Tournament Competition

A method of testing one's skill comes through martial arts tournament competition. Unfortunatley, many tournaments are more geared towards Karate or Tae Kwon Do and do not feature T'ai Chi divisions. Some of the tournaments that feature specific T'ai Chi and other Chinese martial arts division are listed below.

Barehand and weapons forms divisions are broken down by experience (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and some tournaments have specific divisions for older adults (called senior or executive divisions.) Most tournaments will have at least Yang style, Chen style, and "other" styles divisions for barehand competition. Some of the larger tournaments will additionally have specific divisions for styles such as Wu, Wu/Hao, Sun, Cheng Man-ch'ing, and standardized wushu T'ai Chi. These additional divisions provide the practitioner the benefit of not having to enter a generic "other" styles division or find something else that closest matches their method.

Men and women usually do not compete against each other, except sometimes in divisions outside of the main categories such as Cheng Man-ch'ing. Also, most tournaments do not have specific T'ai Chi divisions for anyone under 18 years of age.

In regards to weapons, most tournaments will have at least short and long weapons divisions. Some will break out straight sword separately and then provide a separate short weapons division for broadsword, cane, etc.

Each tournament has its own rules regarding time limits, judging criteria, and uniform requirements. One could draw a parallel between martial arts forms competition with either figure skating or gymnastics competition.

The test of being able to apply practical usage of one's T'ai Chi in competition can take the form of push hands, shuai chiao, chi sau, or sparring. Each of these competitions are usually separated into divisions by experience level and weight. Push hands competition features stationary (can't move the feet), restricted step (can move the feet but can't change which foot is in front of the stance), and free step methods. Shuai chiao is the equivalent of Chinese wrestling. Chi sau comes from the Wing Chun style of Chinese martial art and is translated as sticky hands. Sparring can be done in light or full contact (sometimes called san shou) modes.

Generally, the application events feature timed rounds with points being scored for the execution of proper techniques by the competitor. While push hands is obviously an integral component of T'ai Chi training, the shuai chiao and chi sau competitions can be used by a T'ai Chi competitor to test his or her skill, as long as the rules are understood and training specific to the event has been undertaken. Again, each tournament has its own set of rules, including the list of required protective equipment for these events. Another, albeit rarer aspect of application competition comes in weapons sparring; which is similar to fencing.

2008 Martial Arts Tournaments Featuring T'ai Chi and Other Chinese Martial Arts Divisions

Disneyland Martial Arts Festival
Anaheim, CA
February 16, 2008
www.tournament.info

Battle of Columbus - Martial Arts World Games
Columbus, OH
March 14-15, 2008
www.bocworldgames.com

CACMA National Kung Fu/Taijiquan Tournament
Charlotte, NC
May 3, 2008
www.mhkungfu.com/CACMA/cacma.php

International Chinese Martial Arts Championship
Orlando, FL
May 23-25, 2008
www.kungfuchampionship.com

USAWKF National Championships - New England International Chinese Martial Arts Championships
Willimantic, CT
June 13-15, 2008
2008nationals.wordpress.com

U.S. International Kuo Shu Championship Tournament
Hunt Valley, MD
July 25-27, 2008
www.usksf.org

Las Vegas Chinese Martial Arts Championship
Las Vegas, NV
August 29-31, 2008
www.wutanglasvegas.com

Austin Martial Arts Festival
Austin, TX
October 11, 2008
www.amafest.org

Disney's Martial Arts Festival
Orlando, FL
October 24-26, 2008
www.tournament.info