Taijiquan (太极拳) is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for both its
defense training, its health benefits and meditation. The term taiji is
a Chinese cosmological concept for the flux of yin and yang, and 'quan'
means fist. So, etymologically, Taijiquan is a fist system based on the dynamic
relationship between polarities (Yin and Yang). Though originally conceived as
a martial art, it is also typically practiced for a variety of other
personal reasons: competitive wrestling in the format of pushing hands (tui
shou), demonstration competitions and achieving greater longevity.
The study of tai chi primarily involves three aspects:
·
Health: An unhealthy or
otherwise uncomfortable person may find it difficult to meditate to a state of
calmness or to use tai chi as a martial art. Tai chi's health training,
therefore, concentrates on relieving the physical effects of stress on the body
and mind. For those focused on tai chi's martial application, good physical
fitness is an important step towards effective self-defense.
·
Meditation: The focus
and calmness cultivated by the meditative aspect of tai chi is seen as
necessary in maintaining optimum health (in the sense of relieving stress and
maintaining homeostasis) and in application of the form as a soft
style martial art.
·
Martial art: The
ability to use tai chi as a form of self-defense in combat is
the test of a student's understanding of the art. Tai chi is the study of
appropriate change in response to outside forces, the study of
yielding and sticking to an incoming attack rather than attempting to meet it
with opposing force. The use of tai chi as a martial art is quite
challenging and requires a great deal of training.