Tai Chi: Learning It as a Martial Art

Tai Chi

Many individuals view tai chi largely as an exercise that is done very slowly or as a kind of meditation. To some extent, they are correct but it is very much a standard martial art. The first name of the art, Tai Chi Chuan, can be translated as "supreme ultimate fist." This hints that the very first practitioners of tai chi realized its value as a martial art, even if a lot of people today have forgotten this.

One reason that people don't think of tai chi as a martial art form is because it's extremely slow moving. Whereas, you'll find quick and impressive movements in karate and kung fu. Tai chi, on the other hand, is done in what appears to be slow motion. This doesn't mean, however, that the same movements can't also be done rapidly. But by performing it slowly, you have to be more controlled in your movements thus being more precise. You could practice tai chi at various speeds but to develop balance and coordination, you will need to do it gradually.

There is a classic tai chi practice known as push hands. In push hands, two people face one another and push against each other with their hands and make an attempt to get the other person off balance. There are events where this is practiced, much like sparring competitions in karate. The idea with tai chi push hands is to use as little force as you can. You attempt to make the other person become off balance by taking advantage of their own power and weight. This takes a great deal of practice, of course, but a master at tai chi push hands could be a powerful martial artist. It is best to learn this by searching for a tai chi school or a qualified instructor instead of learning it on your own. Simply doing tai chi form won't be enough to make you skillful in martial arts.

You need to find a school or instructor that has a focus on tai chi as a martial

art style and not an exercise. There are numerous excellent health benefits to learning tai chi form as an exercise, but you must do more if you wish to learn it as a martial art form. By learning the tai chi form, you should have a good foundation of the martial art style but you'll not know how to apply it effectively in a competition or as a form of self defense. If you do not live in close proximity to a qualified tai chi instructor with a martial arts background, you could find a few books, DVDs and websites that can point you in the right direction.

Tai chi is viewed as an internal martial art style as opposed to external like karate. Aside from push hands, practitioners of tai chi also utilize swords and other common Chinese weapons. Whether or not you would like to learn tai chi for exercise or as a martial art form, it will help you to become flexible and balanced plus it will greatly improve your health.