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This article is merely a brief and light hearted introduction to Tai Chi. My next article will focus upon how the key principles of Tai Chi can be used to develop optimum sports performance.

I am sitting at the dinner table with my friend and her parents and their friends. We are tucking into Sunday lunch. All is well. The guy next to me turns and asks what I do for a living ‘Here we go again’ I think as I tell him that I teach Tai Chi. ‘Oh’ he says half-mockingly ‘that’s that thing for old people where you wave you arms around. Are you kind of spiritual then?’ I am about to give him The Death-touch under the table but I think better of it and start to explain.

Around 200million people practice Tai Chi in China each day. Yet as the number of worldwide participants increases Tai Chi is still misunderstood by the majority of westerners. It is a great shame.

Having been deeply involved in Tai Chi and other Martial Arts since I was 17 I want to shed some light upon what Tai chi is really about and encourage people to trade in their gym kit and get down the park.

So what is Tai Chi?

What is it that people think of when they here the words Tai Chi? Common ideas involve groups of elderly Chinese moving slowly in the park at dawn, and some suggest it’s like meditation while moving in some hippyfied stupor!

Tai chi is mostly known as a ‘health system’. But on the most basic level it is simply a traditional Chinese Martial Art. Before1950s Tai Chi was notorious in China as an excellent fighting system and the amazing 'internal strength' its seasoned practitioners possessed. The inherent health benefits were seen as a bonus side effect. It was during the communist revolution that the Chinese government coerced the help of prominent Tai chi masters to distil a simplified form of Tai Chi that could improve the health of the nation. This ‘national form’ is widely practiced in China today and around the world. Unfortunately it is only a mere shadow of the original style of Tai Chi with many of its martial and health boosting properties omitted.

Different styles of Tai Chi

There are a number of styles of Tai Chi that you can learn today but they all derive from the same source. The Chen Family style is the original form of Tai Chi and is unique in that it uses both slow and fast movements. It is quite athletic and features jumps, kick and punches. So it is quite exciting to learn and demands both physical and mental exertion. The training syllabus contains many elements missing from most Tai chi classes you find in the UK today. It includes internal strength training (nei-gung), Form work, partner training, joint locks and throws (qinna), weapons: Sword, Saber, Double saber, Spear and Guan dao - a big blade on the end of a long pole!.

Benefits of Tai Chi

The emphasis in Tai Chi is upon developing whole body strength and clear perception. The key to this is to rebuild lost kinesthetic awareness i.e. how to feel one’s own body and its environment.

Regular training will develop core strength and release tension from the soft tissues of the body. It will develop all round strength so that the body can function in an integrated way. Balance, breathing and postural alignment all become more functional. Similarly, ones mind will become calmer, quieter and more focused. After a number of years one will become relaxed and supple but very strong and connected to the ground (rooted). The structural muscles become very strong and efficient and the larger mobilizer muscles become more relaxed yet very functional. Think of the way a tiger slinks through the jungle: slowly, softly and quietly, his whole body relaxed and moving together. And yet when the time comes the tiger has explosive power. Thus if one trains for a number of years many self-defense abilities can be developed too.

Outdoor Classes

Outdoor practice is an excellent way to start the day especially if you work inside all day. Human beings are not meant to be cooped up like chickens with recycled air to breathe! Training outdoors in a pleasant environment allows one to connect to nature even if it is just to hear the birds sing, see some green trees and feel something other than concrete under foot.
On my annual training trips to China I am always impressed at how the parks are full to bursting with people practicing Tai Chi in the morning. It is just a normal part of life there.

You don’t have to change your life or sports training to do Tai Chi. Tai chi is for developing your body and mind so that you will be healthy enough to enjoy everything life has to offer and to be able to protect yourself if needs be.

Sam Moor is a fulltime martial arts instructor and personnal trainer in Brighton, UK

	Author:	Sam Moor (Sam Moor's profile, Sam Moor's blog)
	Posted On:	Thu, 2007-12-06 12:18
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