Tai Chi is a martial art. There are many different styles or schools of Tai Chi, but they all trace their history to the same source, Chang San-feng, who is thought to have lived over five hundred years ago. Also, all Tai Chi styles are rooted in Taoist philosophy as a way to achieve their goal of internal strength and wisdom. This is why Tai Chi is called an 'internal' martial art. While external styles, such as Kung Fu and karate develop external strength and spiritual growth directly through exercise, the internal arts seek to develop health and strength from within as a by product of proper mental growth.

The Chinese word 'chi', which is part of the name Tai Chi, has the meaning of 'spirit' in the sense of 'energy'. It is more than just energy, however, because Taoists believe it is a special energy that flows through the universe and is contained by all living things. It is considered the ultimate power because it gives life. Furthermore, they believe it behaves almost like a living thing, moving and changing endlessly. The Taoists developed the concept of 'Yin' and 'Yang' to describe this ebbing and flowing of the chi. 'Tai' is a common word in Asian languages influenced by China that means 'great' or 'grand'. Therefore, it is common to hear Tai Chi translated as the "Grand Ultimate". This fits the Taoist view of humanity because they understood human activity to be limited, but the mind to be unlimited. So the most useful human endeavour would be the development of mental strength and wisdom, the Grand Ultimate.

Using these and a few other simple concepts Taoists developed a complex explanation of the universe and the way it behaves. Although the terms may seem fanciful, they are not altogether at odds with Western understanding of the universe. For example, a form of chi is in the inhaled breath, which is said to contain energy or electricity. This is similar to respiration in Western medicine and its part in the release of energy from food. Similarly, Taoists believe the chi can be accumulated, but they go a step further and believe this can be trained to increase in amount and intensity. One method they developed to train a person to increase the chi energy is the practice of Tai Chi.

Chinese medicine used exercise extensively to aid in maintaining or regaining health. Rather than simple calisthenics the exercises were very specific, targeting specific parts or areas of the body and used for specific ailments. Also there were numerous fighting arts that developed. The Taoists believed that to master these many arts for health and self protection an inner calm and discipline was required. Chang San-feng is believed to have founded a Taoist monastery on Wu Tang for these studies. Although it is debated whether Chang San-feng was a real person or a legend, the results of the studies are still with us today in the form of Tai Chi and Taoist philosophy.

Several hundred years after Chang San-feng is thought to have lived, Tai Chi was flourishing under the Chen clan in China whose Chen Style is still practiced widely today. The Yang Family Style of Tai Chi, practiced by Grand Master Hwang, Chien-Liang and his disciple, Manuel Taningco, is taught at TAMA. This style of Tai Chi was founded by Yang Lu-chan, who grew up a servant of the Chen clan. Even as a servant he was treated fairly and worked hard, eventually mastering his lessons and developing his own approach to Tai Chi, which used movements softer and more flowing than the Chen Style.

The Yang family has worked for many generations to improve their art. They have revised and changed many of the movements based on their experience. They even adapted to special circumstances, for example when they created a 'Small Frame' style for use in the Imperial Court of China.

The practice of Tai Chi is mentally very demanding because it requires the player to relax and focus at the same time. Most people are accustomed to endeavours requiring additional effort to be successful. Tai Chi requires the player to be calm and stop forcing mental and physical efforts. When the player is able to identify the natural flow of energy in themselves and their partner that energy can be harnessed to accomplish a goal with great ease and almost no effort from the player.

The initial phases of Tai Chi practice have the student studying how to relax. The benefit of Tai Chi is that rather than simply resting the student will be holding postures and moving while learning. This will give an almost immediate health benefit of increased balance, and stamina. Posture is emphasized as well, which will improve strength as well as nervous and circulatory functions. This means that even at the beginning a student can reap benefits from Tai Chi.

As the student becomes more accustomed to the exercises and more in tune with his body, he will begin to notice a greater awareness of body parts and areas than before. Continued practice will lead to the ability to control this awareness and eventually to control the body in ways unknown to the student before.

As the student progresses through these phases he will find Tai Chi has many detailed areas of study that assist in understanding the lessons. For example, there are many different ways to breathe according to the desired result. The student will learn to use different parts of the body, some apparently unrelated to breathing at all, during breathing cycles. During all of these phases the student will experience improved health in the form of increased energy and sense of well being.

This material was prepared with the assistance of many sources, including the instruction of Grand Master Hwang, Chien-Liang, Master Manuel Tanningco , "The Tai Chi Classics", by Waysun Liao (Shambbhala Press), and various articles by Peter Lim Tian Tek.

What is Tai Chi by
Richard Goad