organised in a different fashion. The two introductory chapters with hints on toy making and making play possible a r e useful additions. The book is conveniently arranged beginning with hints on toymaking and ideas on how to keep toys i n reach of children who have difficulty in reaching or retaining toys. The author cites such simple examples as cutting a box diagonally i n half to use as a play corner. The following chapters are divided into play activities to promote each of t h e five senses. This
edition of the book does not have a n index but each chapter h a s a contents list. This was introduced to encourage browsing and seems to be effective. The contents are grouped according to the function of the toy, eg in the sight section - learning to identify colours and aiming games. This makes selecting a n appropriate toy much simpler. The instructions on how to make t h e toys are clear and detailed with diagrams to aid explanations. The only poor element of the book is t h e illustrations. These a r e all line drawings and do not always provide a good picture of how t h e finished article appears. This book would be useful to any professional or carer who works with children with special needs. It is bursting with ideas for toys and games and is a resource book to inspire new ideas for activities. It should be available in special schools and paediatric therapy departments as a resource book.
Terry Pountney MA MCSP The Art of Tai Chi A practical guide by Paul Crompton. Element Books Ltd, Longmead, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 8PL, 1994 (ISBN 1 85230 430 8). Illus. 701 pages. f9.99.
The Art of Tai Chi: Apractical guide is at its best as just that, a practical guide. Paul Crompton is one of the most respected and knowledgeable people in t h e realm of British martial a r t s a s well as being a prolific writer. Having been aware of him since the late 1960s via the magazine Karate and the Oriental Arts, reviewing a book of his is somewhat like passing judgement on a n icon. He is obviously steeped in every aspect of Tai Chi and can connect it to his experience of Chi Kung, Pakua, Hsing-I and other martial arts. His two problems actually seem to stem from this depth of knowledge. How do you simplify something as complex and multifaceted as Tai Chi? Secondly, how do you take what is above all a physical experience, a behavioural change, which acts upon cognitions, emotions, and physiology, and reduce it to mere words? He is also a person who appears
to have a spiritual and poetic bent. His introduction reflects all these factors and obfuscates as much as it clarifies if you do not already possess some knowledge of Tai Chi. This may irritate more factually inclined and prosaic readers. The chapter on the historical background, in contrast, is very clear. The passages on t h e philosophy and on physics a r e simplistic. At best they result from a n attempt to be simple, specific and ‘down to earth‘, at worst they are the product of a too-specific knowledge base. Many of the elements which, in this book, appear to be peculiar to Chinese and/or Oriental thought are present in Western philosophy and approaches to the use of movement (eg in philosophy, Heracleitus and the unity of opposites; in movement, Laban, Feldenkrais, Alexander, and McLarg-Anderson, to name but a few). Quantum Physics lends more support to t h e concept of Chi (see Pribram Quantum Fields and Biological Data) t h a n t h e 18th century physics upon which Crompton relies. Reference to some research, for example t h a t Tai Chi has been shown to improve T-cell production, would have given more weight to his case. These, however, are minor cavils. The practical chapters on Chi Kung and on the Tai Chi form are clear, direct and simple. They, alone, make t h e book a worthwhile buy. As part of wider reading and above all a s a practical introduction to Tai Chi it is a n excellent book although it needs to be read in a context of broader knowledge. Hopefully it will encourage people to experience this remarkable, personally and clinically useful, positive and least ‘martial’ of t h e martial arts.
Mick Skelly MCSP
Crouching
cn
Physiotherapy, April 1997, vol83, no 4