Taijiquan in General

A small village in 17th century Northern China is reported to be the birthplace of Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan). In the Chinese language, "Taiji" means "the ultimate", while "quan" means fist and martial arts. Taiji (Tai Chi) is the layman’s abbreviation of Taijiquan.

Taijiquan is characterized by its slow, fluent, relaxed and elegant movements. The most important principles of Taijiquan are a correct body posture, relaxation, balance, concentration, and the using of one’s mind to move the body instead of one’s physical force. All of these principles serve the purpose of bringing the body into an optimized state. This state allows one to defend his or herself more effectively. Unfortunately, the original essence of Taijiquan has been gradually ignored over the years. People all over the world practice Taijiquan mostly for health reasons and relaxation.

Practicing Taijiquan comprises different kinds of posture (form) with a combination of concentration to adjust the balance (yin and yang) of the body and mind. Although Taijiquan is an internal martial art, the practitioner should always remain relaxed, doing the movements without the use of force. Taijiquan is a kind of resting exercise, or said another way, an exercise that leads to peace of body and mind.

The function of Taiji

One of the important principles of Taijiquan, the balancing of yin and yang, can be found in a 2000 year old Chinese medical book, ‘Huang Di Nei Jing’. Studies around the effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine have shown that balanced energy (Qi/Chi) is directly associated with balanced (improved) health.

In fact when practicing Taijiquan, one is exercising the entire system of the body (mind, muscles, skeleton, etc), waking up the functions of the body and mind. This results in a general feeling of well being and an energized spirit.

Numerous studies centered around the practice of Taijiquan have provided evidence that Taijiquan has a positive effect on the practitioners health. While performing the Taijiquan form, the person in question experiences a release of positive energy that results in general sense of wellbeing. For example, the majority of students will get warm hands during their first lesson, although they are just standing quietly; motionlessly practicing for just a few minutes. Another example is that after a long day of hard work, an exhausted student feels energetic and fit after practicing Taijiquan.