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Wushu Styles - Taiji
Quan (01)
 Tai Chi Chuan, T'ai Chi
Ch'üan or Taijiquan (Traditional Chinese:
太極拳,
Simplified Chinese: 太极拳;
pinyin: Tàijíquán; literally "supreme ultimate fist"), commonly
known as Tai Chi, T'ai Chi, or Taiji, is an internal Chinese martial art. There
are different styles of T'ai Chi Ch'üan, although most agree they are all based
on the system originally taught by the Chen family to the Yang family starting
in 1820. It is often promoted and practiced as a martial arts therapy for the
purposes of health and longevity, (some recent medical studies support its
effectiveness). T'ai Chi Ch'üan is considered a soft style martial art,
an art applied with deep relaxation or "softness" in the musculature
as possible, to distinguish its theory and application from that of the hard
martial art styles which use a degree of tension in the muscles. Yet T'ai Chi
Ch'üan also develops the ability to use strong energy coming from the mind and
body, without unnecessary and unproductive stress or tension being introduced
into the muscles.
 Variations
of T'ai Chi Ch'üan's basic training forms are well known as the slow motion
routines that groups of people practice every morning in parks across
China and other parts of the world. Traditional T'ai Chi training is intended to
teach awareness of one's own balance and what affects it, awareness of the same
in others, an appreciation of the practical value in one's ability to moderate
extremes of behavior and attitude at both mental and physical levels, and how
this applies to effective self-defense principles. For many, T'ai Chi Ch'üan
includes two-person sparring, sword forms, and other practices. When practiced
well, these provide additional modalities for expression of calmness and energy,
and the sparring practices may be practiced with greater speed than the
traditional forms.
Historically, T'ai Chi Ch'üan has
been regarded as a martial art, and its traditional practitioners still teach it
as one. Even so, it has developed a worldwide following among many thousands of
people with little or no interest in martial training for its aforementioned
benefits to health and health maintenance. Some call it a form of moving
meditation, and T'ai Chi theory and practice evolved in agreement with many of
the principles of traditional Chinese medicine. Besides general health benefits
and stress management attributed to beginning and intermediate level T'ai Chi
training, many therapeutic interventions along the lines of traditional Chinese
medicine are taught to advanced T'ai Chi students.
T'ai Chi Ch'üan as physical training
is characterized by its requirement for the use of leverage through the joints
based on coordination in relaxation rather than muscular tension in order to
neutralize or initiate physical attacks. The slow, repetitive work involved in
that process is said to gently increase and open the internal circulation (breath,
body heat, blood, lymph, peristalsis, etc.). Over time, proponents say, this
enhancement becomes a lasting effect, a direct reversal of the constricting
physical effects of stress on the human body. This reversal allows much more of
the students' native energy to be available to them, which they may then apply
more effectively to the rest of their lives; families, careers, spiritual or
creative pursuits, hobbies, etc.
The study of T'ai Chi Ch'üan involves
three primary subjects:
- Health - an unhealthy or otherwise
uncomfortable person will find it difficult to meditate to a state of
calmness or to use T'ai Chi as a martial art. T'ai Chi's health training
therefore concentrates on relieving the physical effects of stress on the
body and mind.
- Meditation - the focus meditation
and subsequent calmness cultivated by the meditative aspect of T'ai Chi is
seen as necessary to maintain optimum health (in the sense of effectively
maintaining stress relief or homeostasis) and in order to use it as a soft
style martial art.
- Martial art - the ability to
competently use T'ai Chi as a martial art is said to be proof that the
health and meditation aspects are working according to the dictates of the
theory of T'ai Chi Ch'üan.
In its traditional form (many modern
variations exist which ignore at least one of the above requirements) every
aspect of its training has to conform with all three of the aforementioned
categories...
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