IGX

Dave Chesser sells a nice little pdf of "The Science of Internal Strength Boxing" on his blog. It was written in the 30's by a neijia practitioner and the author takes a very straightforward approach to explaining popular IMA concepts from his perspective, which happens to lack a lot of the more mystical trappings we frequently encounter in the field. I found it to be well worth the $12. It is not a how-to, but a practical explanation of key components.

Thanks for the review. I appreciate that. Here's a link in case anyone is interested:
http://formosaneijia.com/my_products/

It's the third book listed.

That little book really explained some things that had puzzled me for years. As you say, it's practical and I really liked the author's linking some of the concepts to psychology. It makes more sense that way. That releasing tension from the chest thing is an important idea, too. I hear echoes of that in Sonnon's and Cotter's work.

Sorry for not including the link.

There are several gems in there, as well as a few points that made me laugh out loud, especially when he says that practicing neijiaquan will get you all the results that the sitting meditation guys get without driving you nuts.

Are you friends with Marcus? My Chen teacher hosts a Luo seminar here in philadelphia every year.

I've known Marcus for many years. He's a great teacher.

Yes, the author has some interesting observations. I don't really agree with him about IMA giving the same results as seated meditation. But his comment about people going crazy doing it was very insightful. You don't hear about the problems with certain paths very much, especially in the wide-eyed West.