by Devon McNeely
Here are 17 interesting facts about the art of Tai Chi:
1. Tai Chi is a soft, internal martial arts style from China.
2. It is practiced for self-defense as well as for health benefits, and as a form of meditation.
3. The name Tai Chi is short for T’ai chi ch’üan (or Tàijí quán).
4. Nearly 300 million people in the world practice Tai Chi. Most of these are from china but at least 2.5 million practitioners are from the US
5. Taiji means The Supreme Ultimate. It is a philosophical concept found in Confucianism as well as in Taoism and Buddhism referring to the single ‘oneness’ that was then divided into the duality of yin and yang. The yin-yang symbol is actually a Taiji symbol.
6. The concept of Yin and Yang is ingrained in the art at multiple levels. The overall style focuses on a soft defense against a hard attack and each individual movement works on the flow of energy while maintaining a stillness.
7. Tai chi practice involves training slow fluid motions focusing on accepting an attacker’s energy and either redirecting it or allowing it to simply continue past the defender.
8. There are 5 traditional schools of Tai Chi. The Chen style is considered to be the parent of the other 4 which are Yang, Wu, Woo, and Sun. All modern styles can be traced to these historic ones.
9. Chen Wangting is considered the founder of Chen style Tai Chi though legend has it that the Taoist monk Zhang Sanfeng was the progenitor of the art. The other 4 traditional styles of tai chi also came from the Chen Village.
10. Because the techniques are done slowly and are low impact the style is non-strenuous and non-exhaustive making it an easy style to practice for all ages and all skill levels.
11. Although techniques are usually practiced slowly many Tai chi styles also have fast forms. Weapon forms also are practiced.
12. Training also includes internal elements and the practice of Qigong. Qigong is the manipulation of the breath and the internal energies of the body.
13. There are health benefits to practicing tai chi such as increased circulation, flexibility, and balance. This makes it a popular art with those who may want to avoid more hard styles of martial arts such as the elderly.
14. Traditional Chinese medicine attributes the health benefits to Qigong and the balancing and flow of internal energies in the body. This would mean it is an integral part of the style that you would not get from other exercises or from many other martial arts.
15. Western medicine believes the health benefits would be the same for any similar exercise. They do agree that Tai Chi is a better choice for many as the exercise is low impact both on the body and joints as well as on the heart and lungs
16. The slow repetitive practice of the Tai Chi forms acts as a moving meditation giving the art a mental benefit as well as the physical ones.
17. Tai Chi is most commonly practiced outside in nature or in a park setting and most often in the mornings.