Tai Chi

My review of Tai Chi ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Introduction ~~~~~~~~~ Tai Chi is, as you are probably already aware; best known as a collection of slow body movements (called a form) designed primarily (nowadays - but once it was a deadly martial art) to promote good health. There are many styles of Tai Chi, and branches there of (each style is usually named after the Chinese family credited with creating it; for example Yang and Chen are two of the better known family names/styles) - so it can be very confusing to get a clear picture of the history and evolution of this most unusual 'internal' martial art. The historical view is ...  Read the complete review

I cant say that until around half a year ago I had truly heard of Tai Chi. It sounds like something to go with your spare ribs when your ordering a takeaway but the truth is that this a Chinese exercise. There is very little coverage of Tai Chi and what it is really about and I have only every seen a few snippets here and there of it on television, unlike Yoga which is some ways is very similar and yet has huge amounts of coverage due to the rich and famous such as Madonna and Geri Halliwell trying it. So what is Tai Chi? It was developed around 4000 years ago in China and it is a form of stretching exercise. There are two forms of Tai Chi, the martial form that ...  Read the complete review

Yes, please do read the title again. You did see the word martial and if you disagree, I'll meet you on the mat at a local village hall. Kidding, really! But I am fed up with the 'Spiritual' camp. T'ai Chi is a meditation tool, but the end of this is surely the ability to fight better and win. It is a slow Kung Fu form. I have been studying T'ai Chi Chuan and Qi Gong for several years, and I am still only the merest beginner. The class I have 'grown up' with has comprised of older people trying to improve their general fitness and mobility. The younger ones who come to our class for 'spiritual ...  Read the complete review

It’s a strange world isn’t it? I’m doing something that a year ago I thought looked really boring and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I was vaguely aware that Tai Chi was the slow exercise thing that Chinese people seem to do quite a lot in parks and open spaces and it didn’t appeal to me at all. Last year I got involved with an organisation on the internet which I suspected had a rather sinister ulteria motive. Having always fancied myself as a latter day Mata Hari I was rather tempted to do some undercover research. I was talking to my son about it and he said that if I wanted to go and play at spies I should learn Tai Chi. He is ...  Read the complete review

I have been practicing Tai Chi for two years now and would like to recommend it as a very beneficial activity. I can't say exactly what prompted me to join my local Tai Chi / Chi Kung class, perhaps it was my subconscious guiding me towards a practice that would benefit me in ways that my conscious mind couldn't possibly imagine, but I am glad I did. I used to have pains down my legs due to bad posture - that is a thing of the past I used to suffer sleepless nights - not anymore I used to be very stressed at work - a distant memory The physical activity in itself has helped my back trouble, it has improved my posture, helped my ...  Read the complete review