Tai Chi is a Chinese movement art focused on promoting physical health and mental well-being. It helps keep the muscles and joints flexible. It also promotes good posture.
When someone says they practise Tai Chi, they usually mean Tai Chi Chuan, the variant derived from the Chinese martial art. Tai Chi Tao is a variant of this that is clearly focused on human health.
Tai Chi exercises
Tai Chi Tao exercises are calm and not particularly difficult. The exercises are based on the five elements of energy theory: water, fire, earth, wood and metal. They help you gain more energy.
The exercises also have a positive effect on blood circulation and the supply of oxygen to the muscles.
Tai Chi Tao exercises can relieve pain, particularly because they are performed at a slow pace. Among others, people with repetitive strain injuries, back problems, rheumatism and ME may benefit from Tai Chi Tao.
Movement art and self-defence
Although, particularly in the West, many Tai Chi practitioners focus on the health benefits of Tai Chi and see it ‘merely’ as a movement art, there are also practitioners who practise this art for its effectiveness as a self-defence art.
The emphasis on self-defence is much stronger in the Chen style in particular than in, for example, the Yang style. The forms are often performed in a lower stance, with the knees bent more deeply, which helps practitioners learn to maintain their balance more effectively.
In Tai Chi as self-defence, the emphasis is primarily on disrupting the opponent’s balance by moving with the opponent’s movement and neutralising it.
Maintaining one’s own balance is, of course, also extremely important. Once the opponent has been thrown off balance, a counterattack can potentially be launched.
