Tai Chi – Health and Consciousness
The Chinese characters for Tai chi chuan (also known as taijiquan) literally translates “Supreme Ultimate Fist”. The notion of ‘supreme ultimate’ is often associated with the Chinese concept of yin-yang, the notion that one can see a dynamic duality (male/female, active/passive, dark/light, forceful/yielding, etc.) in all things. ‘Fist,’ understood as force, is the means of achieving the discipline’s purpose.
Tai Chi forms
The contemporary understanding of Tai Chi in the west is best described as a moving form of combined yoga and meditation. There are a number of so- called forms (sometimes also called ‘sets’) which consist of a sequence of movements. Many of these movements are originally derived from the martial arts (and perhaps even more ancestrally than that, from the natural movements of animals and birds) although the way they are performed in Tai Chi is slowly, softly and gracefully with smooth and even transitions between them. The goal is first and foremost a meditative exercise of the body.
Tai Chi practice
Tai Chi focuses on the precise execution of its forms. Learning to do them correctly provides a practical avenue for learning about such things as balance, alignment, fine-scale motor control, rhythm of movement, the genesis of movement from the body’s vital center, and so on. Many practitioners notice benefits in terms of correcting poor postural, alignment or movement patterns which can contribute to tension or injury. Furthermore the meditative nature of the exercises is calming and relaxing in and of itself.
Because the Tai Chi movements have their origins in the martial arts, practicing them does have some martial applications. In a two-person exercise called ‘push-hands’ Tai Chi principles are developed in terms of being sensitive to and responsive of another person’s ‘chi’ or vital energy. It is also an opportunity to employ some of the martial aspects of Tai Chi in a kind of slow-tempo combat. Long-time practitioners of Tai Chi who are so-inclined can become very adept at martial arts.