The Tao of Tai Chi Chuan

Tai Chi is a sequence of postures linked together by slow flowing movement.  Much of the academic research that identifies the diverse benefits of practicing Tai Chi have been conducted over short periods of time using many different forms of practice.  Often the exercise used is more related to Qigong rather than the Tai Chi sequence of movement.  In fact this is one criticism of the research studies.  However, it appears that there are positive aspects within the practice of Tai Chi and Qigong that can be achieved with only eight to twelve weeks of intense practice and are found in differing styles of practice.  My personal view is that it would be a mistake to focus on standardizing these exercises, research studies should instead seek to identify the positive active elements across the many forms of practice.

The traditional sequences of movement or forms first developed around two hundred years ago although clearly they would have been practiced long before this date.  These forms were kept within family groups and this is how they were given their name, Chen, Yang, Sun, and Wu family name.  Because Tai Chi was such a powerful martial art its secrets were kept within each family group even to the extent of the family adopting a particularly gifted student.  People outside the family were able to learn the form but never shown the secrets of how Tai Chi really worked.

Tai Chi was developed from much earlier health exercises called Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine that precede it by thousands of years.  The relationship chart below gives some idea of the historical roots of Tai Chi.  Lineage is considered an important attribute in Tai Chi as for the most part its teaching was not written down but passed on as an oral transmission.  The closer you are to the original Tai Chi master the more likely you are to have received the correct oral teaching.

The written records we do have relating to the practice of Tai Chi require some interpretation.  They come from a time, culture and language very different from our own here in the West.  I would echo the caution voiced by C G Jung about blindly following such teaching.  I would also agree with Paul Linden that within our own culture our own use of language can be misleading. 

The usual interpretation of the traditional ‘Tao of Yang Tai Chi Chaun’ would be the way (Tao) of the Yang family great ultimate (Tai Chi) fist (Chaun). 

It is in this sense that I suggest a different interpretation and way of learning within ‘Embodied Tai Chi’.  The aim here is to provide an accessible way to learn the most beneficial aspects of Tai Chi.  You will note here that the term ‘fist’ is not used as martial application is not the primary purpose although this aspect still remains inherent in all practice.