What is Taijiquan?
Tai Chi is a philosophy of yin and yang. Opposites such as stillness and movement, heavy and light, day and night.
Taijiquan is a martial art built on the tai chi philosophy. Today it is more often approached as a light practice for health instead of the traditional martial art training. Taijiquan is a practice of harmonizing movement and stillness to calm the mind, cultivate inner organ health for self-healing and self-defense, returning you to a natural state of peace.
Often seen as a slow ballet type of exercise for health only, tai chi is actually a complete system of training that can serve you no matter your goal, age, or physical ability. No matter the style (Chen, Yang, Sun, Wu, and Wu Hao), each involve the same core principles. Utilizes both soft and hard, slow and fast, relaxing and spring ing motions to improve your circulation, strength, balance, and reduces stress.
What is qigong and how does it relate to Taijiquan?
Qigong is a set of repetitive movements designed to open the inner channels so inner energy can flow without restriction. Similar to relaxing muscle tension so circulation is improved. Tai Chi then uses this foundation to support the physical structure. Tai Chi fills these channels with a spiral energy that creates an inner power. Qigong moves to relax, while Tai Chi moves to develop a strong physical structure supported by inner strength like a steam engine.
Tai Chi starts with a soft and slow approach to nurture and cultivate one's inner power (neijin) like cultivating a trickling spring into a powerful river capable of sustaining a lush garden or cutting through a mountain to merge with the ocean. Qigong clears the initial path for the inner energy to flow while Tai Chi continues to develop the inner power so the trickle can become the ocean.
3 Different Paths Of Tai Chi
3 Different Paths Of Tai Chi
1) Exercise to obtain basic exercise benefits.
Tai chi can be practiced in a soft and relaxing manner, using the large circular motions to release tension, and increase circulation throughout the body. It can develop a very relaxed way of moving and gently improve your cardiovascular health, balance and leg strength, bone density, in a way that is not injurious to your body.
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2) Sport competition which tends to lead to injury; therefore, only select this path if competing is your goal.
Those with competition in mind can train tai chi to improve their speed, reaction time, whole body integration, and power. Tai chi can also help recover for the hard training needed for competition.
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3) Traditional neigong practice to gain additional benefit of strengthening inner organs, health, and jin to use for self healing or self-defense.
This is the real beauty of the art. Anyone can learn how to use tai chi to nourish their health, cultivate their inner energy, and convert it into inner power for self healing or self defense.
There are many stages of tai chi practice from a beginner level of health first, through intermediate training of inner power and self-defense training, to an advanced level of practicing for peace and spiritual enlightenment.
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No matter the goal, tai chi is a practice of harmonizing movement and stillness to calm the mind, cultivate inner organ health for self-healing and self-defense, returning you to a natural state of peace.