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Tai Chi consists of a set of soft slow movements, known as a form. It is also an ancient art and practiced at the Centre for its holistic movements, health and relaxation; Tai Chi is accessible to all ages and physical abilities and requires no special equipment, ideally all you need is loose clothing, soft footwear or bare feet if you wish.
Most people are familiar with the Tai Chi Form movement, whenever you see travelogues of China, they include images of people practicing slow, graceful movements usually early in the morning. As with Qigong these slow, external movements help to stimulate the internal organs, by promoting the flow of internal energy called Qi (Chi).
The
correct title is Tai Chi Chuan, an
original internal martial art that has been around for about 1000 years and
was introduced to the West in the 1920’s from China, dates of origination’s
are not clear as revolution and rulers destroyed most documentation. Handed down from generation to
generation, not usually being taught outside the individual family circle. There are direct family lineage
charts available, but they tend to be somewhat complicated and
confusing and can be very controversial. Several original family names
do still exist, lending their names to there specific styles,
the most popular being:
The Yang family -
the most popular style in the West of which several adaptations are
now in existence. The Chen family said to be the originator of Tai Chi
as we know it today. And the remainder can be termed as
offshoots from the yang style. These are the Wu, Lee & Sun
families.
The
Philosophy
Both Tai Chi and Qigong practice the same philosophy and principles of yin and yang.
The definition of the words Tai Chi also applies to the Yin & Yang symbol.
Tai = Supreme
Chi = Ultimate
For more information on Tai Chi, see the list of web resources below::
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www.soton.ac.uk/~maa1/chi/menutaichi.htm Information about Tai Chi.
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www.chebucto.ns.ca/Philosophy/Taichi/what.html "What is Tai Chi?"
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www.chebucto.ns.ca/Philosophy/Taichi/history.html "History of Tai Chi"
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T'ai_Chi_Ch'uan Good overview of Tai Chi, from Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia