Why You Should Learn Tai Chi Tai Chi Chuan, colloquially called only Tai Chi is a popular

form of Neijia Chinese martial arts that enjoys immense mainstream popularity owing to several reasons. The term Tai chi chuan literally translates to supreme boundless fist.Tai Chi is used for defense training and also has several health benefits. ther popular reasons for its popularity include the soft and hard martial art technique it uses in demonstrations and competitions, and its role in increasing a practitioner!s longevity. Training in the martial art form of Tai Chi involves the "nowledge of five elements # Taolu $hand and weapon fighting forms%, neigong and qigong $e&ercises in breathing, movement and meditation%, Tuishou $drills% and 'anshou $'elf (efense techniques%. Consequently, there are several training forms for Tai Chi Chuan today. (epending on the aim for which Tai Chi is to be practiced by a student, the training forms may be modern or more traditional slow movement forms. The modern techniques vary from school to school, but at their essence they are based on any one of the five classic schools # The Chen, 'un, )u, *ao, or +ang. ,nli"e most martial art forms, Tai Chi has no requirements for practitioners to wear a set uniform, although they are encouraged to wear clothing that is light and allows for ma&imum freedom of movement, with flat soled shoes. The study of the martial art form of Tai Chi can be divided into three aspects which are Health: Tai Chi requires that its practitioners achieve a state of internal calm in order to study the discipline. .s a healthy body is a pre requisite to a healthy mind, the art form of Tai Chi focuses on improving the physical health of the body, which in turn leads to developing a sense of calm. /n order to effectively defend oneself from attac", one must be at the pea" of his physical fitness, and this is what Tai Chi upholds. Meditation: The improved concentration, the sense of inner peace and calm are vital to establishing a state of stability in our lives, and Tai Chi promotes meditation to achieve this goal. The Martial Art form itself: . true test of ones "nowledge is the use of that "nowledge to ones advantage, hence the use of the "nowledge of the discipline of Tai Chi is a test of a students understanding of the discipline itself.

Health benefits of practicing Tai Chi Traditional Chinese Tai Chi falls under the )udang martial arts group. That is to say, it is one of those forms of martial arts which are applied using 0internal power1. The earlier years of the 23th century saw Tai Chi gain widespread promotion for its health benefits. .mong its early proponents are included several imminent martial arts personalities li"e +ang 'haohou, 'un 4utang, )u Chien, and +ang Chengfu. The heavy health benefits promotions of Tai Chi resulted in it being followed by many people from across the world # people who have little or absolutely no interest in martial arts and are only concerned with its role in gaining and maintaining good health. The initial health benefit claims were bac"ed up by scientific studies by various health institutes that went on to confirm the effectiveness of Tai Chi as a form of alternative e&ercise and a type of martial arts therapy.

'ome benefits of Tai Chi include 5 6. 7educed ris" of cardiovascular falls in patients recovering from stro"es, high blood pressure, heart failures, heart attac"s, sclerosis, .l8heimer!s and 9ar"inson!s to name a few. /ntensive Tai Chi is as effective in healthy patients who have never had such conditions. Tai Chi burns more calories than surfing and has been associated with reduced severity of osteoarthritis, diabetes, fibromyalgia. 2. 7educed stress, an&iety, depression. :. /mproved mental health and an increased feeling of mental well5being. Combat effectiveness of Tai Chi Tai Chi is also held in high esteem in the Chinese martial arts community as an effective fighting technique. 'everal historical anecdotes have been shared throughout China about the effectiveness of Tai Chi in fighting. /n 6;<= for e&ample, *u +uen Chou defeated famous 7ussian bo&er in a full contact combat in China. >esides, various eminent martial artists of different styles have spo"en highly of Tai Chi!s combat effectiveness. >ig names of this lot include the famous >ruce 4ee, ?yo"ushin"ai "arate!s founder @asutatsu yama and )ong ?iew ?it. Tai Chi also has near celebrity status in popular culture. @any video games, novels, series, action movies have references to Tai Chi or have ta"en inspiration from Tai Chi.