Yang Taijiquan, 24 form – YouTube |
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I am a proponent and practitioner of Tai Ji Quan. It benefits me and my patients.
Local Tai Ji classes:
Warren D. Conner www.taichicenter.com
Stephan Berwick http://truetaichi.com/project/martial/
David Walls-Kaufman www.capitolhilltaichi.com
Following is an overview from Wikipedia.
The term Taijiquan translates as “supreme ultimate fist”, “boundless fist”, “great extremes boxing”, or simply “the ultimate” (note that chi in this instance is the Wade-Giles transliteration of the Pinyin jí, and is distinct from ch’i / qì, meaning “life-force” or “energy”). The concept of the Taiji (“supreme ultimate”) appears in both Taoist andConfucian Chinese philosophy, where it represents the fusion or mother[1] of Yin and Yang into a single Ultimate, represented by the Taijitu symbol. Thus, tai chi theory and practice evolved in agreement with many Chinese philosophical principles, including those of Taoism and Confucianism.
Taiji training involves five elements, nei gung, tui shou (response drills), sanshou (self defence techniques), Weapons, and solo hand routines, known as forms (套路 taolu). While the image of Taijiquan in popular culture is typified by exceedingly slow movement, many Taiji styles (including the three most popular – Yang, Wu, and Chen) – have secondary forms of a faster pace. Some traditional schools of tai chi teach partner exercises known as “pushing hands“, and martial applications of the forms’ postures.
In China, Taijiquan is categorized under the Wudang grouping of Chinese martial arts[2]—that is, the arts applied with internal power [3](an even broader term encompassing all internal martial arts is Neijia) Although the Wudang name falsely suggests these arts originated at the so-called Wudang Mountain, it is simply used to distinguish the skills, theories and applications of the “internal arts” from those of theShaolin grouping, the “hard” or “external” martial art styles.[4]
Since the first widespread promotion of tai chi’s health benefits by Yang Shaohou,Yang Chengfu, Wu Chien-ch’uan, and Sun Lutang in the early 20th century,[5] it has developed a worldwide following among people with little or no interest in martial training, for its benefit to health and health maintenance.[6] Medical studies of tai chisupport its effectiveness as an alternative exercise and a form of martial arts therapy.
Master Choy Hok Pang, a disciple of Yang Ching Po and the first proponent of Tai Chi Chuan to teach in the United States, began teaching Tai Chi Chuan in the United States in 1939. Subsequently, his son and student Master Choy Kam Man emigrated to San Francisco from Hong Kong in 1949 to teach Tai Chi Chuan in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Choy Kam Man taught until he died in 1994.[7][8]
It is purported that focusing the mind solely on the movements of the form helps to bring about a state of mental calm and clarity. Besides general health benefits andstress management attributed to tai chi training, aspects of traditional Chinese medicine are taught to advanced tai chi students in some traditional schools.[9]
Some martial arts, especially the Japanese martial arts, require students to wear a uniform during practice. In general, tai chi chuan schools do not require a uniform, but both traditional and modern teachers often advocate loose, comfortable clothing and flat-soled shoes.[10][11]
The physical techniques of tai chi chuan are described in the tai chi classics, a set of writings by traditional masters, as being characterized by the use of leverage through the joints based on coordination and relaxation, rather than muscular tension, in order to neutralize, yield, or initiate attacks. The slow, repetitive work involved in the process of learning how that leverage is generated gently and measurably increases, opens the internal circulation (breath, body heat, blood, lymph, peristalsis, etc.)
The study of tai chi chuan primarily involves three aspects:
- Health: An unhealthy or otherwise uncomfortable person may find it difficult to meditate to a state of calmness or to use tai chi as a martial art. Tai chi’s health training, therefore, concentrates on relieving the physical effects of stress on the body and mind. For those focused on tai chi’s martial application, good physical fitness is an important step towards effective self-defense.
- Meditation: The focus and calmness cultivated by the meditative aspect of tai chi is seen as necessary in maintaining optimum health (in the sense of relieving stress and maintaining homeostasis) and in application of the form as a soft stylemartial art.
- Martial art: The ability to use tai chi as a form of self-defense in combat is the test of a student’s understanding of the art. Tai chi chuan is the study of appropriatechange in response to outside forces, the study of yielding and “sticking” to an incoming attack rather than attempting to meet it with opposing force.[12] The use of tai chi as a martial art is quite challenging and requires a great deal of training.[13]
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