Every movie set in San Francisco seems to have the obligatory scene- a stone courtyard, or perhaps a perfectly manicured lawn, either one set against a rising sun; a handful of people dressed in silk pajamas, moving in concert, hands waving against an imaginary current, and at least one of them has to be Chinese. What, you may ask, are they doing? Why, Tai Chi, of course!
The practice of Tai Chi seems to have become synonymous with
people who have an insider's track to good physical, mental and spiritual
health; and it might very well be true.
What is it?
Tai Chi is first and foremost a Martial Art. Many mistake Martial
Arts to be combat oriented practices only, when in fact most have elements of
meditation and physical fitness as their primary goal. Created in China, Tai Chi is reputed to be
a perfect blend of physical, mental, and spiritual exercise, developing Chi, or
energy, through the use of the Tai Chi exercises. There are three popular
theories regarding the origins of Tai-Chi, with styles based on similar
principles in existence as early as the Liang Dynasty (502-557A.D.)
There are different styles of Tai-Chi, although all styles follow
the same ideas. They simply have different physical movements, called postures,
to reach the same goals. From the earliest to the latest, the five major styles
are Chen, Yang, W'u, Wu and Sun.
How is it done?
There are three basic stages to Tai Chi training; Breathing
Exercises, Postures, and Combat Application.
Breathing Exercises, known as "Qigong" (pronounced 'chee
gung') are perhaps the most important part of proper Tai Chi training (and all
other martial arts as well.) From the simplest explanation (if you don't get
enough air when you are fighting, you will pass out) to the more complex
(proper breathing allows your Chi to flow without impediment, giving you power)
Qigong requires its own set of training exercises focusing on posture, proper
movement and; yep you guessed it, breathing.
Being in the proper state of mind is very important to taping into
your Chi. It is good to remove any distractions, such as the radio or TV. A
quiet room at a comfortable temperature is nice. A simple example: stand with your feet
shoulder width apart, shoulders back, but relaxed. Imagine you have a spot on
the very top of your head. You also have matching spots on the palms of your
hand, and the soles of your feet. Raise your hands over your head as you
inhale, with the spots on your palms pointing to the spot on your head. As you
exhale, lower your hands to your waist, and imagine you are drawing in the Chi
from around you in through the spot on your head, pulling it through your body,
and that it exits through the spots on your feet, anchoring into the ground. Do
this twice more, and then stand at peace, feeling yourself filled with the Chi
around you.
Out there? Kind of, especially for a western-thinking mind. But
give it a try. Really visualize the Chi moving through you, the spots on your
head, hands and feet. See what you discover.
Postures are those things you see a Tai-Chi practitioner doing in
all those movies. The moving of the hands, taking steps, flowing back and
forth. Many Tai-Chi styles have different sets of forms, or postures, such as
the Yang style with its 24 Posture form and its 48 Posture form. In moving
through your postures, it is imperative that you breathe correctly. If you are
learning Tai-Chi without breathing exercises, most likely you are not getting
the full benefit of the training. Postures help move Chi back and forth, and
also are great physical exertions. The slow-motion appearance of this martial
art is harder than it seems and places some serious demands on various muscles
when done properly. The reported benefit to those in physical therapy is real
enough; your muscles build and strengthen as you do what you can till the point
that you can do the postures as they were intended to be done.
Combat Applications are not missing in Tai-Chi; like any other
Martial Art, this style is designed to defend the practitioner. The simplest
way to describe Tai-Chi's effectiveness in combat is to say- speed it up! What
first looks like a pretty waving of the hands and rocking back and forth, when
sped up, becomes a sweeping block and an offensive push, a one-two combo
guaranteed to put an assailant on his backside!
How do I get started?
The absolute best way, bar none, to learn Tai-Chi is personal
instruction. This, incidentally, holds true for any Martial Art, but with
Tai-Chi's complexity (when to inhale, how to angle your foot, the proper speed
to turn around, etc) it is especially true.
Checking your local listings for an instructor or school is a good
start, as is asking anyone you know who is involved in Martial Arts. Ta-Chi is
a Chinese Martial Art; it is Kung Fu. If you find a school offering Tai-Chi
along with a host of other styles, many of which are not Chinese styles, be
wary. The style's popularity makes it a
profitable addition to a school's offerings, but does not guarantee the school
knows it's stuff. Ask how long they have been teaching it, where they learned
it from, etc.
Can you learn Tai-Chi from
a book?
Yes, provided you are already a Martial Artist and you follow up
your self-training with person instruction. A book can be a fantastic resource,
especially if it includes lessons on Qigong and is well illustrated with clear
images. However, a book can't notice if you've mis-learned something. Repeating
a wrong move a thousand times makes it much more difficult to unlearn than if
an instructor caught you the first time.
What about videos?
There are some quality Tai-Chi videos, especially on DVD; however
there are just as many that are dreck. Many "Tai-Chi for Fitness"
types give a brush-over lesson on breathing (if that) and go right to the
postures. Many of those do not ever touch on combat applications. Even if your
only goal for learning Tai-Chi is for health its benefits, you still need the
proper Qigong training in order to get them.
What now?
If you want to learn more about Tai-Chi, here are some suggestions:
Rent a DVD or check one out at your local library. This will
give you some good visuals- even those dreck ones.
Buy or check out a book. This will give you some great
background of the art and explain a lot of the history, tradition, and theory
behind Tai-Chi and Qigong.
Call a school. Most schools will happily let you sit in on a
class or two to observe, and every Martial Art instructor worth his or her salt
loves to talk about the style they practice.