My doctor said I should try doing tai chi for my jionts and muscles. Where could I learn some moves online or a dvd?|||you'd be surprised how many teachers are around you but don't advertise.... it sounds silly but find an asian restaurant(not a take out, an actual restaurant and ask). it sounds stereotypical but it works every time i move. if they don't know, they know someone who does.
we found one by accident the first time. he did his form outside every Sunday with his wife and kids, people just joined in. just commit 4 moves to memory each week and you'll get it in no time. very relaxing.... mind clearing..... and as your doctor suggested, very good for your body because of the strength and breathing control you gain almost magically but obviously is in the movement of the form|||Best advice I can give is - Don't
Learn from a real life teacher and not a book or movie, if you learn from a book you are just copying a movement.
If you learn from a teacher you can develop a understanding of how the move can effect you, if it can lead into another move, how to use it in a attack or defence, where to use it and how and also fix up faults in your body positioning, A book can't do that.
Edit - Walt B and Happy Bunny also give good advice on how to find a teacher. (A little bit strange in Happy Bunny's case but stranger things have happened and the unusually also work as well as the usual).|||I agree with everyone else. There are many excellent videos out there but w/o someone pointing out important details and correcting your beginner mistakes, many of the benefits of a good tai chi practice will be lost. There is no substitute for a good teacher. Finding a teacher in your area should be easy. The phone book or a quick internet search will most likely give you a few options. Most gyms, community centers and YMCAs offer tai chi classes, but most practitioners would recommend an actual kung fu/ taichi school(provided that is an option)
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
What is the difference between the long and short form in Tai Chi?
And which form do most Chinese do daily?|||Tai Chi like most martial arts has gone through a series of evolutions and changes. The more recent history of taijiquan has taken what was once a very effective form of martial art and turned it into merely a form of exercise for some.
The short forms came about as a way of introducing the basics of the various forms (Chen, Yang, etc.) to the general public. The idea was to make the whole of the form easier for beginners to learn. For example, I believe the Yang style long form contains 108 postures and was altered by Yang Cheng-fu removing the vigorous fajing movements to the slow moving form most know today to accentuate the health benefits. A student of his, Cheng Man Ching who lived in New York City, introduced this form of the art to America and shortened it to a 37 posture form by removing certain postures and repetitive movements from the longer form of his teacher. Both men's efforts were to make the art more available to the average person.
Other styles of taijiquan have developed short forms for similar reasons. Unfortunately, some of these efforts have only served to "waterdown" the art.
As to which form most Chinese do daily.... Don't know. But there aren't just two forms (long and short), there are many various styles of the art as well.
If you're looking to begin learning, I suggest you look for a teacher who's focus is both on the health and the combative elements of the art.|||One is long %26amp; one is short.
Sorry, I couldn't pass that up. lol.
I don't know.|||The Length of the stance. Meaning both the number of motions in each form and the spacing of your feet in the rooted position.|||The Difference is the NUmber of postures in the form
Short Form Tai Chi is about 64 postures long
Long Form is Closer to 128 Postures
Both long and short are part of the same forms and the first 64 of long for are exactly the same as Short Form, you just cut the second half off for short form.
The form practiced varies from person to person
Now you may be thinking about is it Tai Chi Chuan or Tai Chi Chen these are actuall two differnt form all together and most chinese practice Tai Chi Chuan as it is a little older (out of the temples)|||the long and the short of it is they both have the same difference.
The short forms came about as a way of introducing the basics of the various forms (Chen, Yang, etc.) to the general public. The idea was to make the whole of the form easier for beginners to learn. For example, I believe the Yang style long form contains 108 postures and was altered by Yang Cheng-fu removing the vigorous fajing movements to the slow moving form most know today to accentuate the health benefits. A student of his, Cheng Man Ching who lived in New York City, introduced this form of the art to America and shortened it to a 37 posture form by removing certain postures and repetitive movements from the longer form of his teacher. Both men's efforts were to make the art more available to the average person.
Other styles of taijiquan have developed short forms for similar reasons. Unfortunately, some of these efforts have only served to "waterdown" the art.
As to which form most Chinese do daily.... Don't know. But there aren't just two forms (long and short), there are many various styles of the art as well.
If you're looking to begin learning, I suggest you look for a teacher who's focus is both on the health and the combative elements of the art.|||One is long %26amp; one is short.
Sorry, I couldn't pass that up. lol.
I don't know.|||The Length of the stance. Meaning both the number of motions in each form and the spacing of your feet in the rooted position.|||The Difference is the NUmber of postures in the form
Short Form Tai Chi is about 64 postures long
Long Form is Closer to 128 Postures
Both long and short are part of the same forms and the first 64 of long for are exactly the same as Short Form, you just cut the second half off for short form.
The form practiced varies from person to person
Now you may be thinking about is it Tai Chi Chuan or Tai Chi Chen these are actuall two differnt form all together and most chinese practice Tai Chi Chuan as it is a little older (out of the temples)|||the long and the short of it is they both have the same difference.
I started my martial art experience years ago with tai chi, I am now taking some hard style arts-kung fu?
I miss the internal arts training-does studying hard style help my application of tai chi? I want to return to internal atrs, but do not want to by pass the learning, though I do not like it as well.|||Hey Nathan!
I just came by to say,.. I pray He will prosper you in this area ... and to give you your hearts desires :))
I have always had a love of martial arts, but sadly with physical problems I've never been able to get involved - you are so blessed. .
Sarah :)|||Thanks to whoever voted for my answer - much appreciated :))
|||Just study tai chi dont do another style. I would be dying to do tai chi but none in my area wing chun is my chice.
Tai is not only good for self defence but for fitness etc aswell.|||External styles depend on muscular strength. Internal styles use internal strength. If u like Taijiquan, then go back to studying it. I prefer Taijiquan to External styles too|||It's all about Yin and Yang - you may find that the hard style complements your soft style. In my class we practice Qi Gong alongside the Shaolin Kung Fu, which gives a balance between internal and external power.
I just came by to say,.. I pray He will prosper you in this area ... and to give you your hearts desires :))
I have always had a love of martial arts, but sadly with physical problems I've never been able to get involved - you are so blessed. .
Sarah :)|||Thanks to whoever voted for my answer - much appreciated :))
Report Abuse
|||Just study tai chi dont do another style. I would be dying to do tai chi but none in my area wing chun is my chice.
Tai is not only good for self defence but for fitness etc aswell.|||External styles depend on muscular strength. Internal styles use internal strength. If u like Taijiquan, then go back to studying it. I prefer Taijiquan to External styles too|||It's all about Yin and Yang - you may find that the hard style complements your soft style. In my class we practice Qi Gong alongside the Shaolin Kung Fu, which gives a balance between internal and external power.
Are there any kung fu or Tai Chi classes in Pune?
I want to learn Kung fu/ Tai Chi. Are there any classes in Pune (India) where I can enroll?|||Yes. For Tai Chi check out this site: http://www.taichiindia.com/in/contact.ht鈥?/a>|||Tai Chi event in Pune..... 31st January 2010
Check.......... http://www.taarago.com/node/2033
|||Hello,
there is a very good instructor i am learning from he knows taichi and also kungfu he takes clases in vishranwadi on sat and sun morning as well as evening contact no 9822090975
Check.......... http://www.taarago.com/node/2033
Report Abuse
|||Hello,
there is a very good instructor i am learning from he knows taichi and also kungfu he takes clases in vishranwadi on sat and sun morning as well as evening contact no 9822090975
Report Abuse
I have a few questions about Tai Chi?
I'm a bit overweight and I was wondering if tai chi is good for weight loss? If so, which style should I be practicing for self defense/fighting, weight loss and flexibility increase? Also, where should I get started? I searched yellowpages and couldnt find an instructor.|||Don't waste your time doing Tai Chi. I have never seen anything other than pot-bellied Masters or wimpy dudes doing it. As an internal art there is no requirement for strength or stamina.
Try Muay Thai, Capoiera, or Taekwon Do.|||there is a really good shaolin school called "shaolin-do". They teach shaolin kung fu and tai chi. Tuition is very affordable, and they have a good curriculum and a solid reputation.
THey have a website with a list of locations (shaolin-do.com).
Any good form of tai chi will improve your flexibility. However, although tai chi can complement weight loss, Tai chi isn't the best way to lose weight for beginners. It can help, but I'd advise taking kung fu or something more cardiovascular.
I lost 20 lbs in a month doing capoeira by going to 2 classes a week. You could look that up if interested. However, I'd still recommend taking tai chi, as well. You can observe capoeira videos on you tube for some reference. You could also google search locations for capoeira and tai chi schools in your area.
Yoga is another excellent way to assist in weight loss and overall health.|||Tai CHis is probably the worst style of all martial arts for weight loss. It is really a good art to learn to keep some bit f flexibility and you can do it well into your old age. but there is almost no sweating or strenuous activity or cardio at all.
I wouldn't even recommend a style to you other than to say that any style I can think of has more ability to help in weight loss that Tai Chi|||Taichi isn't very effective for weight loss. You'll have a better shot at weight reduction with swimming, jogging or simple dieting. Any of the styles can be practiced for self defense or fighting if done right. Yang, Chen, Sun, Wu and Wu are all the same in principle. If you want to find instructors in a specific area, posting your location would help a bit.|||look in feng shui links.|||try muay thai or karate kyokushin|||with a good and authentic tai-chi teacher, you can loss weight, develop grace and good posture and learn self defense through tai-chi.
to find an instructor, we have to know first what part of the world do you live.|||If you can find a San Ti Shi (Sun Tai Chi) place it will give you everything you look for...
http://www.suntaichi.com/santishi.html
Try Muay Thai, Capoiera, or Taekwon Do.|||there is a really good shaolin school called "shaolin-do". They teach shaolin kung fu and tai chi. Tuition is very affordable, and they have a good curriculum and a solid reputation.
THey have a website with a list of locations (shaolin-do.com).
Any good form of tai chi will improve your flexibility. However, although tai chi can complement weight loss, Tai chi isn't the best way to lose weight for beginners. It can help, but I'd advise taking kung fu or something more cardiovascular.
I lost 20 lbs in a month doing capoeira by going to 2 classes a week. You could look that up if interested. However, I'd still recommend taking tai chi, as well. You can observe capoeira videos on you tube for some reference. You could also google search locations for capoeira and tai chi schools in your area.
Yoga is another excellent way to assist in weight loss and overall health.|||Tai CHis is probably the worst style of all martial arts for weight loss. It is really a good art to learn to keep some bit f flexibility and you can do it well into your old age. but there is almost no sweating or strenuous activity or cardio at all.
I wouldn't even recommend a style to you other than to say that any style I can think of has more ability to help in weight loss that Tai Chi|||Taichi isn't very effective for weight loss. You'll have a better shot at weight reduction with swimming, jogging or simple dieting. Any of the styles can be practiced for self defense or fighting if done right. Yang, Chen, Sun, Wu and Wu are all the same in principle. If you want to find instructors in a specific area, posting your location would help a bit.|||look in feng shui links.|||try muay thai or karate kyokushin|||with a good and authentic tai-chi teacher, you can loss weight, develop grace and good posture and learn self defense through tai-chi.
to find an instructor, we have to know first what part of the world do you live.|||If you can find a San Ti Shi (Sun Tai Chi) place it will give you everything you look for...
http://www.suntaichi.com/santishi.html
I want to take a form of martial arts, would tai chi fit my situation?
I want a form of martial arts where it can be used to defend myself.
However, i also want to protect my friends and family so the techniques must also enable me to strike first at times.
(ive been a victim of bullying, and my neighborhood isnt very good)
I want to start have a sense security of safety.
However, im not looking for muy thai where it's just used to beat another kid up!|||you would need to find someone that teaches the combat aspect of taichi
There is no best style.
Your size, body type and sex have nothing to do with the style you want to choose. People that think that your size and body type determine the style know little to nothing about martial arts.
people of all various so called body types, are found in all styles of martial arts and do well in those styles
Most people will tell you there style is the best or they heard such and such is a great style,
The style is not important, what matters is how good your instructor is and how you train. The style is secondary, they all have there pro's and con's there are no superior styles.
If you have an instructor that can鈥檛 teach you how to fight, regardless of the style, what good would it do you?
Choose a school with a good instructor in the end that鈥檚 all that matters, that and how you train.
Its the person that has the ability to fight not the style|||Actually, yes Tai Chi would fit your situation very well. Tai Chi teaches you control over your energy and how to attack with it. Although the moves may be slow, it teaches you to relax, and so when you strike, you will be fast. If you take Tai Chi, you will also have a longer life, be more immune to sickness, and a bunch of other side effects that are good. If you learn Tai Chi, you can have a sense of security because you can learn to know that there is energy for you to call on for everything in everything, If you learn Tai Chi, you will definitely learn to defend yourself and people that you care about.|||Don't rely on a style, your option must be open because things must depend on the quality of the techniques teach by qualified Instructor.
Better if you do visit some dojo, ask some important and necessary questions to the assigned Instructor, maybe through the effort you can choose and decide if what's better for you, wherein you may feel satisfied and comfortable conveniently.
Good luck
...............|||If you are getting beaten up by sloths and snails tai chi is fine, but otherwise its not that great, way to slow and the moves are not very practical. Try karate (not a mcdojo, try to get one of the 4 Original styles) because there are movements that don't require them to strike first, but also a wide range of blocks and counters.
Hope it helps!|||Well defending doesn't invole striking first. Any form is good for self defense including karate.
However, i also want to protect my friends and family so the techniques must also enable me to strike first at times.
(ive been a victim of bullying, and my neighborhood isnt very good)
I want to start have a sense security of safety.
However, im not looking for muy thai where it's just used to beat another kid up!|||you would need to find someone that teaches the combat aspect of taichi
There is no best style.
Your size, body type and sex have nothing to do with the style you want to choose. People that think that your size and body type determine the style know little to nothing about martial arts.
people of all various so called body types, are found in all styles of martial arts and do well in those styles
Most people will tell you there style is the best or they heard such and such is a great style,
The style is not important, what matters is how good your instructor is and how you train. The style is secondary, they all have there pro's and con's there are no superior styles.
If you have an instructor that can鈥檛 teach you how to fight, regardless of the style, what good would it do you?
Choose a school with a good instructor in the end that鈥檚 all that matters, that and how you train.
Its the person that has the ability to fight not the style|||Actually, yes Tai Chi would fit your situation very well. Tai Chi teaches you control over your energy and how to attack with it. Although the moves may be slow, it teaches you to relax, and so when you strike, you will be fast. If you take Tai Chi, you will also have a longer life, be more immune to sickness, and a bunch of other side effects that are good. If you learn Tai Chi, you can have a sense of security because you can learn to know that there is energy for you to call on for everything in everything, If you learn Tai Chi, you will definitely learn to defend yourself and people that you care about.|||Don't rely on a style, your option must be open because things must depend on the quality of the techniques teach by qualified Instructor.
Better if you do visit some dojo, ask some important and necessary questions to the assigned Instructor, maybe through the effort you can choose and decide if what's better for you, wherein you may feel satisfied and comfortable conveniently.
Good luck
...............|||If you are getting beaten up by sloths and snails tai chi is fine, but otherwise its not that great, way to slow and the moves are not very practical. Try karate (not a mcdojo, try to get one of the 4 Original styles) because there are movements that don't require them to strike first, but also a wide range of blocks and counters.
Hope it helps!|||Well defending doesn't invole striking first. Any form is good for self defense including karate.
What are the health benefits of walking, swimming and doing Tai Chi Chuan?
Walking burns fat,train your muscles,keep you blood circulate properly.
Swimming helps you to grow,improve your breathing system, strengthen up your heart muscles (reduce the risk of heart attack),maintain your stamina,and if you swim in a pool in which it has dirrect morning sunlight,it coould be healthier 9for your skin and heart).
Tai Chi Chuan maintains the balance of the chi.It gives you a balance harmony (peaceful).Tai Chi movement involves circulating the energy.With thath,you can bring positive energy to you and keep you healthy.|||Walking and swimming are an obvious benefit! Tai Chi not so, just a lot of people doing something in slow motion|||None at all - it's all a silly story to keep you from being a slag.
Swimming helps you to grow,improve your breathing system, strengthen up your heart muscles (reduce the risk of heart attack),maintain your stamina,and if you swim in a pool in which it has dirrect morning sunlight,it coould be healthier 9for your skin and heart).
Tai Chi Chuan maintains the balance of the chi.It gives you a balance harmony (peaceful).Tai Chi movement involves circulating the energy.With thath,you can bring positive energy to you and keep you healthy.|||Walking and swimming are an obvious benefit! Tai Chi not so, just a lot of people doing something in slow motion|||None at all - it's all a silly story to keep you from being a slag.
I want to take a form of martial arts, would tai chi fit my situation?
I want a form of martial arts where it can be used to defend myself.
However, i also want to protect my friends and family so the techniques must also enable me to strike first at times.
(ive been a victim of bullying, and my neighborhood isnt very good)
I want to start have a sense security of safety.
However, im not looking for muy thai where it's just used to beat another kid up!|||I would Suggest Tai kwon do Just for the fact that most of it is easy to learn but takes much discipline to master either that of Karate I have a black belt in tai and I'm working on my blue belt in Karate. These fighting styles have helped me in my life , for the fact that I am a security guard and have had to defend myself on multiple occasions.|||i personally would suggest taekwondo it is used effeciently by the korean army for small against big and uses mainly kick which is 70 percent more likely that a person will not be able to defend against.
note: if you are going to take tai chi then learn the sped up version actually ment for selfdefense, but be cautious the sped up version is actually very deadly believe it or not.|||You should take up mixed martial arts i've been training for 4 years now and the class i got to covers pretty much every sports fighting style. Sure you may get a few bumps here and there but its worth it.|||Wing Chun definitely its calming and it teaches you to respect the people around you but when it comes to defending yourself you can submit your enemy or strike him/ she with punches or kicks.|||Ive been doing wushu for ages since I was a kid. It saved me a hospital trip once.|||your thinking too much go take tae kwon do or if you want to get into an older martial art take kadjekembo (Spelling?)|||Wing Chun and carry a knife.
However, i also want to protect my friends and family so the techniques must also enable me to strike first at times.
(ive been a victim of bullying, and my neighborhood isnt very good)
I want to start have a sense security of safety.
However, im not looking for muy thai where it's just used to beat another kid up!|||I would Suggest Tai kwon do Just for the fact that most of it is easy to learn but takes much discipline to master either that of Karate I have a black belt in tai and I'm working on my blue belt in Karate. These fighting styles have helped me in my life , for the fact that I am a security guard and have had to defend myself on multiple occasions.|||i personally would suggest taekwondo it is used effeciently by the korean army for small against big and uses mainly kick which is 70 percent more likely that a person will not be able to defend against.
note: if you are going to take tai chi then learn the sped up version actually ment for selfdefense, but be cautious the sped up version is actually very deadly believe it or not.|||You should take up mixed martial arts i've been training for 4 years now and the class i got to covers pretty much every sports fighting style. Sure you may get a few bumps here and there but its worth it.|||Wing Chun definitely its calming and it teaches you to respect the people around you but when it comes to defending yourself you can submit your enemy or strike him/ she with punches or kicks.|||Ive been doing wushu for ages since I was a kid. It saved me a hospital trip once.|||your thinking too much go take tae kwon do or if you want to get into an older martial art take kadjekembo (Spelling?)|||Wing Chun and carry a knife.
Hey does anyone know where I could find really good Tai Chi books?
Ok so I've heard that you can do really cool things like blocking Chi and everything (self Defense) but I don't know how to do that. Can someone tell me EVERYTHING you need to do to learn how to do that stuff???|||First of all its IMPOSSIBLE to learn Tai Chi or any other MA from the internet, book, or dvd so dont waste ur time. There are different styles of Tai Chi. Look up Tai Chi on Wikipedia and do some research on the subject first. Tai Chi is an EXTREMELY DIFFICULT MA to learn. Google the Tai Chi schools in ur area and visit them and ask the instructors questions. Remember Tai Chi is a martial art first and foremost and not a health exercise. If any of the instructors tells u anything different leave immediately. I am a Chen Tai Chi practitioner. Chen Tai Chi is the original style of Tai Chi and its the most difficult to learn but in my oppinion its the most effective. Well see whats available in ur area and check out the different styles on youtube then decide. Good luck|||If you want to learn Taiji as a practical martial art, you need a teacher. Books will only be of value once you know what you're doing.
Even then it's an endeavour of years to get the necessary skills to be able to do that sort of thing.
I'd go find yourself a teacher!|||i agree with ctc. however books can help a practitioner with their learning.
try amazon.com
Even then it's an endeavour of years to get the necessary skills to be able to do that sort of thing.
I'd go find yourself a teacher!|||i agree with ctc. however books can help a practitioner with their learning.
try amazon.com
How to gain abs effectively and do you know any websites I can learn yoga and tai chi ?
I hear sit-ups and crotches are not effective and I want to know proper way to sculp abs. I want to see some improvement by the end of the summer. And I also want to learn medication help my mind body and soul.|||For abs, try this: http://www.scribd.com/doc/6466200/Legend…|||Check out Diamond Dallas Page's YRG Workout. It is yoga based but they added in core strength movements that tone your body. I found the workout online at www.GreatDrills.com or if you want DVD's get them off of ebay, they have the best price.|||“I think this website may help you”
http://44a18q3s-bi5-l00rnn4t4dp4d.hop.clickbank.net/|||hi dear,
I think this free videos may help you!
http://www.youtube.com/user/fitnessvip
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http://44a18q3s-bi5-l00rnn4t4dp4d.hop.clickbank.net/|||hi dear,
I think this free videos may help you!
http://www.youtube.com/user/fitnessvip
Cheers,
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What is the difference in karate, japan karate, taekwondo, tai chi, or kung fu if any?
Im going to be entering my kids and I, in martial arts classes this summer, but I don't know which one. I don't know what to really look for in a class either.|||Depends what you want for your kids.
If it's just as a physical exercise for your kids, then any will do, most schools offer trial period, so the decision will depends on which one your kids enjoy and probably price for the lesson.
If you want your kids to learn a real self defense art, then I suggest to stay away from Taekwondo, as most TKD schools are now just watered down version of the actual art, and will train very little in term of self defense.
Karate is good as self defense only if you can find a serious Karate school. As with TKD, Many Karate schools are so watered down too (nicknamed McDojo).
BTW, Karate is actually a Japanese art.
Kyokushin Karate is a very good form of Karate with emphasize on full body contact sparring to prepare the practitioner for real world application.
But I won't suggest Karate for your kids, as the McDojo ones are useless and the serious ones are too hardcore for kids.
Chinese Kungfu, which includes Tai Chi are alright, but this will pose the same dilemma as Karate. The fakey ones are basically just teaching your kids how to dance, the serious ones will be very hardcore. (serious self defense school will put emphasize on real contact sparring, rather than touch spar or point spar like TKD)
My suggestion for your kids will be to train in grappling art like Brazilian Jiujitsu or throwing arts like Judo. They have pathways for world class tournaments and they are pretty effective when it comes to self defense. If possible, find Judo school that train with no gi (martial art uniform) so you know they also put emphasize on real world use.
Those art above are softer art and you won't have to suffer seeing bruises on your kids as much as if they take Kyokushin Karate. Nothing is stopping your children to take the more hardcore training when they are older, but those other arts will provide them with the physical training.
They then can combine the arts together and be good at both stand up and ground fighting.|||Your kids won't like tai chi, it's almost entirely slow motion breathing exercises.
Most kung fu (kung fu is very varied, in fact tai chi is a form of kung fu) is traditional and elaborate with forms named after animals like the tiger and the monkey. It's pretty good but it depends on the instructor
Karate is more hard-style: straightforward punching and kicking while yelling. It has the white jackets with the belts (e.g. black belt) that you see on the tv and in the movies. It can be effective for self-defense but only if the school is a "hard contact" style like kyokushin. If you don't want your kids fighting for real then there also are tons of karate schools that don't do that.
There is no "japan karate" as karate is already from japan (originally okinawa, which is an island owned by Japan)
Taekwondo is unrealistic to the extreme, with movie-style kicks. You are not allowed to punch, catch the opponent's kicks, kick to the legs, grapple, grab the opponent's wrist, etc. It's centered around slap-kicking for points. Check out olympic taekwondo on youtube, the olympic's own announcer laughingly called it the world bouncing championships.|||Karate is Japanese it means empty hand. It has been taught in Japan for a thousand years. Tae kwon do is the Korean version of Karate brought from japan in the 50's. Tai Chi is not really a martial art but a chinese exercise routine that looks like kung fu. kung fu is the original chinese boxing that was developed by unarmed monks in china many years ago. Karate is also used as a general term to describe all of them. I have taken Karate and tae kwon do. I prefer karate because of its practicality and easier learning curve. Tae kwon do is nearly the same but with difficult to learn and generally impractical flashy hollywood style kicks added.|||Sorry Jeffrey but Tai Chi or it' s correct name Tai chi chuan is a real martial art with a long history of centuries. It is much older than Taekwondo and might be as old as Karate or the original Okinawan Te.
The slow movements are just one part of the martial art. I briefly trained in a Wu Style Tai chi chuan school in Sydney, Australia. They did the slow form (48 movements) then you could move up to the fast form (with the self defence applications) and also the weapons like double swords and spear. Tai chi chuan is a solid martial art when taught well. As good as Karate or Taekwondo when correctly instructed but like all three can be taught incorrectly or often not completely like the other two. Many only teach the slow forms. Kung Fu like Wing Chun, Bak Mei and Choy Li Fat are awesome too.
My advice would be Karate or Taekwondo for the kids. It will keep them fit, make friends and be social. It will teach self defence. When they are older they can choose to stay or go to another MA for self defence.
Note: I am not saying Karate or Taekwondo are bad for self defence. I do not know the branch of them or instructor. I assumed they would be McDojos/McDojangs since they are kid classes. However both can be great! ITF Taekwondo or JKA Shotokan Karate are solid for self defence and be great for your kids to train in throughout their lives. Kung Fu is great too like the ones I mentioned earlier. Tai Chi would be better for them when they are a bit older.
If it's just as a physical exercise for your kids, then any will do, most schools offer trial period, so the decision will depends on which one your kids enjoy and probably price for the lesson.
If you want your kids to learn a real self defense art, then I suggest to stay away from Taekwondo, as most TKD schools are now just watered down version of the actual art, and will train very little in term of self defense.
Karate is good as self defense only if you can find a serious Karate school. As with TKD, Many Karate schools are so watered down too (nicknamed McDojo).
BTW, Karate is actually a Japanese art.
Kyokushin Karate is a very good form of Karate with emphasize on full body contact sparring to prepare the practitioner for real world application.
But I won't suggest Karate for your kids, as the McDojo ones are useless and the serious ones are too hardcore for kids.
Chinese Kungfu, which includes Tai Chi are alright, but this will pose the same dilemma as Karate. The fakey ones are basically just teaching your kids how to dance, the serious ones will be very hardcore. (serious self defense school will put emphasize on real contact sparring, rather than touch spar or point spar like TKD)
My suggestion for your kids will be to train in grappling art like Brazilian Jiujitsu or throwing arts like Judo. They have pathways for world class tournaments and they are pretty effective when it comes to self defense. If possible, find Judo school that train with no gi (martial art uniform) so you know they also put emphasize on real world use.
Those art above are softer art and you won't have to suffer seeing bruises on your kids as much as if they take Kyokushin Karate. Nothing is stopping your children to take the more hardcore training when they are older, but those other arts will provide them with the physical training.
They then can combine the arts together and be good at both stand up and ground fighting.|||Your kids won't like tai chi, it's almost entirely slow motion breathing exercises.
Most kung fu (kung fu is very varied, in fact tai chi is a form of kung fu) is traditional and elaborate with forms named after animals like the tiger and the monkey. It's pretty good but it depends on the instructor
Karate is more hard-style: straightforward punching and kicking while yelling. It has the white jackets with the belts (e.g. black belt) that you see on the tv and in the movies. It can be effective for self-defense but only if the school is a "hard contact" style like kyokushin. If you don't want your kids fighting for real then there also are tons of karate schools that don't do that.
There is no "japan karate" as karate is already from japan (originally okinawa, which is an island owned by Japan)
Taekwondo is unrealistic to the extreme, with movie-style kicks. You are not allowed to punch, catch the opponent's kicks, kick to the legs, grapple, grab the opponent's wrist, etc. It's centered around slap-kicking for points. Check out olympic taekwondo on youtube, the olympic's own announcer laughingly called it the world bouncing championships.|||Karate is Japanese it means empty hand. It has been taught in Japan for a thousand years. Tae kwon do is the Korean version of Karate brought from japan in the 50's. Tai Chi is not really a martial art but a chinese exercise routine that looks like kung fu. kung fu is the original chinese boxing that was developed by unarmed monks in china many years ago. Karate is also used as a general term to describe all of them. I have taken Karate and tae kwon do. I prefer karate because of its practicality and easier learning curve. Tae kwon do is nearly the same but with difficult to learn and generally impractical flashy hollywood style kicks added.|||Sorry Jeffrey but Tai Chi or it' s correct name Tai chi chuan is a real martial art with a long history of centuries. It is much older than Taekwondo and might be as old as Karate or the original Okinawan Te.
The slow movements are just one part of the martial art. I briefly trained in a Wu Style Tai chi chuan school in Sydney, Australia. They did the slow form (48 movements) then you could move up to the fast form (with the self defence applications) and also the weapons like double swords and spear. Tai chi chuan is a solid martial art when taught well. As good as Karate or Taekwondo when correctly instructed but like all three can be taught incorrectly or often not completely like the other two. Many only teach the slow forms. Kung Fu like Wing Chun, Bak Mei and Choy Li Fat are awesome too.
My advice would be Karate or Taekwondo for the kids. It will keep them fit, make friends and be social. It will teach self defence. When they are older they can choose to stay or go to another MA for self defence.
Note: I am not saying Karate or Taekwondo are bad for self defence. I do not know the branch of them or instructor. I assumed they would be McDojos/McDojangs since they are kid classes. However both can be great! ITF Taekwondo or JKA Shotokan Karate are solid for self defence and be great for your kids to train in throughout their lives. Kung Fu is great too like the ones I mentioned earlier. Tai Chi would be better for them when they are a bit older.
What's the difference between a Wushu and Tai Chi straight sword?
I'm not talking about the forms, I'm talking about the actual swords and how they look. And how do you know if the sword is balanced right?|||They say a picture is like a thousand words. The three swords on this page are tai chi swords. One is a dao and the other two are jian. The middle one is an antique jian and the bottom one is a modern reproduction. I use these swords for tai chi.
Click on the first thumbnail on this page for a full length picture. http://www.chinese-swords-guide.com/tai-鈥?/a>
These are real tai chi swords, called jian. They are strong, not like the wobbly, thin sword shaped things people use for wushu. It depends what you want the sword for. Real tai chi is a martial art and people who train in it as a martial art use a sword that would keep them alive in a real battle.
Back in the days when Yang Luchan was developing what we now practise as tai chi (taiji, Taijiquan), he would've had a sword like the antique in that picture from the Qing dynasty, if he had a sword at all. We try to train with the actual weapons the tai chi sword forms were created with. We train with wooden replicas when swordfighting, using the moves from those forms because we want our partners for next time.
There are all sorts of things labelled "tai chi" sword that I wouldn't look twice at. It depends what you want it for.
A jian usually has the point of balance about 6 - 8 inches down the blade from the guard. This varies, of course. the right balance is the one that allows you to move the sword to a new position quickly. The sword should almost have a springy lively feel. Obviously, a real weight jian will not move in the same way as a "pretend" tai chi sword. This is where wushu becomes rhythmic gymnastics with a sword. It's beautiful to watch and very skilfull but it isn't swordsmanship. You couldn't use those moves with a full weight jian against a real swordsmans and hope to stay alive. Again .... it's what you want it for .... everything has its own purpose. Wushi isn't swordsmanship so don't expect it to be and don't expect to learn real swordsmanship if you decide to learn wushu.|||Well that's a hard question since there are a lot of different types of straight swords and it's always debated which is better.
However one big difference is if you mean wushu as in the performance sport, not the traditional Chinese martial arts. If you mean wushu like Jet Li's background, then the weapons they use are always lightweight, often spring steel--ever notice how they shake and quiver? Now that does not mean tai chi straight swords are necessarily better but a true tai chi adept should be able to use a combat steel sword--much heavier than a wushu style sword--and something that can be more effective in a real fight.|||Since i practice both wushu and taiji i think i can help you. the actual design of the sword or jian is the same. certain makers use different alloys for different reasons. typically i would use two swords, a heavy one for training and a light one for competitions. spring steel is good for competing because of its durability and its ability to transfer your force to the end of the blade. looks great. by the way one way to check your swords integrity is to put the point of the sword on the floor and hold the tip of the pommel with one finger. if the sword stays balanced and strong you've got a good sword. if not, the sword probably wasn't made very well. hope this helps.|||My knowledge of Tai Chi is limited, but from what I understand, the Tai Chi sword is divided into 3 parts, the tip is very thin and razor sharp for cutting and stabbing while the middle part of the blade is slightly thicker and sharp for parrying and sliding, while the bottom part near the hilt is thick and dull for blocking. Basically you cut and stabbed with the tip, parry, slide and slash with the middle part and if all else fails, block with the bottom part near the guard. The Wushu sword I guess is like most basic straight swords, only thinner and lighter.|||I believe that both disciplines use the Jian.
The Tai Chi Jian usually has a tassel on the pommel, I'm not sure about the Wushu Jian.
As for balance...
The walking stick is my preferred weapon so I can't say.|||Might be the same thing.
thats kinda like asking whats the difference between a staff and a bo|||im pretty sure they are the same.
Click on the first thumbnail on this page for a full length picture. http://www.chinese-swords-guide.com/tai-鈥?/a>
These are real tai chi swords, called jian. They are strong, not like the wobbly, thin sword shaped things people use for wushu. It depends what you want the sword for. Real tai chi is a martial art and people who train in it as a martial art use a sword that would keep them alive in a real battle.
Back in the days when Yang Luchan was developing what we now practise as tai chi (taiji, Taijiquan), he would've had a sword like the antique in that picture from the Qing dynasty, if he had a sword at all. We try to train with the actual weapons the tai chi sword forms were created with. We train with wooden replicas when swordfighting, using the moves from those forms because we want our partners for next time.
There are all sorts of things labelled "tai chi" sword that I wouldn't look twice at. It depends what you want it for.
A jian usually has the point of balance about 6 - 8 inches down the blade from the guard. This varies, of course. the right balance is the one that allows you to move the sword to a new position quickly. The sword should almost have a springy lively feel. Obviously, a real weight jian will not move in the same way as a "pretend" tai chi sword. This is where wushu becomes rhythmic gymnastics with a sword. It's beautiful to watch and very skilfull but it isn't swordsmanship. You couldn't use those moves with a full weight jian against a real swordsmans and hope to stay alive. Again .... it's what you want it for .... everything has its own purpose. Wushi isn't swordsmanship so don't expect it to be and don't expect to learn real swordsmanship if you decide to learn wushu.|||Well that's a hard question since there are a lot of different types of straight swords and it's always debated which is better.
However one big difference is if you mean wushu as in the performance sport, not the traditional Chinese martial arts. If you mean wushu like Jet Li's background, then the weapons they use are always lightweight, often spring steel--ever notice how they shake and quiver? Now that does not mean tai chi straight swords are necessarily better but a true tai chi adept should be able to use a combat steel sword--much heavier than a wushu style sword--and something that can be more effective in a real fight.|||Since i practice both wushu and taiji i think i can help you. the actual design of the sword or jian is the same. certain makers use different alloys for different reasons. typically i would use two swords, a heavy one for training and a light one for competitions. spring steel is good for competing because of its durability and its ability to transfer your force to the end of the blade. looks great. by the way one way to check your swords integrity is to put the point of the sword on the floor and hold the tip of the pommel with one finger. if the sword stays balanced and strong you've got a good sword. if not, the sword probably wasn't made very well. hope this helps.|||My knowledge of Tai Chi is limited, but from what I understand, the Tai Chi sword is divided into 3 parts, the tip is very thin and razor sharp for cutting and stabbing while the middle part of the blade is slightly thicker and sharp for parrying and sliding, while the bottom part near the hilt is thick and dull for blocking. Basically you cut and stabbed with the tip, parry, slide and slash with the middle part and if all else fails, block with the bottom part near the guard. The Wushu sword I guess is like most basic straight swords, only thinner and lighter.|||I believe that both disciplines use the Jian.
The Tai Chi Jian usually has a tassel on the pommel, I'm not sure about the Wushu Jian.
As for balance...
The walking stick is my preferred weapon so I can't say.|||Might be the same thing.
thats kinda like asking whats the difference between a staff and a bo|||im pretty sure they are the same.
How do you find someone to give private tai chi lessons in central london at the weekend?
I need someone who will not charge a fortune, who has access to facilities (ie not doing it at home) and someone who speaks reasonable English so I can understand.|||The first place I would contact is whoever is already teaching a class. You could also phone around asking martial arts schools. If you really want a private teacher maybe you should know that those who come from Hong Kong will more than likely know what you are talking about, and will speak English.
A really good resource would be the Chinese community in London. I would be frequenting the markets, restaurants and stores. Explain exactly what you are looking for and give them a business card with your contact number, name, and again what you are looking for. I would dress a little more formally than usual as Asian peoples can take dressing down as an insult. At any rate, Asian grapevines (word of mouth) tend to be very efficient if you show them an honest face and give them a week or two for the person you are looking for to get the information.
You also might just find a teacher in one day of walking around talking to people in that community.|||contact the b.c.c.m.a. on there website they should be able to poit you in the correct direction|||Look up ad's on the internet.....look in a phone book, go to a gym and ask personal trainers? What about university students studying Physical education-one of them might have experience in martial arts and want to earn a bit of extra cash?|||Contact:
The World Taiji Boxing Association
http://www.taiji-bagua.co.uk/
They should be able to point you in the right direction.
.
A really good resource would be the Chinese community in London. I would be frequenting the markets, restaurants and stores. Explain exactly what you are looking for and give them a business card with your contact number, name, and again what you are looking for. I would dress a little more formally than usual as Asian peoples can take dressing down as an insult. At any rate, Asian grapevines (word of mouth) tend to be very efficient if you show them an honest face and give them a week or two for the person you are looking for to get the information.
You also might just find a teacher in one day of walking around talking to people in that community.|||contact the b.c.c.m.a. on there website they should be able to poit you in the correct direction|||Look up ad's on the internet.....look in a phone book, go to a gym and ask personal trainers? What about university students studying Physical education-one of them might have experience in martial arts and want to earn a bit of extra cash?|||Contact:
The World Taiji Boxing Association
http://www.taiji-bagua.co.uk/
They should be able to point you in the right direction.
.
What is the proper way to Fajin in Tai Chi?
The ability to use fa jing in tai chi relies on being completely relaxed. It takes years and years to learn to be able to use fa jin. If you are training in tai chi I suggest you just be patient and follow your teacher's instruction. Fa Jing comes naturally as your skills improve. If you rush it, you will not have it.
EDIT - About Russel's video of Chen Xiaowang, he has injured himself while performing his fajing form and no longer demonstrates it. He is most notably known across the globe for his fajing abilities. This is something that many people who are NOT the most well known do often enough. Practice you martial arts with care, and look for longevity, your skills will be good enough if you train the correct way.
One of the older men in my dojo has injured himself while practicing fajing as well, because he over-did it.|||There are a lot of exercises for developing fa jin (release of energy). This person's display is an excellent example. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxxebP0u3鈥?/a> It's true that you should feel quite relaxed and soft as you preform fa jin but there needs to be structure beneath the soft surface and you need to have a deeply solid root. Yichuan postures are one of the best ways to develop these attributes. Try to find someone to instruct your training who can and is willing to actually demonstrate effective fa jin.|||Ur instructor will teach u when he or she thinks u are ready to learn. Fajing is not something that can be taught over the internet.
Like the others said it takes years to develop that skill. After uve learned to Fajing it will naturally occur when u practice.
EDIT - About Russel's video of Chen Xiaowang, he has injured himself while performing his fajing form and no longer demonstrates it. He is most notably known across the globe for his fajing abilities. This is something that many people who are NOT the most well known do often enough. Practice you martial arts with care, and look for longevity, your skills will be good enough if you train the correct way.
One of the older men in my dojo has injured himself while practicing fajing as well, because he over-did it.|||There are a lot of exercises for developing fa jin (release of energy). This person's display is an excellent example. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxxebP0u3鈥?/a> It's true that you should feel quite relaxed and soft as you preform fa jin but there needs to be structure beneath the soft surface and you need to have a deeply solid root. Yichuan postures are one of the best ways to develop these attributes. Try to find someone to instruct your training who can and is willing to actually demonstrate effective fa jin.|||Ur instructor will teach u when he or she thinks u are ready to learn. Fajing is not something that can be taught over the internet.
Like the others said it takes years to develop that skill. After uve learned to Fajing it will naturally occur when u practice.
Which is better Tai Chi form to learn first? Yang Style 56 Sword or Combined Competition 42 Sword?
I started learning Tai Chi about a year ago from various people. I learned Yang 24, Chen 56, and Chen 13 Pole. Also learned kung fu sword 3 years ago and still practice. My goal for learning Tai Chi sword is to have a better understanding of transmitting energy and also healing the muscles medial to my scapula.|||The goal of learning the taiji sword should be to learn how to fight with the sword. With this mind frame the healing of your shoulder and the understanding of energetics will come more readily. It doen't matter which sword form you learn first. Talk to your instructor and they will teach you what is best. Be sure to learn the individual techniques (there are about 30 overall, but usually each style categorizes them into 13 basic techniques which may encompass the 30 techniques anyway), hand grips, stances, and walking exercises well - as they form the foundation of your art.
Good Luck.
To Chris,
It does not matter if you subscribe to the concept of qi or not. There are certain movements that are therapuetic and contribute to the healing of the body by improving muscle tone, circulation, flexibility, balance, etc.. We use this in physical and occupational therapy in hospitals and clinics throughout the Western world. It is good science, it is good therapy, and it is good art, regardless of the existence of qi. If you stop and take your head out of your @ss you might learn something.|||that,s bs. you can,t heal people with a MA. That is all chi bs and its irrelevant.
Good Luck.
To Chris,
It does not matter if you subscribe to the concept of qi or not. There are certain movements that are therapuetic and contribute to the healing of the body by improving muscle tone, circulation, flexibility, balance, etc.. We use this in physical and occupational therapy in hospitals and clinics throughout the Western world. It is good science, it is good therapy, and it is good art, regardless of the existence of qi. If you stop and take your head out of your @ss you might learn something.|||that,s bs. you can,t heal people with a MA. That is all chi bs and its irrelevant.
What makes people who do Tai Chi turn to killer moves?
I did Tai Chi and I felt very relaxed afterwards albeit a bit silly.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LpwE_PZw5x鈥?/a>|||Tai Chi is mostly about internal massage and oxygenating the blood stream. This make you feel energized and ready to Kick but if need be.|||The truth about Tai Chi is really the Chi. Chi is energy that is both in us, and around us, we are simply born unaware of it. From your question I was a bit startled, but then again, I have a different viewpoint on Martial Arts.
You said you wanted to do killer moves. To answer your question first, you have to wait and learn to build your chi stronger until you can learn to unleash it. Tai Chi works on the inner stengths, so if you want something more physical, try Karate or J.K.D. or Aikido or Kung Fu. They will teach you about Chi, but you will work on defensive movements more.
If you keep working at it, you will eventually become aware of your Chi and be able to feel it and use little of your physical energy to knock an opponant flying. My father, who studied Chi Gung, the building of Chi, has not had much experience, but learned how to release his Chi, and can now extinguish a candle with a single punch.
Below, I have shown some videos of real Tai Chi demos by the masters.
But I would hope that you keep in mind that Tai Chi and Chi Gung is a way to stay healthy, fit, calm, but it is a form of self defense. There are two quotes that I live by, one by Bruce Lee, which doe not apply here, and one that does. I mean no offense to you or your choices, but as a Martial Artist, I feel that I should make sure just in case.
"Avoid rather than check.
Check rather than hurt.
Hurt rather than maim.
Maim rather than kill.
For all life is precious,
nor can any be replaced."
"Killer moves" will come to you if you simply have faith in your instructor and your style, as well as yourself. Simply focus, and you will learn what you want.|||It isn't something I have tried, but I did hear it is very relaxing, and is good healthy exercise.|||Tai Chi is a very deadly art.
Aside from the Qi, there is also the Poison Hand, which are the pressure point, cavity and nerve strike techniques the movements involve.
That is not taught to westerners... THANK GOD!
There are some teachers in the US that know this but they would only teach the worthy.
This is real. Incidently, that English Man knows his stuff.|||What makes people who do tai chi resort to using killer moves? Well that's simple, the desire to kill - Or just hurt really badly.
Make no mistakes, tai chi is a fighting style and fighting styles are made to fight with. Internal or external, all those ideas of spirituality, inner peace, discipline and stuff like "Learning to fight so you wont have to." are secondary and a lot of it became attached later. Martial arts are made for the purpose of fighting and fighting is done to hurt.
You may be surprised to learn that the chinese emperor's elite body guards trained in tai chi. The purpose of these soldiers was to kill any who would dare to attack the emperor.
Never forget that what you're doing when you train in any martial art is learning to fight and learning a way that has been proven as effective.
People who fight with ineffective styles die and their styles go with them.|||Tai chi is basically kung fu at half speed. Do the moves at full speed with some minor modifications, and they can be very effective.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LpwE_PZw5x鈥?/a>|||Tai Chi is mostly about internal massage and oxygenating the blood stream. This make you feel energized and ready to Kick but if need be.|||The truth about Tai Chi is really the Chi. Chi is energy that is both in us, and around us, we are simply born unaware of it. From your question I was a bit startled, but then again, I have a different viewpoint on Martial Arts.
You said you wanted to do killer moves. To answer your question first, you have to wait and learn to build your chi stronger until you can learn to unleash it. Tai Chi works on the inner stengths, so if you want something more physical, try Karate or J.K.D. or Aikido or Kung Fu. They will teach you about Chi, but you will work on defensive movements more.
If you keep working at it, you will eventually become aware of your Chi and be able to feel it and use little of your physical energy to knock an opponant flying. My father, who studied Chi Gung, the building of Chi, has not had much experience, but learned how to release his Chi, and can now extinguish a candle with a single punch.
Below, I have shown some videos of real Tai Chi demos by the masters.
But I would hope that you keep in mind that Tai Chi and Chi Gung is a way to stay healthy, fit, calm, but it is a form of self defense. There are two quotes that I live by, one by Bruce Lee, which doe not apply here, and one that does. I mean no offense to you or your choices, but as a Martial Artist, I feel that I should make sure just in case.
"Avoid rather than check.
Check rather than hurt.
Hurt rather than maim.
Maim rather than kill.
For all life is precious,
nor can any be replaced."
"Killer moves" will come to you if you simply have faith in your instructor and your style, as well as yourself. Simply focus, and you will learn what you want.|||It isn't something I have tried, but I did hear it is very relaxing, and is good healthy exercise.|||Tai Chi is a very deadly art.
Aside from the Qi, there is also the Poison Hand, which are the pressure point, cavity and nerve strike techniques the movements involve.
That is not taught to westerners... THANK GOD!
There are some teachers in the US that know this but they would only teach the worthy.
This is real. Incidently, that English Man knows his stuff.|||What makes people who do tai chi resort to using killer moves? Well that's simple, the desire to kill - Or just hurt really badly.
Make no mistakes, tai chi is a fighting style and fighting styles are made to fight with. Internal or external, all those ideas of spirituality, inner peace, discipline and stuff like "Learning to fight so you wont have to." are secondary and a lot of it became attached later. Martial arts are made for the purpose of fighting and fighting is done to hurt.
You may be surprised to learn that the chinese emperor's elite body guards trained in tai chi. The purpose of these soldiers was to kill any who would dare to attack the emperor.
Never forget that what you're doing when you train in any martial art is learning to fight and learning a way that has been proven as effective.
People who fight with ineffective styles die and their styles go with them.|||Tai chi is basically kung fu at half speed. Do the moves at full speed with some minor modifications, and they can be very effective.
Can anyone recommend a good Tai Chi or Chi Kung dvd for a masturbator?
Masturbation puts ones body in an imbalanced state, does anybody here know of any authentic tai chi or chi kung dvds that can put my body back into balance due to excessive masturbation? sorry for the inconvenience I was told masturbation was completely normal, and please do not say it is, I learned from 1st hand experience. My body is severely imbalanced and assymetric because of masturbation.|||Check out Xing Yi Quan, especially the five element forms. This will greatly help with balancing.
http://internalstyle.com/index.php?optio鈥?/a>
Also check out the Eight Section Brocade Chi Kung set. This helps phenomenally with mental acuity which can be taken away with excessive masturbation. The Eight Section Brocade is known as Baduanjin in Chinese.
http://www.qigongevolution.com/EightSect鈥?/a>
Above all else, you need to stop masturbating. Whether or not someone believes it's natural or not, when it goes so far as to disturb or even over-power your life then it's no longer safe and needs re-examining. I wish you well.|||I'd suggest you try google.
There is one thing for sure though:
This has nothing to do with martial arts.
http://internalstyle.com/index.php?optio鈥?/a>
Also check out the Eight Section Brocade Chi Kung set. This helps phenomenally with mental acuity which can be taken away with excessive masturbation. The Eight Section Brocade is known as Baduanjin in Chinese.
http://www.qigongevolution.com/EightSect鈥?/a>
Above all else, you need to stop masturbating. Whether or not someone believes it's natural or not, when it goes so far as to disturb or even over-power your life then it's no longer safe and needs re-examining. I wish you well.|||I'd suggest you try google.
There is one thing for sure though:
This has nothing to do with martial arts.
What do the basic forms of tai chi represent?
For example at Taekwondo the yellow belt represents the earth. In which the roots of your taekwondo form are ready for a beautiful plant to grow.|||The Tai-chi forms evolved from the internal martial arts tradition of the Wudang Mountains of China. From there,Tai-chi became spread into the Chen family and from Chen style, other styles evolved. The forms as a whole don't represent specific elements - earth, wood, metal, water or fire.
Each movement encodes within it the principles of all the elements, the principles of proper body mechanics, proper attention mechanics and also are specific martial arts techniques. A teacher needs to know all these principles and how they apply to each movement in order to teach Tai-chi-Chuan properly.
In modern times, as many people who teach Tai-chi classes (notice I don't call them "Tai-chi Teachers") have a New Age approach, they don't train in the basic principles but develop beautiful terminology to give their students a feeling of what they want to convey. I think this is fine as long as the student knows they are not learning traditional Tai-chi but a New Age version of it.
The reason I say it is fine is that if this approach can help people relax and be healthier then it is doing people good and it is the approach many people want.
But I feel it is also important to keep the principles of proper body mechanics, proper attention mechanics, principles of healing according to the elemental theory and an understanding of the self defense applications of each movement alive. An entire form cannot be lumped into representing only one thing.|||My Tai Chi does not teach the hippie stuff. It is a real martial art so the pretty/symbolic references and names you mention are not used. I am most surprised you have them in Taek Won Do. They are a western invention and mostly pop up in Tai Chi taught in the west but I have seen this mythical stuff pop up in Karate too. This has nothing to do with traditional martial arts, I assure you.
More over traditional Tai Chi has no ranking, no belts or sashes to begin with let alone them representing different things.
Tai Chi does use directions, elements, yin yang, trigrams etc to explain basics but that is very different than what you are describing.
Each movement encodes within it the principles of all the elements, the principles of proper body mechanics, proper attention mechanics and also are specific martial arts techniques. A teacher needs to know all these principles and how they apply to each movement in order to teach Tai-chi-Chuan properly.
In modern times, as many people who teach Tai-chi classes (notice I don't call them "Tai-chi Teachers") have a New Age approach, they don't train in the basic principles but develop beautiful terminology to give their students a feeling of what they want to convey. I think this is fine as long as the student knows they are not learning traditional Tai-chi but a New Age version of it.
The reason I say it is fine is that if this approach can help people relax and be healthier then it is doing people good and it is the approach many people want.
But I feel it is also important to keep the principles of proper body mechanics, proper attention mechanics, principles of healing according to the elemental theory and an understanding of the self defense applications of each movement alive. An entire form cannot be lumped into representing only one thing.|||My Tai Chi does not teach the hippie stuff. It is a real martial art so the pretty/symbolic references and names you mention are not used. I am most surprised you have them in Taek Won Do. They are a western invention and mostly pop up in Tai Chi taught in the west but I have seen this mythical stuff pop up in Karate too. This has nothing to do with traditional martial arts, I assure you.
More over traditional Tai Chi has no ranking, no belts or sashes to begin with let alone them representing different things.
Tai Chi does use directions, elements, yin yang, trigrams etc to explain basics but that is very different than what you are describing.
Can someone teach me the correct way to learn tai chi at home?
I have the book, but when im done my stomach and back really hurt...does anyone know the correct way to do this excercise?|||I've taken Tai Chi for a few years, and I would not recommend learning from a book or a video... You really have to have an instructor teach you. The poses are very intricate and even though it looks like it should be easy, it is actually pretty difficult to do the correct way. Sorry I couldn't give you the answer you wanted.|||get video pop it in...learn step by step until u can do a step w/o watching video....don't go on|||Doing tai chi since i was 6 in Singapore.
I suspect your stance is wrong, try lowering yourself lower - half squat, head up/
http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/images/e鈥?/a>
Try this stance for 10 minutes stretching to improve your stance.
I suspect your stance is wrong, try lowering yourself lower - half squat, head up/
http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/images/e鈥?/a>
Try this stance for 10 minutes stretching to improve your stance.
Is there a form of tai chi or yoga to accommodate someone who suffers very tight hamstrings and a curved spine?
meaning they can't touch their toes without bending their legs, they can't balance well on one foot, and they aren't flexible.|||Don't know about Tai Chi, but for yoga asana think most would recommend Iyengar yoga.
Named after B. K. S. Iyengar, the style is notable for originating the use of "props" (blocks, straps, folded blankets, and cushions known as bolsters) to assist a practitioner in maintaining the best possible alignment he or she can managed without sacrificing poor form/alignment.
Other words, in Iyengar yoga, having good technique in a pose is much more important than accomplishing a 'perfect' unassisted pose.
(actually, in my opinion, this should be true in all styles of yoga asana, but this perspective is often minimal or missing in the teaching approach of many other style yoga asana styles.)
"There have been many studies performed on the effects of Iyengar yoga on patients with physical problems. In general, Iyengar yoga is useful in physical therapy because it assists in the manipulation of inflexible or injured areas."
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iyengar_Yog鈥?/a>
If you are within USA, you can look for a Iyengar certified instructor here:
http://www.iynaus.org/study/search.php
If outside USA, try an internet search using words "iyengar certified instructor," adding the name of your country.
Namaste',
dwb
Named after B. K. S. Iyengar, the style is notable for originating the use of "props" (blocks, straps, folded blankets, and cushions known as bolsters) to assist a practitioner in maintaining the best possible alignment he or she can managed without sacrificing poor form/alignment.
Other words, in Iyengar yoga, having good technique in a pose is much more important than accomplishing a 'perfect' unassisted pose.
(actually, in my opinion, this should be true in all styles of yoga asana, but this perspective is often minimal or missing in the teaching approach of many other style yoga asana styles.)
"There have been many studies performed on the effects of Iyengar yoga on patients with physical problems. In general, Iyengar yoga is useful in physical therapy because it assists in the manipulation of inflexible or injured areas."
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iyengar_Yog鈥?/a>
If you are within USA, you can look for a Iyengar certified instructor here:
http://www.iynaus.org/study/search.php
If outside USA, try an internet search using words "iyengar certified instructor," adding the name of your country.
Namaste',
dwb
Why is Kanazawa sensei putting Tai Chi Chuan into SKIF Shotokan Karate katas? Is it a bad thing?
Is it to learn and understand techniques better? For health? Because he can? Does it take anything away and water it down?|||shotokan karate is both hard and soft. as well as relaxed and tense. the most efficient way to have power is to strike when relaxed, but many shotokan instructors are not relaxed they are always tense and ridged.
the yang style of tai chi is soft and slow moving, from many instructors this is a good complement to shotokan as it is an element that many instructors are missing.
kanazawa sensei isnt adding this to shotokan he is teaching as a separate style as it is meant to be. many of the instructors enjoy taking his tai chi class.
i hosted several seminar over the years and when i hosted one with a friend of my teaching tai chi, i didn't invite many of my karate friends at the time since i though they wouldn't come anyway. after the seminar i had several of them contacting me as to why i didn't invite them, as they would have love to have taken a tai chi class. this wasnt only limited to my shotokan friends, but goju ryu, shito ryu, kyokushi, seito ryu and so on.|||One of the many ways to practice kata is to slow it down and coordinate your breathing with your movement. This has internal benefits, such as making you more relaxed and aware of your stance, as well as external benefits, "slow is smooth, smooth is fast."
Many Shotokan guys are too rigid. Compare Tekki Shodan to Choshin Chibana's Naihanchi Shodan. Taijiquan would help get them moving smoother.
Seriously though, I suggest you pick a dojo, quit asking questions, and eventually you will know more than you could possibly think of asking.
Not being snide or rude, I know you're excited and just want to know as much as possible, but you're not going to get anywhere if you're constantly asking questions, I'm speaking from experience here.
the yang style of tai chi is soft and slow moving, from many instructors this is a good complement to shotokan as it is an element that many instructors are missing.
kanazawa sensei isnt adding this to shotokan he is teaching as a separate style as it is meant to be. many of the instructors enjoy taking his tai chi class.
i hosted several seminar over the years and when i hosted one with a friend of my teaching tai chi, i didn't invite many of my karate friends at the time since i though they wouldn't come anyway. after the seminar i had several of them contacting me as to why i didn't invite them, as they would have love to have taken a tai chi class. this wasnt only limited to my shotokan friends, but goju ryu, shito ryu, kyokushi, seito ryu and so on.|||One of the many ways to practice kata is to slow it down and coordinate your breathing with your movement. This has internal benefits, such as making you more relaxed and aware of your stance, as well as external benefits, "slow is smooth, smooth is fast."
Many Shotokan guys are too rigid. Compare Tekki Shodan to Choshin Chibana's Naihanchi Shodan. Taijiquan would help get them moving smoother.
Seriously though, I suggest you pick a dojo, quit asking questions, and eventually you will know more than you could possibly think of asking.
Not being snide or rude, I know you're excited and just want to know as much as possible, but you're not going to get anywhere if you're constantly asking questions, I'm speaking from experience here.
Where can i find the basic movmetns for tai chi for free online?
i've checked the ymca in ym town and it is the noly one for 60mi. and they don't teach it and i don't have a credit card to apy for the dvds %26amp; movies to get it. so please help.|||http://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/short.htm#1S
Where is the best place to watch Tai Chi in Taipei?
What locations would make for the most interesting experience? What days of the week are best? What time of the day? How long does it last? Is it a good place for pictures or are pictures discouraged? Anything else about the experience would be helpful.|||Go to Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall during the morning as early as 6am to see them practicing Tai Chi in Taipei. This is the one of the special places you can see them doing Tai Chi as this location is not inside a park. Almost every morning they will be there. You can talk to them during their break time and if you want, you can also ask them to teach you or follow them doing Tai Chi at one side (ask their permission first before you join them if you want to). One time, a old lady there ask me whether I want to join them to pratise Tai Chi or not !!! I said no, as they will be practicing it for about 2-3 hours !!! Picture taking is allowed and if you are lucky, you can make friends with them too !!!|||My experiences in Asia is that you will find people doing Tai Chi in the parks and sometimes in other public places in the mornings when it is cool.
They are there a long time, it is easy to get good pictures, they don't mind.
Besides just doing movements some use swords, or fans, it is real cool.|||I searched the same question on Yahoo answer Taiwan.
I found some place "maybe" can see people do Tai Chi, try to go to there.Usually doing Tai Chi is always in the early morning ( after 5AM etc) at some park.
In Taipei, try to go to these place (I don't know are they still there? ):
AM:6:00～7:00／台北市大安區忠孝東路三段193巷底
(Lane 193, Sec3. ZhongXio E.Rd,Taipei city)
AM:6~7:00／松山區台視前面的社教館前，八德路3段25號。
@ Taipei culture centre. (No.25,Sec3.Bade Rd,Taipei). Opposite side of TTV company.
大安森林公園 (Da An park)／AM:6~7:00／大安區大安公園,
C.K.S memorial hall (中正紀念堂)
Dr. Sun Yet Sen memorial hall (孫逸仙紀念館)
I found a website that a teacher teaches Tai Chi in the evening at C.K.S memorial hall taipei and Dr. Sun Yat Sen memorial hall Taipei. But should pay tuition fee if want to learn it. I think you can see them there.
http://taijiwenwutang.blogspot.com/2006/…
I think there are many teachers teach Tai Chi in Taiwan.
They are there a long time, it is easy to get good pictures, they don't mind.
Besides just doing movements some use swords, or fans, it is real cool.|||I searched the same question on Yahoo answer Taiwan.
I found some place "maybe" can see people do Tai Chi, try to go to there.Usually doing Tai Chi is always in the early morning ( after 5AM etc) at some park.
In Taipei, try to go to these place (I don't know are they still there? ):
AM:6:00～7:00／台北市大安區忠孝東路三段193巷底
(Lane 193, Sec3. ZhongXio E.Rd,Taipei city)
AM:6~7:00／松山區台視前面的社教館前，八德路3段25號。
@ Taipei culture centre. (No.25,Sec3.Bade Rd,Taipei). Opposite side of TTV company.
大安森林公園 (Da An park)／AM:6~7:00／大安區大安公園,
C.K.S memorial hall (中正紀念堂)
Dr. Sun Yet Sen memorial hall (孫逸仙紀念館)
I found a website that a teacher teaches Tai Chi in the evening at C.K.S memorial hall taipei and Dr. Sun Yat Sen memorial hall Taipei. But should pay tuition fee if want to learn it. I think you can see them there.
http://taijiwenwutang.blogspot.com/2006/…
I think there are many teachers teach Tai Chi in Taiwan.
Is there a spiritual element of Tai Chi that MUST be used in order to practice it?
I'm in the process of starting Tai Chi, primarily for purposes of good health and wellbeing. However, I am a Christian and do not wish to compromise my spiritual identity in Christ in order to practice Tai Chi.|||None whatsoever. Tai-Chi is about movement, meditation, and focus. Nothing more.|||Tai Chi and other forms of chi gong are non-denominational. Practicing may very well help you to understand your religion "better" and provide valuable insights in other areas as well. Highly recommended, indeed :)))|||Tai chi was originally practiced by followers of the Taoist faith. While you do not need to be a follower of Taoism to practice Tai chi, you might want to start by exploring the Tao de Ching by Lao Tzu or opt for the Westernized version, "The Tao of Pooh" and it's companion "The Te of Piglet," both of which are authored by Benjamin Hoff.
Tai chi is very powerful and can be a nice, relaxing way to unwind while building up the energy in the body or "chi". It is great for stress management and is used for self-defense by the masters of it.|||God made your body. Tai Chi unifies and revivifies the energies that exist in your God Given body. You are not worshiping other gods when you practice Tai Chi.
You can combine Tai Chi with praising God or praying while you do Tai Chi.
You can envision the energies that are being created when you do Tai Chi and think of them as Love and Light Angelic Energies going out to heal the world.
Tai Chi is great -- I really like it.|||You do not need to be spiritually involved in Taoism or any other kind of spiritual element to practice Tai Chi Chaun. Though, God did create all religions, and there is nothing wrong with believing in multiple religions.
Tai chi is very powerful and can be a nice, relaxing way to unwind while building up the energy in the body or "chi". It is great for stress management and is used for self-defense by the masters of it.|||God made your body. Tai Chi unifies and revivifies the energies that exist in your God Given body. You are not worshiping other gods when you practice Tai Chi.
You can combine Tai Chi with praising God or praying while you do Tai Chi.
You can envision the energies that are being created when you do Tai Chi and think of them as Love and Light Angelic Energies going out to heal the world.
Tai Chi is great -- I really like it.|||You do not need to be spiritually involved in Taoism or any other kind of spiritual element to practice Tai Chi Chaun. Though, God did create all religions, and there is nothing wrong with believing in multiple religions.
When I do Tai Chi or meditate, my hands, especially, start tingling.?
Why? Is this tingling indicative of relaxation or tension?|||All things being normal (no irregular blood sugar, nerve damage, etc.), this is actually a good sign. If you practice Taijiquan (another spelling of Tai Chi), then you are familiar with the three internal harmonies: xin-yi, yi-qi, qi-jing. In other words: mind-intent, intent-qi (intrinsic energy), qi-fluid. Ultimately, the mind leads the intent, which then leads the qi, and then moves the fluids - in this case the blood. I would consult your teacher to go in further detail about this, but it would seem that you are on the right track. You are now feeling the circulation of your own blood (and qi) as you are practicing. Continue to practice and explore this phenomenon.
Good luck.|||maybe neither. maybe it is an activation of something. maybe it is lack of circulation. pay attention to it and sense it and try to see what it is.|||Check your blood sugar.|||Blue's right, you've discovered the "Chi" in Tai Chi! Hopefully your teacher will know the tingles, but surprisingly many don't - this stuff routinely gets lost in translation so is often overlooked as an abstract force rather than one that is actually felt.
If so... http://www.astraldynamics.com/tutorials/鈥?/a>
Good luck.|||maybe neither. maybe it is an activation of something. maybe it is lack of circulation. pay attention to it and sense it and try to see what it is.|||Check your blood sugar.|||Blue's right, you've discovered the "Chi" in Tai Chi! Hopefully your teacher will know the tingles, but surprisingly many don't - this stuff routinely gets lost in translation so is often overlooked as an abstract force rather than one that is actually felt.
If so... http://www.astraldynamics.com/tutorials/鈥?/a>
How come there is more tai chi chuan classes based on meditation and relaxation, then the martial art?
All Tai Chi in China is martial arts and impressive at that because it is deceptive.
When karte is taught you will learn kicks and punches first and then get the fine tuning. When you learn Judo first you will learn the throws and then the strikes. Yes, Judo has strikes but most people don't know that because they do not stick around long enough to get to this part. The same with Tai Chi. When you learn it first you learn relaxation. Out of relaxation you learn to generate power. Tai Chi became popular with the hippies who enjoyed the groovy feeling of love, peace, harmony and anything else that felt good. They were not interested to make a connection with the martial arts aspect of Tai Chi, only the peace and love part. From there it took on weird religious opinions trying to make it fit into their believes. Most people who study Tai Chi do not have the opportunity to go to China and see real Tai Chi let alone train in it so the love - peace gets passed down from teacher to student. With China opening up and more Tai Chi masters visiting and westerners going to study in China this is slowly changing but still many do not and can not stay long enough to study and learn the martial aspect of Tai Chi so it is still largely unknown. It takes several years of intense study to get a good understanding of the martial art behind the Tai Chi to be able to actually teach it as well and most people in the west do not have that kind of time to dedicate their lives to such an intensive study. Unlike in China here you can not easily make a living on martial arts.|||Hey everyone look its invent karate the Y/A stalker.
He even just admited to it now,
So tell us all invent karate what kind of loser stalks people, Please let us all know what kind of loser you are to sink so low as to salk people?
|||Are you really going to stalk EVERY answer I put up? talk about a stalker... get a life Joseph
|||First you call me Tom Turtle now its Joseph, you like poking fun at my name and giving me others, unlike you I don't have multiple accounts, kurt. and I don't claim to be a grand poo ba 19th degree like you.
I will make sure everyone on YA knows how sick you are stalking people you loser.
|||Stalking? Are you not the one stalking my answers? and 19th degree? more like 546546+464854685454545454645 degree, now get a life turtle....
|||Most of the early adopters of Tai Chi in the USA did not learn the complete system which by the way includes the study of Tai Chi weapons. I also suspect that they never even learned the practical martial art aspects of the moves in the form. As a result when the number of Tai Chi schools began to proliferate the majority of them emphasized health and meditation as part of their marketing. These non martial art Tai Chi schools are increasing in popularity because there is a demand for them. The same is with Yoga today as the majority of Yoga schools don't teach the spiritual side of it as most people want to do Yoga like an exercise. Hell, I've even seen Yoga schools now offer health and meditative Tai Chi classes. My feeling is that if someone really wants to learn the martial art side of Tai Chi, they will gravitate to a school that does.|||Because most people have a very limited understanding of what it is and rip people off. Yang Style Taijiquan was the first to be taught as a "Health Exercise" by Yang himself in Beijing at the beggining of the 1900s in order to make money off of unsuspecting people.
Look into Chen Style Taijiquan. Its usually taught as a MA but there are always @ssholes that want to rip people off. Always research the teachers and their lineages.|||@Doashi , what was wrong with his question? was it not legit? yet he gets insulted...maybe i missed something?
To the asker , Liondancer did not have a bad answer....but i do find it all to often if a teacher only teaches or sticks with certain things it is only due to his/her lack of knowledge on the subject.|||1. many people who teach the first form do not even know the whole system.
2. many who know the combat side of tcc never teach the fighting aspect to anyone.
3. some teachers will only teach the combat applications after the student has spent several years doing the form and working on push hands. Most students do not stick with one instructor that long.|||Either way, you would not know the difference since you never trained in martial arts in your life.
You don't know anything about them!
So don't worry about it.
Edit:
This is a troll that has been trolling here for a few months using different usernames.
Edit:
HERE!
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;鈥?/a>
I said the same thing in this question you asked, and you didn't contend over it... and you even chose mine as best answer!|||one of my sensei's knew a famous wrestler back in the 70's. the wrestler opened up a kendo dojo back then. my sensei said to him, but you don't know kendo... he replied, thats ok neither will they when there done here.
it goes back to the age old saying buyer beware.|||It teaches you how to connect with yourself/ your inner strength.It also teaches you to use focus and concentration. Martial arts arent just about fighting, but life too.|||Think of it as a religion....
When karte is taught you will learn kicks and punches first and then get the fine tuning. When you learn Judo first you will learn the throws and then the strikes. Yes, Judo has strikes but most people don't know that because they do not stick around long enough to get to this part. The same with Tai Chi. When you learn it first you learn relaxation. Out of relaxation you learn to generate power. Tai Chi became popular with the hippies who enjoyed the groovy feeling of love, peace, harmony and anything else that felt good. They were not interested to make a connection with the martial arts aspect of Tai Chi, only the peace and love part. From there it took on weird religious opinions trying to make it fit into their believes. Most people who study Tai Chi do not have the opportunity to go to China and see real Tai Chi let alone train in it so the love - peace gets passed down from teacher to student. With China opening up and more Tai Chi masters visiting and westerners going to study in China this is slowly changing but still many do not and can not stay long enough to study and learn the martial aspect of Tai Chi so it is still largely unknown. It takes several years of intense study to get a good understanding of the martial art behind the Tai Chi to be able to actually teach it as well and most people in the west do not have that kind of time to dedicate their lives to such an intensive study. Unlike in China here you can not easily make a living on martial arts.|||Hey everyone look its invent karate the Y/A stalker.
He even just admited to it now,
So tell us all invent karate what kind of loser stalks people, Please let us all know what kind of loser you are to sink so low as to salk people?
Report Abuse
|||Are you really going to stalk EVERY answer I put up? talk about a stalker... get a life Joseph
Report Abuse
|||First you call me Tom Turtle now its Joseph, you like poking fun at my name and giving me others, unlike you I don't have multiple accounts, kurt. and I don't claim to be a grand poo ba 19th degree like you.
I will make sure everyone on YA knows how sick you are stalking people you loser.
Report Abuse
|||Stalking? Are you not the one stalking my answers? and 19th degree? more like 546546+464854685454545454645 degree, now get a life turtle....
Report Abuse
|||Most of the early adopters of Tai Chi in the USA did not learn the complete system which by the way includes the study of Tai Chi weapons. I also suspect that they never even learned the practical martial art aspects of the moves in the form. As a result when the number of Tai Chi schools began to proliferate the majority of them emphasized health and meditation as part of their marketing. These non martial art Tai Chi schools are increasing in popularity because there is a demand for them. The same is with Yoga today as the majority of Yoga schools don't teach the spiritual side of it as most people want to do Yoga like an exercise. Hell, I've even seen Yoga schools now offer health and meditative Tai Chi classes. My feeling is that if someone really wants to learn the martial art side of Tai Chi, they will gravitate to a school that does.|||Because most people have a very limited understanding of what it is and rip people off. Yang Style Taijiquan was the first to be taught as a "Health Exercise" by Yang himself in Beijing at the beggining of the 1900s in order to make money off of unsuspecting people.
Look into Chen Style Taijiquan. Its usually taught as a MA but there are always @ssholes that want to rip people off. Always research the teachers and their lineages.|||@Doashi , what was wrong with his question? was it not legit? yet he gets insulted...maybe i missed something?
To the asker , Liondancer did not have a bad answer....but i do find it all to often if a teacher only teaches or sticks with certain things it is only due to his/her lack of knowledge on the subject.|||1. many people who teach the first form do not even know the whole system.
2. many who know the combat side of tcc never teach the fighting aspect to anyone.
3. some teachers will only teach the combat applications after the student has spent several years doing the form and working on push hands. Most students do not stick with one instructor that long.|||Either way, you would not know the difference since you never trained in martial arts in your life.
You don't know anything about them!
So don't worry about it.
Edit:
This is a troll that has been trolling here for a few months using different usernames.
Edit:
HERE!
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;鈥?/a>
I said the same thing in this question you asked, and you didn't contend over it... and you even chose mine as best answer!|||one of my sensei's knew a famous wrestler back in the 70's. the wrestler opened up a kendo dojo back then. my sensei said to him, but you don't know kendo... he replied, thats ok neither will they when there done here.
it goes back to the age old saying buyer beware.|||It teaches you how to connect with yourself/ your inner strength.It also teaches you to use focus and concentration. Martial arts arent just about fighting, but life too.|||Think of it as a religion....
What is the difference between Tai-Chi and yoga?
My college is making me take some form of physical fitness, what is the difference between the two?|||To quote Cheng Man Ching, one of the first pioneers to bring Tai Chi to the USA, "Tai Chi and Yoga both work towards the same goal. However if someone decided to push you off of your meditation pillow, with Tai Chi you could do something about it."
When taught properly by a well trained instructor, Taijiquan (another way of spelling Tai Chi Chuan) can prove to be a very effective and brutal martial art that also happens to be excellent for your health and longevity. If you have no interest in martial arts whatsoever, then I recommend that you study Yoga instead.|||Tai-Chi is actually a martial art. If you learn it well enough you can defend yourself against an attacker (if taught correctly).
Don't know much about Yoga - but think it is more about circulation, mind, body connections (meditation techniques).
When taught properly by a well trained instructor, Taijiquan (another way of spelling Tai Chi Chuan) can prove to be a very effective and brutal martial art that also happens to be excellent for your health and longevity. If you have no interest in martial arts whatsoever, then I recommend that you study Yoga instead.|||Tai-Chi is actually a martial art. If you learn it well enough you can defend yourself against an attacker (if taught correctly).
Don't know much about Yoga - but think it is more about circulation, mind, body connections (meditation techniques).
What do tai-chi, taekwondo and aikido have in common? How and where did each originate?
And how do they each relate to the flow of energy?|||Tai-Chi : Tai chi chaun combines the yin and yang approach of serene movements for health and well-being with a strong fighting system of self-defense. "The supreme ultimate fist," as it translates in English, is a self-defense method, one that is based on the Chinese Taoist philosophy of life. The roots of tai chi chuan are enshrouded in myth, and all but lost in legend, but the most popular theory refers to the art being originated by Chang San Feng, who was born in 1247. Chang studied at the famous Shaolin temple and mastered its system or martial arts. He then travelled to Wutang Mountain, a region populated by Toaist hermits where, as the legend goes, Chang watched as a stork and a snake fought. Fasinated by the fluidity of their movements and their ability both to evade and attack simultaneously, Chang adapted his system to incorporate the movements he had witnessed.
Taekwondo : It is widely believed that a buddhist monk named Won Qwang originated the five principles -etiquette, modesty, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit- that today form the basis of taekwondo. This art is renowned for its exceptional kicking and jumping techniques. Tae means "to kick" or "smash with the feet"; kwon means "to intercept" or "strike with the hands"; and do means "the Way of the art." Thus, "the way of the foot and hand." Taekwondo is derived from several martial arts, with the main influence being tae-kyon - Korean kick fighting. It was originally developed in Korea in the 1950s when a group of leading martial arts expers came together to unify their respective disciplines under a single fighting system. The inauguration took place in south Korea on 11 April, 1955, with Major-General Choi Hong Hi, a 9th dan black belt, being credited as the founder . However, its roots stretch back nearly 2,000 years. Since 1988, Taekwondo has been listed as an Olympic sport.
Aikido : Aikido is an art that teaches one to harmonize completely with any attack, leading an aggressor to a point of imbalance, and then applying a neutralizing technique. Aikido in its present form is a relatively recent innovation within the martial arts tradition, and was developed in japan int he ealy 20th century by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969), who was introduced to the classical martial arts as a boy by his father Yoroku. Over the course of his lifetime, he had several chance incounters with a diato ryu-aiki ju-jutsu master (Sokaku Takeda) and the charismatic founder of an esoteric religion called Omoto-Kyo (Onisaburo Deguchi). Ai means "harmony"; ki means "spirit"; and do means "way." In the spiritual sense, this means harmonizing your individual spirit, or ki, with the spirit of Nature itself. In the dojo, this means that you harmonize wiht an attack, lead it to a point of exhaustion and then neutralize it with a throw, joint lock, or an immobilization. As with many other martial arts, aikido is seen not only as a system of self-defence, but also as a means of self-cultivation and improvement.
Taekwondo : It is widely believed that a buddhist monk named Won Qwang originated the five principles -etiquette, modesty, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit- that today form the basis of taekwondo. This art is renowned for its exceptional kicking and jumping techniques. Tae means "to kick" or "smash with the feet"; kwon means "to intercept" or "strike with the hands"; and do means "the Way of the art." Thus, "the way of the foot and hand." Taekwondo is derived from several martial arts, with the main influence being tae-kyon - Korean kick fighting. It was originally developed in Korea in the 1950s when a group of leading martial arts expers came together to unify their respective disciplines under a single fighting system. The inauguration took place in south Korea on 11 April, 1955, with Major-General Choi Hong Hi, a 9th dan black belt, being credited as the founder . However, its roots stretch back nearly 2,000 years. Since 1988, Taekwondo has been listed as an Olympic sport.
Aikido : Aikido is an art that teaches one to harmonize completely with any attack, leading an aggressor to a point of imbalance, and then applying a neutralizing technique. Aikido in its present form is a relatively recent innovation within the martial arts tradition, and was developed in japan int he ealy 20th century by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969), who was introduced to the classical martial arts as a boy by his father Yoroku. Over the course of his lifetime, he had several chance incounters with a diato ryu-aiki ju-jutsu master (Sokaku Takeda) and the charismatic founder of an esoteric religion called Omoto-Kyo (Onisaburo Deguchi). Ai means "harmony"; ki means "spirit"; and do means "way." In the spiritual sense, this means harmonizing your individual spirit, or ki, with the spirit of Nature itself. In the dojo, this means that you harmonize wiht an attack, lead it to a point of exhaustion and then neutralize it with a throw, joint lock, or an immobilization. As with many other martial arts, aikido is seen not only as a system of self-defence, but also as a means of self-cultivation and improvement.
How is tai chi considered a martial art when it only is slow movements ?
how would that help in a life of death situation ?|||there are five families of tai chi, not all are slow moving,
and the ones that are are still just as deadly, the slow movement impart is to help prefect the movements, when you use tai chi you are not moving slow.|||Tai Chi Chuan is practiced slowly and each move is continuously improved and perfected. The exact angle of each joint during each phase of a move is learned.
Once you can perform a move in slow motion, you can speed it up to however fast you need depending on the situation.
When Tai Chi Chuan is used for self defense, it is usually executed very quickly.
Some of the fast moves required in some of the striking martial arts don't work if you need to slow the motion down. (For example if you are in the water.)
Some forms are learned slowly and then executed quickly once the form is mastered.|||As much as I'd like to give you a more elaborate response, the other posters have given you some great answers.
Basically, performing the movements slowly is not the only way its supposed to be done in training. While such movement does have some benefits when learning the movements its not the "be all, end all" of training.
I think the misconception that tai chi is only performed slowly is because of the number of people who practice it only as an exercise and not as a martial art.|||Tai Chi Chuan is only trained slowly when going through the form. In sparring matches, push hands competitions, real time interpretation (bunkai in Japanese), and actual fighting it is sped up to 'normal' realistic speed. Tai Chi means supreme ultimate Chuan means fist. This martial art was started a long time ago (late 1300s) by Chen San-Feng and was used to protect royalty. It was so successful at being lethal it gained in popularity and in the late 1700s Yang Luu Chan took what he learned from spying on the Chen family system and created Yang.
As anybody was forbidden to teach and learn Chen style boxing outside of the family and village, Yang made some adjustments to the form and called it his own. It's premise being a health exercise, hides the lethal martial art.
Others explained how it works in a life or death situation and why it's slow, so I'll leave it at that.|||Excellent answers by everyone (those who favored taijiquan). I especially liked Shaman's answer. Kudos to all.
But just to put my two cents in here. I practice Chen Style Taijiquan, and the slow forms only comprise only a small portion of the overall forms being practiced. Only the long form (yi lu) and the sword form are traditionally done slowly. All the rest (cannon fist (er lu), saber, staff, spear, double sword, double saber, and Kwan dao) are done at fast to moderate speeds. Also forms are not the only aspect of training. There are partner drills, bare-hand sparring, weapons sparring, applications, etc. The slow exercises are a crucial training method, and substantial effort should be invested in it. But remember it is a method of training, not the goal. The goal is martial superiority. Also it is important to remember that all the benefits of health and wellness are a side benefit of the training.
In hand to hand combat the Chinese systems delineate four basic elements: Ti (kicking techniques), Da (hand techniques), Shuai (grappling, wrestling, throwing techniques), and Na (controlling techniques. Na can also be subdivided into five major methods of control: bone locks, muscle and soft tissue manipulation, breath sealing, blood sealing, and nerve attacks. All these systems are taught within authentic taijiquan. I will say that it is difficult to find a legitimate instructor, but once you find them, don't let them go.
Again, it is the general public's lack of knowledge on Taijiquan that gives this formidable martial art its weak reputation, especially in the West. This fault ultimately lies with all the crappy instructors out there who teach it in its watered down versions.|||Many ppl wonder this.... And the answer is really in the concept out there that I know as "In order to speed up, you gotta slow it down."
The point of the slow movement of Tai Chi Chuan is really two fold. One, to perfect form and balance. By moving slowly and with focus on the movements, you can begin to see where you put your body weight, how you shift your weight, and gives you a chance to focus on form of movement. In other words, you work on your relationship with gravity and body alignment for structural support.
The second is to allow a person to learn to do the movement in a relaxed form so no tension of antagonistic muscles come into play, slowing your performance. Take the basic punch. A beginner (and some of us not so beginner practitioners) can get caught tensing up our whole arm when "trying" to throw the punch. There is a tension in the shoulders, triceps, biceps, forearm and hand. However, the bicep doesn't need to tense or contract until the hand is being recoiled from the strike. The fist and forearm only need tension at the point of impact and then should immediately return to a relaxed state.
The point of slow moving Tai Chi forms is to allow the practitioner the opportunity to weed out the tension through practice. And that also comes from the breathing and psychological training involved. In that moment of conflict, the practitioner (hopefully) will not let the adrenaline dump and the tension of the situation affect performance. So, when he/she needs to move, they can move.
Look at it this way.... Baseball players taking batting practice don't try to swing for the fence everytime. They work on their hand-eye coordination. Timing. Stance. Balance. All to perform with power when needed and to respond to the pitches that come. And with that practice, hopefully will still be able to perform when there are 2 outs on the board and the count is 0-2.
That's my understanding of it. Be well.|||because martial arts are egsactly the same but fast martial arts have INCREDIBLY SMALL amounts of ... stuff that actuly ''help' in a fight despite what kids think even at a black belt you are as easy to fight as a white belt but you may be fitter and more flexible but the fact that u know these moves is abselutely irrelivent|||Tai Chi Chuan is a very effective martial art.
Yang Style Tai Chi is what you see old people doing in the parks.
Tai Chi, Bagua, Hsing I, are all soft 'Taoist' styles and all very effective fighting methods.|||most martial arts aren't made for life are death situation..|||Because if you speed it up you could do some damage.
and the ones that are are still just as deadly, the slow movement impart is to help prefect the movements, when you use tai chi you are not moving slow.|||Tai Chi Chuan is practiced slowly and each move is continuously improved and perfected. The exact angle of each joint during each phase of a move is learned.
Once you can perform a move in slow motion, you can speed it up to however fast you need depending on the situation.
When Tai Chi Chuan is used for self defense, it is usually executed very quickly.
Some of the fast moves required in some of the striking martial arts don't work if you need to slow the motion down. (For example if you are in the water.)
Some forms are learned slowly and then executed quickly once the form is mastered.|||As much as I'd like to give you a more elaborate response, the other posters have given you some great answers.
Basically, performing the movements slowly is not the only way its supposed to be done in training. While such movement does have some benefits when learning the movements its not the "be all, end all" of training.
I think the misconception that tai chi is only performed slowly is because of the number of people who practice it only as an exercise and not as a martial art.|||Tai Chi Chuan is only trained slowly when going through the form. In sparring matches, push hands competitions, real time interpretation (bunkai in Japanese), and actual fighting it is sped up to 'normal' realistic speed. Tai Chi means supreme ultimate Chuan means fist. This martial art was started a long time ago (late 1300s) by Chen San-Feng and was used to protect royalty. It was so successful at being lethal it gained in popularity and in the late 1700s Yang Luu Chan took what he learned from spying on the Chen family system and created Yang.
As anybody was forbidden to teach and learn Chen style boxing outside of the family and village, Yang made some adjustments to the form and called it his own. It's premise being a health exercise, hides the lethal martial art.
Others explained how it works in a life or death situation and why it's slow, so I'll leave it at that.|||Excellent answers by everyone (those who favored taijiquan). I especially liked Shaman's answer. Kudos to all.
But just to put my two cents in here. I practice Chen Style Taijiquan, and the slow forms only comprise only a small portion of the overall forms being practiced. Only the long form (yi lu) and the sword form are traditionally done slowly. All the rest (cannon fist (er lu), saber, staff, spear, double sword, double saber, and Kwan dao) are done at fast to moderate speeds. Also forms are not the only aspect of training. There are partner drills, bare-hand sparring, weapons sparring, applications, etc. The slow exercises are a crucial training method, and substantial effort should be invested in it. But remember it is a method of training, not the goal. The goal is martial superiority. Also it is important to remember that all the benefits of health and wellness are a side benefit of the training.
In hand to hand combat the Chinese systems delineate four basic elements: Ti (kicking techniques), Da (hand techniques), Shuai (grappling, wrestling, throwing techniques), and Na (controlling techniques. Na can also be subdivided into five major methods of control: bone locks, muscle and soft tissue manipulation, breath sealing, blood sealing, and nerve attacks. All these systems are taught within authentic taijiquan. I will say that it is difficult to find a legitimate instructor, but once you find them, don't let them go.
Again, it is the general public's lack of knowledge on Taijiquan that gives this formidable martial art its weak reputation, especially in the West. This fault ultimately lies with all the crappy instructors out there who teach it in its watered down versions.|||Many ppl wonder this.... And the answer is really in the concept out there that I know as "In order to speed up, you gotta slow it down."
The point of the slow movement of Tai Chi Chuan is really two fold. One, to perfect form and balance. By moving slowly and with focus on the movements, you can begin to see where you put your body weight, how you shift your weight, and gives you a chance to focus on form of movement. In other words, you work on your relationship with gravity and body alignment for structural support.
The second is to allow a person to learn to do the movement in a relaxed form so no tension of antagonistic muscles come into play, slowing your performance. Take the basic punch. A beginner (and some of us not so beginner practitioners) can get caught tensing up our whole arm when "trying" to throw the punch. There is a tension in the shoulders, triceps, biceps, forearm and hand. However, the bicep doesn't need to tense or contract until the hand is being recoiled from the strike. The fist and forearm only need tension at the point of impact and then should immediately return to a relaxed state.
The point of slow moving Tai Chi forms is to allow the practitioner the opportunity to weed out the tension through practice. And that also comes from the breathing and psychological training involved. In that moment of conflict, the practitioner (hopefully) will not let the adrenaline dump and the tension of the situation affect performance. So, when he/she needs to move, they can move.
Look at it this way.... Baseball players taking batting practice don't try to swing for the fence everytime. They work on their hand-eye coordination. Timing. Stance. Balance. All to perform with power when needed and to respond to the pitches that come. And with that practice, hopefully will still be able to perform when there are 2 outs on the board and the count is 0-2.
That's my understanding of it. Be well.|||because martial arts are egsactly the same but fast martial arts have INCREDIBLY SMALL amounts of ... stuff that actuly ''help' in a fight despite what kids think even at a black belt you are as easy to fight as a white belt but you may be fitter and more flexible but the fact that u know these moves is abselutely irrelivent|||Tai Chi Chuan is a very effective martial art.
Yang Style Tai Chi is what you see old people doing in the parks.
Tai Chi, Bagua, Hsing I, are all soft 'Taoist' styles and all very effective fighting methods.|||most martial arts aren't made for life are death situation..|||Because if you speed it up you could do some damage.
Tai chi exercise where do i start?
i often heard comments about tai chi exercise and i want to try it.does anyone know the steps to perform tai chi exercise? thank you.|||The best way to start is to look for a teacher. Be sure to look for a qualified instructor who has a legitimate and verifiable lineage from one of the five major family styles: Chen, Yang, Wu, Wu (Hao), and Sun. You do not want to learn from a video or a book, nor do you want to learn from someone who has. There are numerous details that cannot be absorbed from print or video by the new student. Without extensive experience in the art, you risk injuring yourself by doing so.
Good luck.|||There are a lot of videos about Tai Chi. However you need to find a good teacher. Learning Tai Chi from a video is like learning how to do brain surgery by watching videos.
you can go to pstaichi.com to learn more then click on the World Tai Chi Day picture to find a teacher in your area
|||Tai Chi is actually a form of martial arts, so you will not only improve your flexibility and strength, you will also be learning a form of self defense.
Of course you can look for a teacher, but you can also bone up on some of the basics--even before you go to a class.
Since this is a low impact type of exercise, it is safe for anyone--young or old--to do. And you can get started on your own, with a video or good e-book.
I don鈥檛 think you鈥檒l find it to be difficult. However, like any martial arts, you will need discipline and commitment.
Enjoy!|||Tai chi is one of the best exercise to all people.Experience the gentle flowing, movements of Tai Chi and treat your whole body to a gentle and relaxing workout.Just 15 minutes a day is your passport to better health, fitness, peace of mind and so much more, as your mind and body work in harmony for superb results.
http://www.taichiexercises.org/
Good luck.|||There are a lot of videos about Tai Chi. However you need to find a good teacher. Learning Tai Chi from a video is like learning how to do brain surgery by watching videos.
you can go to pstaichi.com to learn more then click on the World Tai Chi Day picture to find a teacher in your area
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|||Tai Chi is actually a form of martial arts, so you will not only improve your flexibility and strength, you will also be learning a form of self defense.
Of course you can look for a teacher, but you can also bone up on some of the basics--even before you go to a class.
Since this is a low impact type of exercise, it is safe for anyone--young or old--to do. And you can get started on your own, with a video or good e-book.
I don鈥檛 think you鈥檒l find it to be difficult. However, like any martial arts, you will need discipline and commitment.
Enjoy!|||Tai chi is one of the best exercise to all people.Experience the gentle flowing, movements of Tai Chi and treat your whole body to a gentle and relaxing workout.Just 15 minutes a day is your passport to better health, fitness, peace of mind and so much more, as your mind and body work in harmony for superb results.
http://www.taichiexercises.org/
How can I learn Tai Chi without spending a fortune?
I am looking for someone who teaches it, but I would also like to find some good illustrated written materials on the subject. I have a pretty good DVD.
I live near San Antonio, Texas. If anyone who is studying or has learned this martial art can give me some good advice on learning it I would be grateful.|||Good Spirit Tai Chi Chuan - www.goodspirit-taichi.com
12500 N.W. Military Highway, San Antonio - (210) 259-7095
Shaolin-Do Kung Fu %26amp; Tai Chi - www.texaskungfu.com
3157 Nacogdoches Rd, San Antonio - (210) 340-7811
Shaolin-Do Kung Fu %26amp; Tai Chi -
9355 Bandera Rd, San Antonio - (210) 340-7811
Check out your local YMCA and Community Centers.
Good info
http://www.taichiforarthritis.com/newsle…
Lots of good videos out there. It is best to go to a class to have an instructor work with you. Tai Chi is very intricate. Not hard to follow but the hands on correction is invaluable.
Good Luck|||Google and Research. Read: There Are No Secrets by Wolfe Lowental|||Hi Warren.
Try this link from the BBC.
Good Luck mate!
Oh by the way! Happy New Year!
Would it be possible to either to give your opinion on either both or one of the questions I asked earlier|||Find a not-for-profit organization that teaches Tai Chi for the love of the martial art rather than to make a buck.
The best place in my area (both depth and variety) is a not-for-profit school that teaches the Chen Pan Ling System.
This includes Tai Chi Chuan, Bagua, Qigong, Hsing-I, Shaolin and weapons.
Classes cost $110 for 10 weeks and you can come to class and open practice up to 6 days a week.
BTW: Tai Chi is not a "quick learn" like the external martial arts. Even if you dedicate the rest of your life to learning Tai Chi, you will still not master/perfect it.
Another poster suggested taking Tai Chi at the YMCA.
This will probably be Tai Chi for health/exercise and not the martial art.|||There is an instructor in San Antonio by the name of Master Sal Delarosa. He is a 20th Generation direct lineage holder through 19th Generation Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei. Chen Style taijiquan (also spelled tai chi chuan) is the oldest form of Taijiquan in practice in the world today.
Also if you're ever in Houston, TX, I would be more than happy to help.|||is there a ymca there? they might run tai-chi classes.
I live near San Antonio, Texas. If anyone who is studying or has learned this martial art can give me some good advice on learning it I would be grateful.|||Good Spirit Tai Chi Chuan - www.goodspirit-taichi.com
12500 N.W. Military Highway, San Antonio - (210) 259-7095
Shaolin-Do Kung Fu %26amp; Tai Chi - www.texaskungfu.com
3157 Nacogdoches Rd, San Antonio - (210) 340-7811
Shaolin-Do Kung Fu %26amp; Tai Chi -
9355 Bandera Rd, San Antonio - (210) 340-7811
Check out your local YMCA and Community Centers.
Good info
http://www.taichiforarthritis.com/newsle…
Lots of good videos out there. It is best to go to a class to have an instructor work with you. Tai Chi is very intricate. Not hard to follow but the hands on correction is invaluable.
Good Luck|||Google and Research. Read: There Are No Secrets by Wolfe Lowental|||Hi Warren.
Try this link from the BBC.
Good Luck mate!
Oh by the way! Happy New Year!
Would it be possible to either to give your opinion on either both or one of the questions I asked earlier|||Find a not-for-profit organization that teaches Tai Chi for the love of the martial art rather than to make a buck.
The best place in my area (both depth and variety) is a not-for-profit school that teaches the Chen Pan Ling System.
This includes Tai Chi Chuan, Bagua, Qigong, Hsing-I, Shaolin and weapons.
Classes cost $110 for 10 weeks and you can come to class and open practice up to 6 days a week.
BTW: Tai Chi is not a "quick learn" like the external martial arts. Even if you dedicate the rest of your life to learning Tai Chi, you will still not master/perfect it.
Another poster suggested taking Tai Chi at the YMCA.
This will probably be Tai Chi for health/exercise and not the martial art.|||There is an instructor in San Antonio by the name of Master Sal Delarosa. He is a 20th Generation direct lineage holder through 19th Generation Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei. Chen Style taijiquan (also spelled tai chi chuan) is the oldest form of Taijiquan in practice in the world today.
Also if you're ever in Houston, TX, I would be more than happy to help.|||is there a ymca there? they might run tai-chi classes.
Where can I practice Tai chi in Anderson or Pendleton, IN?
I've gotten medical advice about practicing Tai chi but I do not know where to go, I live in Pendleton, IN. I am willling to drive a few miles. Does anybody know a place where I could practice it? thank you|||I think you posted in the wrong section. This section is for drawing and illustrating things, not recreation.
HTH
HTH
Which is the best tai chi style for a young guy to learn?
I want to start doing tai chi partly for balance and relaxation purposes, but also to learn basic martial arts techniques. (Also for exercise but that sort of goes with the territory I think).
I imagine a few of the styles are a little more suited to older people, but I have heard that the Chen style is good to learn as it has faster-paced movements. Anyone have any input on this?|||you need to find out what is available in your area and go from there.
I imagine a few of the styles are a little more suited to older people, but I have heard that the Chen style is good to learn as it has faster-paced movements. Anyone have any input on this?|||you need to find out what is available in your area and go from there.
In the practice of tai chi, what does it take to learn how to manipulate energy?
Please direct me to resources to check out. I'm interested in the science of it.|||When you say energy, you have to be very specific here. Tai Chi Chuan uses body movement, good body mechanics, and relaxed power to generate its force. If you coordinate breath, good body alignment, and relaxed force (don't tighten up before you hit) and good focus you generate a lot of power. That is the Tai Chi I learned. Check out the website below. there is also a forum to ask questions there, they might be able to help
http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/
Best of luck|||I'm not a Tai Chi person, but I do have friends that are into combative Tai Chi and Push Hands.
According one guy, the best way to learn is to have a good instructor to feed you the right energy. That's not all, you need to practice the form with intent. So with the right muscle memory from form practice and right sensitivity from the instructor, you should achieve the right intent.
You can also post your question at this forum:
http://www.emptyflower.com/cgi-bin/yabb/鈥?/a>|||In learning the internal arts, you would have to learn Qi Gong while you are learning the Tai Chi Form.
You can develop Qi just be learning the form but in the beginning you have to concentrate on posture, alignment and body mechanics.
You already have Qi. Breath is Qi. You just have to manifest it and learn how to move your Qi. It develops pretty quickly.
You can learn it all in about a week.
Any who tells you it takes extended periods, years and decades, is BS'ing you.
Either that or they really don't know what they are doing.
If you don't learn it in a week after having been taught by a competent teacher, you are just not paying attention and doing exactly what the teacher tells you to do. That's on you.|||I study Ba-Gua and Tai-Chi, most people do not want to hear this, there is NO super energy that you can manipulate. The thing that you must understand and implement, is the PRINCIPLES of the system and it's techniques. The strength of ANY system is in PROPER LEVERAGE and BODY MECHANICS. (CHI) is very subjective, and means different things to different people, it is a METAPHOR more than any thing that is provable,that is why there is no real science to it.
http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/
Best of luck|||I'm not a Tai Chi person, but I do have friends that are into combative Tai Chi and Push Hands.
According one guy, the best way to learn is to have a good instructor to feed you the right energy. That's not all, you need to practice the form with intent. So with the right muscle memory from form practice and right sensitivity from the instructor, you should achieve the right intent.
You can also post your question at this forum:
http://www.emptyflower.com/cgi-bin/yabb/鈥?/a>|||In learning the internal arts, you would have to learn Qi Gong while you are learning the Tai Chi Form.
You can develop Qi just be learning the form but in the beginning you have to concentrate on posture, alignment and body mechanics.
You already have Qi. Breath is Qi. You just have to manifest it and learn how to move your Qi. It develops pretty quickly.
You can learn it all in about a week.
Any who tells you it takes extended periods, years and decades, is BS'ing you.
Either that or they really don't know what they are doing.
If you don't learn it in a week after having been taught by a competent teacher, you are just not paying attention and doing exactly what the teacher tells you to do. That's on you.|||I study Ba-Gua and Tai-Chi, most people do not want to hear this, there is NO super energy that you can manipulate. The thing that you must understand and implement, is the PRINCIPLES of the system and it's techniques. The strength of ANY system is in PROPER LEVERAGE and BODY MECHANICS. (CHI) is very subjective, and means different things to different people, it is a METAPHOR more than any thing that is provable,that is why there is no real science to it.
How to find a reputable Tai Chi Trainer?
I want to start learning Tai Chi for its health benefit and for self defense. I searched the internet for local schools that instruct Tai Chi. There are so many! I heard that you need to learn Tai Chi right from the begining because if you are not taught well, it's very hard to correct later on. How can I tell all those instructors apart form each other and find one that's really good?|||i've been a taijiquan practioner for years now and teach it as well.. and yes, i understand and empethize with your dilema.. i myself was lucky enough to find a sifu with an authentic lineage...
anyone who is affiliated with the guang ping yang taijiquan association is reputable... laoshir henry look is the founder of that association and my sifu is one of his closest students..
here's a list of certified instructors: http://www.guangpingyang.org/Teachers/Ce鈥?/a>
there are many that have learned and teach taiji for health benefits, and there are others who learned basically to bring more traffic into their schools..
and yes you are right in a lot of ways learning taiji wrong is hard to correct in the later years, that's why taiji is a good art, it allows you to live longer, so you have longer to perfect it..
now remember, if you're learning taiji as a martial art, you have to realize that it's 80% shuai chiao (chinese grappling/throwing), any knowledgable instructor can tell you that. and shuai chiao falls under the same concepts as chin na, you use leverage and folcrums instead of strength as bluto had mentioned. i know this because i'm 5ft 126lb woman, who with the mechanics and concepts behind the movements of taiji, can throw a 5'8 200lb man across the room, without using strength..
taiji is about using your leverage and gravity to execute movement.. if you use strength as suggested in the previous answer, you just end up wrestling with your opponent,
in taiji what you are looking for is your opponents point of instability. if you're opponents in a cat stance, which most japanese martial artists learn to perfect, you have to feel which angle and area of his body is unbalanced, then you capitalize on that by using gravity as your weapon..
it's like.. ok. everyone's had to move a fridgerator once in they're lifetime right.. well, do you just go up to the fridge and begin to push with all your might? no, you tip it on it's side, shifting its center of gravity and than you can easily manuever it wherever you wish.. that's the concept of taiji..
check out these websites to gain further information on taiji: http://www.guangpingyang.org/index.htm
http://www.lotusdragon.com/index.htm
and if you're in new mexico or near here, we're having the desert dragon 2007 chinese martial arts convention in albuquerque on jan. 12-14..
with martial arts greats like master henry look, master dave pickens, master kenny perez, laoshir jiang jian ye, master steven lee johnson, master christophe clarke, laoshir cheng jin cai and many many more.. check out the website for details on the desert dragon 2007: http://www.desertdragon2007.com/
hope this helps! if you have any further questions just email me, i'm happy to help!
~*good luck*~|||first off, tai chi is VERY difficult to find a good teacher that will train you realistically.
it is difficult to even find a tai chi teacher that will claim to teach you realistically even though they don't.
Most of them tout tai chi for health.
you want to find a school that takes sparring and resistance drills beyond pushing hands.
While people say that tai chi is not supposed to have resistance, that is a load of s hit. Tai chi uses power and stregth, just not against stregth. Most schools tell you to go "limp" and don't resist at all. this is not what "dont' resist stregth with stregth means", what it should mean, and what should be taught, it to use stregth not against stregth, but against a different direction but still maintaining structure.
(an easy explanation would be to be to deflect a forward pushing punch with a sideways application of force).
Finding a good chinese martial arts school is hard, finding a good tai chi school can be near impossible depending on the area.
Don't believe any bs claims about "building up your chi, will make you stronger- technique does". An 8 month student from our school was playing with a 20 year tai chi guy and the rest of his school and slapped him around like a red-headed step child. Not that this guy had any power or great technique, just that the tai chi guys didn't. be carefull of that- it is a common story among schools that tai chi guys are weak- this is why. Because they believe a line of bs from thier teacher that if they keep doing certain "dances" they will get power never realizing the flaw is actually in what thier teacher is actually teaching them.
anyone who is affiliated with the guang ping yang taijiquan association is reputable... laoshir henry look is the founder of that association and my sifu is one of his closest students..
here's a list of certified instructors: http://www.guangpingyang.org/Teachers/Ce鈥?/a>
there are many that have learned and teach taiji for health benefits, and there are others who learned basically to bring more traffic into their schools..
and yes you are right in a lot of ways learning taiji wrong is hard to correct in the later years, that's why taiji is a good art, it allows you to live longer, so you have longer to perfect it..
now remember, if you're learning taiji as a martial art, you have to realize that it's 80% shuai chiao (chinese grappling/throwing), any knowledgable instructor can tell you that. and shuai chiao falls under the same concepts as chin na, you use leverage and folcrums instead of strength as bluto had mentioned. i know this because i'm 5ft 126lb woman, who with the mechanics and concepts behind the movements of taiji, can throw a 5'8 200lb man across the room, without using strength..
taiji is about using your leverage and gravity to execute movement.. if you use strength as suggested in the previous answer, you just end up wrestling with your opponent,
in taiji what you are looking for is your opponents point of instability. if you're opponents in a cat stance, which most japanese martial artists learn to perfect, you have to feel which angle and area of his body is unbalanced, then you capitalize on that by using gravity as your weapon..
it's like.. ok. everyone's had to move a fridgerator once in they're lifetime right.. well, do you just go up to the fridge and begin to push with all your might? no, you tip it on it's side, shifting its center of gravity and than you can easily manuever it wherever you wish.. that's the concept of taiji..
check out these websites to gain further information on taiji: http://www.guangpingyang.org/index.htm
http://www.lotusdragon.com/index.htm
and if you're in new mexico or near here, we're having the desert dragon 2007 chinese martial arts convention in albuquerque on jan. 12-14..
with martial arts greats like master henry look, master dave pickens, master kenny perez, laoshir jiang jian ye, master steven lee johnson, master christophe clarke, laoshir cheng jin cai and many many more.. check out the website for details on the desert dragon 2007: http://www.desertdragon2007.com/
hope this helps! if you have any further questions just email me, i'm happy to help!
~*good luck*~|||first off, tai chi is VERY difficult to find a good teacher that will train you realistically.
it is difficult to even find a tai chi teacher that will claim to teach you realistically even though they don't.
Most of them tout tai chi for health.
you want to find a school that takes sparring and resistance drills beyond pushing hands.
While people say that tai chi is not supposed to have resistance, that is a load of s hit. Tai chi uses power and stregth, just not against stregth. Most schools tell you to go "limp" and don't resist at all. this is not what "dont' resist stregth with stregth means", what it should mean, and what should be taught, it to use stregth not against stregth, but against a different direction but still maintaining structure.
(an easy explanation would be to be to deflect a forward pushing punch with a sideways application of force).
Finding a good chinese martial arts school is hard, finding a good tai chi school can be near impossible depending on the area.
Don't believe any bs claims about "building up your chi, will make you stronger- technique does". An 8 month student from our school was playing with a 20 year tai chi guy and the rest of his school and slapped him around like a red-headed step child. Not that this guy had any power or great technique, just that the tai chi guys didn't. be carefull of that- it is a common story among schools that tai chi guys are weak- this is why. Because they believe a line of bs from thier teacher that if they keep doing certain "dances" they will get power never realizing the flaw is actually in what thier teacher is actually teaching them.
Where can I buy a tai chi fan?
I am looking for a large fan to use for some dances I will be doing, like the ones they use in Tai Chi sometimes, does anyone know where I can find one?|||http://www.wle.com/products/W455.html
or ebay...
http://search.ebay.com/fan-tai-chi_W0QQf鈥?/a>|||AWMA.com they have everything and they are the most popular martial arts school there is. Over half of all martial arts schools in the country use awma (asian world of martial arts)
or ebay...
http://search.ebay.com/fan-tai-chi_W0QQf鈥?/a>|||AWMA.com they have everything and they are the most popular martial arts school there is. Over half of all martial arts schools in the country use awma (asian world of martial arts)
I am a tai chi practininer.How the qi feeling could be described?
I practise standing qi gong gor 2-3 years.In a posture called "holding a baloon", i have a strange sensation that i hold an actual solid ball.Am i feeling my own qi (chi) ?Is that weird sensation what am i supposed to feel?|||Not to be rude, and I almost never say things like this, but I completely disagree with the guy above me.
To explain it very simply, according to western science, if something cannot be sensed with one of the 5 senses, then it does not exist, and you can assume the preceeding is true with a religious degree of faith. Chi not existing is not "fact" it's simply your ideology. Who knows, maybe evolution is false too.
I do a lot of work with various Daoist practices, so I tihnk that I can answer your question.
*I wasn't sure exactly how to answer this, because something slightly different occurs in standing verses tai chi. I'll do both since I'm not sure which you want!
Basically, people feel chi differently. Normally it's through one of the following:
Heat (due to chi moving the blood, and you feeling heat from blood)
A tingly sensation or something similar to electricity (which is from the nerves getting activated)
A fluid rushing through your body, which is not "physically there" (this is just chi)
A pressure or force (this is from interactions with your outer layer of chi).
What you're describing is the last one. A ball between the hands/arms is one of the most common ways people feel the pressure from their etheric body (type of chi).
If you do it more, the force should become stronger.
I can't really tell you any more than that, because a lot of things with chi behavior are extremely dependent on the form and how you are doing it. The feeling of chi you should arrive at is where you can notice how energy flows through your body depending on what movement you do. The exact pathways that the chi follows depend on the form you are doing, hence, I cannot say what they would be. Some people who teach tai chi aren't very good, so they don't know much beyond things like building up your chi in general (so you can say feel things like a ball between your hands), but if you have a good teacher, they should be able to tell you what flow the movement creates and you can see if you feel it. Assuming you do that, at first you'll gain the sensitivity to be able to feel the chi flowing, and then you'll gain the ability to correct your movements so they improve the chi flow.
Standing Chi Gung is a bit simpler. It just tries to build up your chi (and make you be able to feel it in a different way). The biggest thing to aim for with standing is to be able move chi through your arms so they don't get tired (and then have the flow rise up all the wsay through the legs). When you stand for a while you'll start to notice various points hurt or ache, which means there is some sort of chi blockage within them. The goal with standing beyond building up your power, is to be able to loosen and open up these "chi knots."
Hmm...I think that answers everything you asked. Feel free to ask me if you want to know anything else!|||Instruments for detecting EMR turn it into things which can be seen. I should have said that explicitly, but I assumed it was understood. There are many types of energy suspected to exist, which cannot currently be converted to a form which can be directly perceived with the senses.
|||The Chinese characters for Tai Chi Chuan can be translated as the 'Supreme Ultimate Force'. Another aim of Tai Chi is to foster a calm and tranquil mind, focused on the precise execution of these exercises.Try this site http://theqigongcourse.com
|||I would think so.
We all feel our qi differently, mine happens to feel like flowing water.|||I mean no disrespect, but Chi/Qi/Ki energy is a myth that's never been scientifically demonstrated. You may have seen some amazing things, like your teacher knocking over a student without touching him/her. This is a demonstration of psychological illusion. Both participants believe in a thing called "Qi Energy." They believe it exists and so they expect to feel it. They expect that it has force and can move objects. In reality, there is no force. The mind makes it real. What I mean is, there is such a strong belief that the energy is there, the body feels it. It's not actually there. The body just reacts because the mind strongly expects it too. It's all in your mind. A trick of the mind. It doesn't actually exist.
I know I lumped Ki in there as well. Ki is not actually the same thing. Rather, it is a method of exploiting weak areas of the enemy's body (eg. joints, groin, face). With knowledge of human anatomy, it is possibly to apply a very small force to these areas of the opponent's body and cause very big reactions (such as the enemy flipping over onto his/her back). There is no special energy force in this one, it's simple physics. Bend an opponent's wrist a certain way and the pain is excrutiating. They have no choice but to flip. Otherwise they have to deal with the pain and possibly a broken wrist.
I hope this was helpful. You may think I'm wrong because you have actually "experienced" a feeling. Well my post isn't a response to the feeling/spiritual side of Qi/Chi/Ki. Only the physical mechanics, physics, and psychology involved here.
To Alex F (message below): You wrote, "according to western science, if something cannot be sensed with one of the 5 senses, then it does not exist."
That is not true, and here are just a few examples: black holes, radiation, infrared light (in fact, much of the light spectrum).
You wrote, "you can assume the preceeding [sic] is true with a religious degree of faith"
I disagree. "Faith" has more than 9 accepted definitions. The one which describes religion is not equivalent to the one which describes scientific uncertainty. Furthermore, science is based on repeatable evidence. Scientific theory is always open to criticism and peer review. Here are some links to help you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith
http://dictionary.die.net/faith
You wrote. "Chi not existing is not 'fact'..."
Neither is "Chi exists." However, since you are the one making an extraordinary claim(one would agree that telekinesis is not ordinary), the burden of proof lies with you.
That's great that you do not agree with me, but leaving it at a "thumbs down" would have sufficed..|||yes. this ball is your qi. you should condense this ball, making it denser and smaller, and store it in your bone marrow. Once you fill your skeleton with balls of qi like that one, you will be able to direct all that energy.|||YEP YEP YEP, you should be feeling all these TAI CHINGs, they are good for your health! Keep it up!|||i don't know.
To explain it very simply, according to western science, if something cannot be sensed with one of the 5 senses, then it does not exist, and you can assume the preceeding is true with a religious degree of faith. Chi not existing is not "fact" it's simply your ideology. Who knows, maybe evolution is false too.
I do a lot of work with various Daoist practices, so I tihnk that I can answer your question.
*I wasn't sure exactly how to answer this, because something slightly different occurs in standing verses tai chi. I'll do both since I'm not sure which you want!
Basically, people feel chi differently. Normally it's through one of the following:
Heat (due to chi moving the blood, and you feeling heat from blood)
A tingly sensation or something similar to electricity (which is from the nerves getting activated)
A fluid rushing through your body, which is not "physically there" (this is just chi)
A pressure or force (this is from interactions with your outer layer of chi).
What you're describing is the last one. A ball between the hands/arms is one of the most common ways people feel the pressure from their etheric body (type of chi).
If you do it more, the force should become stronger.
I can't really tell you any more than that, because a lot of things with chi behavior are extremely dependent on the form and how you are doing it. The feeling of chi you should arrive at is where you can notice how energy flows through your body depending on what movement you do. The exact pathways that the chi follows depend on the form you are doing, hence, I cannot say what they would be. Some people who teach tai chi aren't very good, so they don't know much beyond things like building up your chi in general (so you can say feel things like a ball between your hands), but if you have a good teacher, they should be able to tell you what flow the movement creates and you can see if you feel it. Assuming you do that, at first you'll gain the sensitivity to be able to feel the chi flowing, and then you'll gain the ability to correct your movements so they improve the chi flow.
Standing Chi Gung is a bit simpler. It just tries to build up your chi (and make you be able to feel it in a different way). The biggest thing to aim for with standing is to be able move chi through your arms so they don't get tired (and then have the flow rise up all the wsay through the legs). When you stand for a while you'll start to notice various points hurt or ache, which means there is some sort of chi blockage within them. The goal with standing beyond building up your power, is to be able to loosen and open up these "chi knots."
Hmm...I think that answers everything you asked. Feel free to ask me if you want to know anything else!|||Instruments for detecting EMR turn it into things which can be seen. I should have said that explicitly, but I assumed it was understood. There are many types of energy suspected to exist, which cannot currently be converted to a form which can be directly perceived with the senses.
Report Abuse
|||The Chinese characters for Tai Chi Chuan can be translated as the 'Supreme Ultimate Force'. Another aim of Tai Chi is to foster a calm and tranquil mind, focused on the precise execution of these exercises.Try this site http://theqigongcourse.com
Report Abuse
|||I would think so.
We all feel our qi differently, mine happens to feel like flowing water.|||I mean no disrespect, but Chi/Qi/Ki energy is a myth that's never been scientifically demonstrated. You may have seen some amazing things, like your teacher knocking over a student without touching him/her. This is a demonstration of psychological illusion. Both participants believe in a thing called "Qi Energy." They believe it exists and so they expect to feel it. They expect that it has force and can move objects. In reality, there is no force. The mind makes it real. What I mean is, there is such a strong belief that the energy is there, the body feels it. It's not actually there. The body just reacts because the mind strongly expects it too. It's all in your mind. A trick of the mind. It doesn't actually exist.
I know I lumped Ki in there as well. Ki is not actually the same thing. Rather, it is a method of exploiting weak areas of the enemy's body (eg. joints, groin, face). With knowledge of human anatomy, it is possibly to apply a very small force to these areas of the opponent's body and cause very big reactions (such as the enemy flipping over onto his/her back). There is no special energy force in this one, it's simple physics. Bend an opponent's wrist a certain way and the pain is excrutiating. They have no choice but to flip. Otherwise they have to deal with the pain and possibly a broken wrist.
I hope this was helpful. You may think I'm wrong because you have actually "experienced" a feeling. Well my post isn't a response to the feeling/spiritual side of Qi/Chi/Ki. Only the physical mechanics, physics, and psychology involved here.
To Alex F (message below): You wrote, "according to western science, if something cannot be sensed with one of the 5 senses, then it does not exist."
That is not true, and here are just a few examples: black holes, radiation, infrared light (in fact, much of the light spectrum).
You wrote, "you can assume the preceeding [sic] is true with a religious degree of faith"
I disagree. "Faith" has more than 9 accepted definitions. The one which describes religion is not equivalent to the one which describes scientific uncertainty. Furthermore, science is based on repeatable evidence. Scientific theory is always open to criticism and peer review. Here are some links to help you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith
http://dictionary.die.net/faith
You wrote. "Chi not existing is not 'fact'..."
Neither is "Chi exists." However, since you are the one making an extraordinary claim(one would agree that telekinesis is not ordinary), the burden of proof lies with you.
That's great that you do not agree with me, but leaving it at a "thumbs down" would have sufficed..|||yes. this ball is your qi. you should condense this ball, making it denser and smaller, and store it in your bone marrow. Once you fill your skeleton with balls of qi like that one, you will be able to direct all that energy.|||YEP YEP YEP, you should be feeling all these TAI CHINGs, they are good for your health! Keep it up!|||i don't know.
Would you attend a Tai Chi morning program?
If you live in Adelaide, South Australia and heard about a Tai Chi Program held at 7am every morning between the months December and March, would you go to it? and how much would you be willing to pay?|||I would attend it since Tai Chi is known to be most effective when practiced in the mornings. Tai Chi is beneficial to health, spirit, mental clarity, balance/proprioception, and can be used for martial arts too. In the USA, I would have paid about $100US per month and that was being able to attend three times a week. It's definitely worth it to check it out!
How many tai chi forms are there (yang and chen style only)?
As someone who is learning Tai hi mainly from DVDs, I started on Yang 8 Step, then 24 Step, now on 42 and 48. Is this a good standard?
In Chen style i have practised basic lao jia long form, also some xin jia forms. But I just wonder is there a comprehensive list of forms - not sure the list on wikipedia is accurate?
Many thanks for your help.|||Just to answer from the Chen point of view in my lineage from 19th Generation Successor, Cheng Jin Cai:
Lao Jia Yi Lu and Er Lu (Old Frame 1 and 2)
Xin Jia Yi Lu and Er Lu (New Frame 1 and 2)
Straight Sword
Saber
Staff
Double Straight Sword
Double Saber
Spear
Kwan Dao
Tui Shou (Push Hands)
San Da (free fighting)
Shortened, modified, or modern forms and exercises:
Chen Style Jibengong
Chan Si Jing
Bafa
13 Section Form
American Competition Form
56 Section Form
Other forms related to Chen Style that are taught by other lineages:
Xiao Jia 1 and 2
Zhaobao Taijiquan
Huleiquan
Double Maces
Double Staffs
Flail
The most important are Lao Jia 1 and 2. These form the core of the Chen Family System as it is practiced in the Chen village. As said earlier, please try your best to find a proper Chen Instructor with a verifyable lineage as this will yield the best results for your training. Good luck.|||Wikipedia is an excellent listing.
I suppose the real point is why are you doing tai chi?
If you want oldest authenticity then its Chen Old Frame1%26amp;2 or Yang 108 which are the most traditional. Give up learning from DVDs - you must learn from a proper teacher if you are serious. Even then you'll need one of repute - so many have very superficial forms/teaching.|||The main three are Chen, Yang and Wu.
There's also Sun, Cheng Man Ching, and this new one I forgot that is basically commissioned by the government.
In Chen style i have practised basic lao jia long form, also some xin jia forms. But I just wonder is there a comprehensive list of forms - not sure the list on wikipedia is accurate?
Many thanks for your help.|||Just to answer from the Chen point of view in my lineage from 19th Generation Successor, Cheng Jin Cai:
Lao Jia Yi Lu and Er Lu (Old Frame 1 and 2)
Xin Jia Yi Lu and Er Lu (New Frame 1 and 2)
Straight Sword
Saber
Staff
Double Straight Sword
Double Saber
Spear
Kwan Dao
Tui Shou (Push Hands)
San Da (free fighting)
Shortened, modified, or modern forms and exercises:
Chen Style Jibengong
Chan Si Jing
Bafa
13 Section Form
American Competition Form
56 Section Form
Other forms related to Chen Style that are taught by other lineages:
Xiao Jia 1 and 2
Zhaobao Taijiquan
Huleiquan
Double Maces
Double Staffs
Flail
The most important are Lao Jia 1 and 2. These form the core of the Chen Family System as it is practiced in the Chen village. As said earlier, please try your best to find a proper Chen Instructor with a verifyable lineage as this will yield the best results for your training. Good luck.|||Wikipedia is an excellent listing.
I suppose the real point is why are you doing tai chi?
If you want oldest authenticity then its Chen Old Frame1%26amp;2 or Yang 108 which are the most traditional. Give up learning from DVDs - you must learn from a proper teacher if you are serious. Even then you'll need one of repute - so many have very superficial forms/teaching.|||The main three are Chen, Yang and Wu.
There's also Sun, Cheng Man Ching, and this new one I forgot that is basically commissioned by the government.
Tai Chi does have a martial arts application but can a Tai Chi master inflict serious damage to his opponent?
in real life?
I read in a Tai Chi book that it has a martial art application.|||always depends on how it is taught, as any martial art.
Taiji has a recent history of being used as a health art, although its original purpose was martial
that said, if you can find a teacher who still teaches martial application, it would be great ina fight.
one of the reasons is that it teaches you to remain calm in a fight (quiet your brain and eliminate your preassumptions about what the opponent is going to do - "not anticipating but being a reflection upon the attacker)
anyway not all taiji is practiced slow- some styles are practiced more quickly with the further your skill is
so depending on what that taiji master trains for -self defense? then yes he could.
also one person said taiji has no sparring - they have a form of sparring where two people make arm contact with eachother and in a rhythmic pattern attempt to overcome the other persons energy
search youtube for pushing hands if you want to see this exercise
also other chinese martial arts have similar "sparring"-esque things such as wing tsun has Chi Sau which is also a method of feeling and overcoming your opponents energy
research this well!|||Taijiquan (another way of spelling Tai Chi Chuan) is first and foremost martial application, not a "feel your qi and let's get healthy together" exercise. It can be used to generate incredible health for the practitioner, but it shouldn't be defined solely by its therapeutic benefits.
Remember that Taijiquan as a martial art was created for use on the battlefield. This means that the bare-hand and weapons techniques were meant for quickly and efficiently dispatching the enemy. According to the Chinese systems, there are four basic combat elements: 1, kicking; 2, striking; 3, grappling,wrestling throwing; and 4, seizing and controlling. When taught correctly, Taijiquan teaches all four of these methods.
EDIT:
Unfortunately it is true that most schools and instructors do not teach any advanced sparring beyond just push hands - and American style push hands too! Again this is because most do not know how to incorporate Taijiquan principles into fighting. Likewise, due to the complex nature of these principles, you cannot just throw a new student into straight sparring, because it will just look like a kickboxing or wrestling match - and a bad one at that. There is a proper process where the structure and sensitivity (qualities that elevate this style) are taught through numerous push hands exercises, applications drills, and various levels of sparring, that will eventually lead up to freestyle sparring where your partner is also intent on dominating you.
You have to understand that we are trying to instill a particular type of muscle memory beyond the use of straight brute force and all out speed. And this training procedure does take time.
EDIT 2:
Again, ignorant comments like smiling jack's are fueled by irresponsible instructors who only teach the circling arms with no purpose. True Chinese martial artists call this ridiculous type of instruction as "flowery hands and dancing feet." We want nothing of this type of instruction.|||You got that a bit backwards. Taichi which is short for Taichiquan is a martial art. Most people today train in it because it has health benefits, but there are many masters who teach it as a martial art.
Can it be used against an opponent? Yes, if you find a teacher who actually knows the martial applications. As for serious damage, a blow place anywhere at the critical area of the human body can cause serious damage. This is nothing new or unique to taichiquan.|||Tai Chi was created for self defense and for fighting in wars. It should only be learned from a qualified instructor. Its impossible to properly learn any MA especially complex ones like Tai Chi by urself from books, dvds, or the internet. There is a lack of instructors that actually know the art. Most are just jerk offs that teach it as a watered down health exercise.|||As always, EXCELLENT answer from Siytangco Sifu.
Here is video from a woman in the UK who trained in Taiwan.
http://www.youtube.com/user/martialtaich鈥?/a>
See for yourself what the movements of Tai Chi can do when properly taught.|||yes, it can if...
If you follow through with the basic appliication and understand what are the defensive moves, and what are then the offensive moves.
It is just a slowed down version , emphasizing the peaceful aspect that maritial arts has.|||http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W1ym3ygg鈥?/a>
Tai Chi Masters battle!
Some serious damage in there.|||Why wouldn't Tai Chi master be able to inflict serious damage?
Often with Tai Chi, the harder you try to hurt them the more you hurt yourself.|||Tai chi looks to be a very relaxing soft martial art but in the hands and feet of a master who truly understands their art it can be as deadly as any other art.|||Tai Chi can indeed have combat applications, but any martial art that does not have sparring against resisting opponents is not going to be very effective.|||No doubt Tai Chi have a martial arts application.
But!
The question is: Why do you wants to inflict serious damage to your opponent???|||I didnt know making circles with your arms could inflict damage to someone|||Oh yeah.|||Yes, it can.|||yes, Chen (from Chen Tai Chi) destroyed a man's ribcage when he was defending his village in China..
I read in a Tai Chi book that it has a martial art application.|||always depends on how it is taught, as any martial art.
Taiji has a recent history of being used as a health art, although its original purpose was martial
that said, if you can find a teacher who still teaches martial application, it would be great ina fight.
one of the reasons is that it teaches you to remain calm in a fight (quiet your brain and eliminate your preassumptions about what the opponent is going to do - "not anticipating but being a reflection upon the attacker)
anyway not all taiji is practiced slow- some styles are practiced more quickly with the further your skill is
so depending on what that taiji master trains for -self defense? then yes he could.
also one person said taiji has no sparring - they have a form of sparring where two people make arm contact with eachother and in a rhythmic pattern attempt to overcome the other persons energy
search youtube for pushing hands if you want to see this exercise
also other chinese martial arts have similar "sparring"-esque things such as wing tsun has Chi Sau which is also a method of feeling and overcoming your opponents energy
research this well!|||Taijiquan (another way of spelling Tai Chi Chuan) is first and foremost martial application, not a "feel your qi and let's get healthy together" exercise. It can be used to generate incredible health for the practitioner, but it shouldn't be defined solely by its therapeutic benefits.
Remember that Taijiquan as a martial art was created for use on the battlefield. This means that the bare-hand and weapons techniques were meant for quickly and efficiently dispatching the enemy. According to the Chinese systems, there are four basic combat elements: 1, kicking; 2, striking; 3, grappling,wrestling throwing; and 4, seizing and controlling. When taught correctly, Taijiquan teaches all four of these methods.
EDIT:
Unfortunately it is true that most schools and instructors do not teach any advanced sparring beyond just push hands - and American style push hands too! Again this is because most do not know how to incorporate Taijiquan principles into fighting. Likewise, due to the complex nature of these principles, you cannot just throw a new student into straight sparring, because it will just look like a kickboxing or wrestling match - and a bad one at that. There is a proper process where the structure and sensitivity (qualities that elevate this style) are taught through numerous push hands exercises, applications drills, and various levels of sparring, that will eventually lead up to freestyle sparring where your partner is also intent on dominating you.
You have to understand that we are trying to instill a particular type of muscle memory beyond the use of straight brute force and all out speed. And this training procedure does take time.
EDIT 2:
Again, ignorant comments like smiling jack's are fueled by irresponsible instructors who only teach the circling arms with no purpose. True Chinese martial artists call this ridiculous type of instruction as "flowery hands and dancing feet." We want nothing of this type of instruction.|||You got that a bit backwards. Taichi which is short for Taichiquan is a martial art. Most people today train in it because it has health benefits, but there are many masters who teach it as a martial art.
Can it be used against an opponent? Yes, if you find a teacher who actually knows the martial applications. As for serious damage, a blow place anywhere at the critical area of the human body can cause serious damage. This is nothing new or unique to taichiquan.|||Tai Chi was created for self defense and for fighting in wars. It should only be learned from a qualified instructor. Its impossible to properly learn any MA especially complex ones like Tai Chi by urself from books, dvds, or the internet. There is a lack of instructors that actually know the art. Most are just jerk offs that teach it as a watered down health exercise.|||As always, EXCELLENT answer from Siytangco Sifu.
Here is video from a woman in the UK who trained in Taiwan.
http://www.youtube.com/user/martialtaich鈥?/a>
See for yourself what the movements of Tai Chi can do when properly taught.|||yes, it can if...
If you follow through with the basic appliication and understand what are the defensive moves, and what are then the offensive moves.
It is just a slowed down version , emphasizing the peaceful aspect that maritial arts has.|||http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W1ym3ygg鈥?/a>
Tai Chi Masters battle!
Some serious damage in there.|||Why wouldn't Tai Chi master be able to inflict serious damage?
Often with Tai Chi, the harder you try to hurt them the more you hurt yourself.|||Tai chi looks to be a very relaxing soft martial art but in the hands and feet of a master who truly understands their art it can be as deadly as any other art.|||Tai Chi can indeed have combat applications, but any martial art that does not have sparring against resisting opponents is not going to be very effective.|||No doubt Tai Chi have a martial arts application.
But!
The question is: Why do you wants to inflict serious damage to your opponent???|||I didnt know making circles with your arms could inflict damage to someone|||Oh yeah.|||Yes, it can.|||yes, Chen (from Chen Tai Chi) destroyed a man's ribcage when he was defending his village in China..
What are the benefits/The reason behind Tai Chi?
I will hopefully be starting this in September for help with a shoulder problem, but as I don't believe in qi (or ch'i)
What else is Tai Chi for?
What are some other benefits for Tai Chi?
Thank you :)
What else can it help you with or does it do?|||Tai chi has many health and self defense benefits. Tai chi can help increase your flexibility, core strength, teach you proper breathing, helps you relax, teaches coordination, and increases balance. If you find a teacher who teaches from a traditional lineage, they will be able to show you the self defense aspects of tai chi.
Tai Chi is a martial art and its name "Tai Chi Chuan" or more accurately "Taiji Chuan" means grand ultimate fist. It has been incorrectly called tai chi because of its health benefits. It is just in recent times that taiji has been transformed into a health set just for health benefits. The Yang style of taiji shortened the original form to create a set that the public could learn easily and help them gain the above beneifts. Yang stylists still can learn the practical applications of the style though. Be sure that you seek a qualified instructor with a good lineage to assure that you are learning properly. If practiced incorrectly, tai chi can actually hurt you (the knees are particularly vulnerable to injury due to inproper alignment of the stances). Good luck!|||Tai chi is a Martial art but its also used an exercise.It has nothing to do with relaxation,meditation has nothing to do with relaxation either.Meditation is the opposite of relaxation.Tai Chi Energizes you and so does meditation.The Energy that you develop from tai chi practice is called chi ,chi is life force energy.Its the same energy that keeps you alive but with tai chi you cultivate that energy and charge it up like a battery which makes you more powerfull physically.|||Tai Chi is first and foremost a MA. There are too many new age j*rkoffs that teach it as a health exercise that have no idea what its all about. Its like learning basketball just for the dribbling.
It wasnt until the late 19th century that Yang started teaching in Beijing to the rich for its health aspects.
I personally believe that Tai Chi should only be taught as a MA instead of a health exercise but who am i to argue with the millions that it has helped.|||Taiji in a martial sense is great for developing a relationship with your body. Over a long period of time, you will learn how weight distribution affects all of your body's movements and will make almost everything you do physically more effective.
You'll feel more comfortable in how you carry yourself and will be able to control parts of your body in movement more effectively than you were before. Taiji also teaches dynamic relaxation and will make many of your movements faster, as many people tense muscles unnecessarily when trying to go fast.|||It can be used for self defense. Some of those motions are used for striking and some locks. It is mainly used for relaxation, though.|||relaxation.
its slow so its kinda like meditation.
What else is Tai Chi for?
What are some other benefits for Tai Chi?
Thank you :)
What else can it help you with or does it do?|||Tai chi has many health and self defense benefits. Tai chi can help increase your flexibility, core strength, teach you proper breathing, helps you relax, teaches coordination, and increases balance. If you find a teacher who teaches from a traditional lineage, they will be able to show you the self defense aspects of tai chi.
Tai Chi is a martial art and its name "Tai Chi Chuan" or more accurately "Taiji Chuan" means grand ultimate fist. It has been incorrectly called tai chi because of its health benefits. It is just in recent times that taiji has been transformed into a health set just for health benefits. The Yang style of taiji shortened the original form to create a set that the public could learn easily and help them gain the above beneifts. Yang stylists still can learn the practical applications of the style though. Be sure that you seek a qualified instructor with a good lineage to assure that you are learning properly. If practiced incorrectly, tai chi can actually hurt you (the knees are particularly vulnerable to injury due to inproper alignment of the stances). Good luck!|||Tai chi is a Martial art but its also used an exercise.It has nothing to do with relaxation,meditation has nothing to do with relaxation either.Meditation is the opposite of relaxation.Tai Chi Energizes you and so does meditation.The Energy that you develop from tai chi practice is called chi ,chi is life force energy.Its the same energy that keeps you alive but with tai chi you cultivate that energy and charge it up like a battery which makes you more powerfull physically.|||Tai Chi is first and foremost a MA. There are too many new age j*rkoffs that teach it as a health exercise that have no idea what its all about. Its like learning basketball just for the dribbling.
It wasnt until the late 19th century that Yang started teaching in Beijing to the rich for its health aspects.
I personally believe that Tai Chi should only be taught as a MA instead of a health exercise but who am i to argue with the millions that it has helped.|||Taiji in a martial sense is great for developing a relationship with your body. Over a long period of time, you will learn how weight distribution affects all of your body's movements and will make almost everything you do physically more effective.
You'll feel more comfortable in how you carry yourself and will be able to control parts of your body in movement more effectively than you were before. Taiji also teaches dynamic relaxation and will make many of your movements faster, as many people tense muscles unnecessarily when trying to go fast.|||It can be used for self defense. Some of those motions are used for striking and some locks. It is mainly used for relaxation, though.|||relaxation.
its slow so its kinda like meditation.
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