T’ai Chi Ch’uan
(Tai Chi Chuan, Taiji Quan)

T’ai Chi Ch’uan or Tai Chi Chuan, commonly known as T’ai Chi, Tai Chi or Taiji is an “internal” Chinese martial art which is known for the claims of health and longevity benefits made by its practitioners and in some recent medical studies. T’ai Chi Ch’uan is also known as a soft style martial art, an art applied with as complete a relaxation or “softness” in the musculature as possible, to distinguish its theory and application from that of hard martial art styles which use a degree of tension in the muscles.

T’ai Chi Ch’uan is best known as one of the slow motion routines that groups of people practice every morning in hundreds of parks across China and, increasingly, other parts of the world. T’ai Chi Ch’uan is practiced in what are known as “forms”. Forms are choreographed movements which can take from a few minutes to thirty minutes to complete. There are many different forms that have been created with some strong difference in style between.

The goal of T’ai Chi Ch’uan is to fully incorporate the whole body and improve the circulation of the body’s vital energy. After practicing T’ai Chi Ch’uan for a few months, the movements start to become a meditation. Practitioners start to be consciously aware of the energy circulation in the body. With practice, T’ai Chi Ch’uan can strengthen muscles and bones, improve balance, reduce mental stress, and enhance mental functioning.

Although many people of all ages practice T’ai Chi Ch’uan, it is most popular among the elderly. It is the perfect exercise for old age as it requires little in raw strength, but is very good for improving stamina and balance. Each morning in China, hundreds of elderly people may be seen practicing this beautiful art in neighbourhood parks.

The most popular style of T’ai Chi Ch’uan is the Yang style. The original Yang style form is often called the Long Form. This form takes about 20~30 minutes to complete. There are several shorter variations of this form. The official form of China is commonly called the Shorter Form and only takes a little over 5 minutes to complete.