Tai Chi is a Chinese movement art aimed at promoting physical health and mental well-being. Helps keep muscles and joints loose. It also promotes good posture. When someone says they practice Tai Chi, he or she usually means Tai Chi Chuan, the variant of the Chinese martial art . Tai-Chi-Tao is a variant of this that is clearly aimed at human health.
Tai Chi exercises
The Tai Chi Tao exercises are gentle and not very difficult. The exercises are based on the five elements of energy theory: water, fire, earth, wood and metal. They ensure that you have more energy. The exercises also have a positive influence on blood circulation and oxygen supply to the muscles. Tai-Chi-Tao exercises can relieve pain, especially because the pace of the exercises is slow. People with RSI complaints, back problems, rheumatism and ME can benefit from Tai-Chi-Tao.
Kinesiology and self-defense
Although, especially in the West, the emphasis among many Tai Chi practitioners is on the health aspect of Tai Chi and it is 'only' seen as a movement theory, there are also practitioners who practice this art for its effectiveness as a self-defense art. Particularly in the Chen style, the emphasis on the self-defense aspect is much stronger than in, for example, the Yang style. The forms are often performed deeper, whereby one bends more at the knees and thus learns to maintain better balance.
In Tai Chi as self-defense, the emphasis is mainly on disrupting the opponent's balance by going along with the opponent's movement and neutralizing it. Maintaining your own balance is of course very important. When the opponent is thrown off balance, a counter-attack can be initiated.
