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Basic Information
What is T'ai Chi?
1. T'ai Chi is a Chinese martial art.
Wushu is the Chinese term for "martial art" or "war art." Hundreds of different wushu styles evolved over the centuries in China. T'ai Chi is one of those styles.
2. T'ai Chi is a health exercise.
The solo practice priniciples of T'ai Chi are much like those of ch'i kung and generate similar health benefits. Ch'i kung is a Chinese term that translates as "energy skill." An important field of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), ch'i kung is over 2,000 years old. Ch'i kung improves health by strengthening resistance (prevention) and dispelling disease (treatment.) All ch'i kung methods involve regulating three crucial aspects: body posture, breathing, and mental concentration. Ch'i kung increases the amount of ch'i (internal energy) in our bodies and allows this energy to flow smoothly. This is the key to good health and the goal of TCM.
3. T'ai Chi is a treasure of Chinese culture.
T'ai Chi is short for T'ai Chi Ch'uan. This translates from Chinese as "grand ultimate boxing" or "yin and yang boxing" and is one of the most well known styles of Chinese martial arts. Although the origin of T'ai Chi is not completely clear, martial arts containing similar moves and principles were documented around 1,000 years ago.
Most modern styles of T'ai Chi developed from the art of the Chen family. Chen Wangting is given credit for the creation of the Chen style of T'ai Chi Ch'uan around 400 years ago. Chen style T'ai Chi is characterized by a combination of fast and slow, relaxed, spiraling movements.
Yang Luchan (1799-1872) learned Chen style T'ai Chi Ch'uan from Chen Changxing (1771-1853), thus founding the Yang family style of T'ai Chi Ch'uan. Yang style T'ai Chi Ch'uan has become the most widely practiced style in the world today, primarily though the efforts of such well-known masters as Yang Chengfu (1883-1936) and Zheng Manqing (1902-1975.) The modern Yang style T'ai Chi form is differentiated from the Chen style by the way its movements are practiced in a slow, even tempo.
*Notes:
Due to pre-establishment into the English language, I've selected the Wade-Giles romanization throughout this article for the terms T'ai Chi Ch'uan, ch'i kung, ch'i, and T'ai Chi. The pinyin equivalents are Taijiquan, qigong, qi, and Taiji. All other Chinese terms use the pinyin romanization. For more information about pinyin versus Wade-Giles romanization, please view the Wikipedia articles for each: