Tai Chi 101 – What It Is And Reasons To Start Practising It

Tai chi, which is a shortened form of t’ai chi ch’üan or Tàijí quán, is a form of Chinese martial art that is practised for:

1. Defense training
2. Health benefits
3. Meditation

This article looks at what tai chi is, its benefits, and how / where to learn more if you want to begin practising this ancient art.

What Is Tai Chi?

Even though it may not look like it at first, tai chi is a martial art, and it is classified as an “internal” art (known as Wudang), as opposed to other martial arts that are “external” (e.g. Shaolin or waijia).

This perception may be because most people in the west see tai chi as a slow and graceful exercise to improve your health, rather than as a means of self-defence.

You may not be surprised to learn that it is based on the principles of yin and yang, and it also concordant with both Confucianism and Taoism.

And it dates back to around the 12th century CE, being derived from Qigong.

One of the key concepts of Chinese health is Qi, which refers to an intangible energy or life force, and tai chi is said to improve the flow of that Qi around your body.

The Benefits Of Tai Chi

I’m not going to dwell on the more traditional martial arts aspects (e.g. self-defence) here, but on the health benefits:

1. Aerobic Capacity. Although tai chi will not give you all the same benefits as a true aerobic work-out, studies have shown that it can increase aerobic capacity compared to people who are more sedentary.
2. Availability. By this, I mean you can practise tai chi almost anywhere, at any time, since no specialized equipment is required – and you can do it in groups or by yourself.
3. Balance. Tai chi is often used to help people, especially the elderly, regain their balance and, in some cases, reduce the number of falls they experience. Ironically perhaps, the fear of falling often leads to an increased occurrence of actually falling, and tai chi can help reduce this fear.
4. Endurance. Tai chi requires you to hold certain postures for a while, which not only helps build up muscle strength (see below) but endurance too,
5. Flexibility. Tai chi can maintain suppleness as a result of the various postures you adopt, and the way in which you transition between them via slow, graceful movements.
6. Low Risk Of Injury. This is an extremely low-impact activity, which means the risk of injuring yourself is much lower than other forms of exercise (e.g. jogging, weight lifting).
7. Meditation. Some have described tai chi as meditation in motion. Meditation is usually performed in a stationary position, and occasionally when walking, but tai chi, with its slow, elegant postures and transitions between them, can be almost meditative in nature.
8. Muscle Strength. Tai chi can help strengthen the muscles in your lower and upper body. Some have compared it to other activities such as walking (at a brisk pace) and resistance training.
9. Non-Competitive. I get that some people may find this to be a disadvantage, not an advantage, but for those people who find competitive sports uncomfortable, tai chi offers a way to exercise (both physically and mentally) without having to compete with others. If anything, it encourages harmony if you practise in a group.
10. Pain Reduction. A small study found that people suffering from fibromyalgia who practised tai chi for a total of 12 hours over the course of a month and a half had improved symptoms. It has also been shown to relieve the pain from other conditions such as arthritis.
11. Proprioception. This refers to your ability to sense where your body is in relation to what’s around it, and it typically worsens as you age. Tai chi can help mitigate this gradual decline in this sense.
12. Sleep. Studies have shown that practising tai chi regularly can lead to a better quality of sleep, which is, of course, vital, especially these days when too many people get too little sleep.
13. Stress. Tai chi has been shown to help you relax and relieve stress. In a similar vein, it has been shown to improve your mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.

How To Get Started

This is obviously a massive subject, and not one easily taught in a single article.

In order of preference, my suggestions for learning more about tai chi, and how to practise it, would be the following:

1. Try to find a local class where you can learn from somebody who knows what they are doing and can offer personal instruction.
2. Look for an online course.
3. Look for videos (e.g. on YouTube). See below for a good representation of the type of postures you will learn.
4. Read books.

In terms of clothing, there is rarely a specific “uniform” (e.g. like there is with other martial arts such as judo or kendo) – the only important consideration is to wear something that is comfortable and loose (i.e. to allow a wide range of movement), and flat-soled shoes.

My Experience With Tai Chi

Although I’d heard of it, I’d never seen it in action until the early 1990s when I was on vacation in China.

I’d flown in to Guilin, in southern China, from Hong Kong at night, so when I checked in to my hotel, I had no idea of the surroundings.

In the morning, I decided to go for a pre-breakfast walk (as I cannot eat immediately after getting up without feeling nauseated), and across the road from the hotel, between there and a small lake, there was a park.

And in the park were a whole bunch of people, mainly elderly, doing what I at once recognized as tai chi.

There was music playing, and as far as I could tell, there was no leader or instructor – just a group of people all doing their tai chi in unison.

As I said above, their movements were so graceful and slow and deliberate, and it almost reminded me of trees swaying in the breeze.

It truly was a beautiful sight.

Years later, I was attending a juggling convention not far from home, and for most of the day, you could attend hour-long sessions of your choosing.

Most were, of course, devoted to juggling techniques, but there were a few other non-juggling sessions, one of which was tai chi.

I was intrigued, especially after what I’d witnessed in China previously, so I decided to attend.

This convention was around 25 years ago now, and my memories of that day are a bit clouded by time, but as far as the beginners’ tai chi lesson went, my overriding recollection is that I was so exhausted after what they called the “warm-up” exercises that I really don’t remember much about the actual tai chi.

I had intended to pursue it further, but as usual (for me, at least), life got in the way and I never made the time to do it.

It is, however, still on my wish list of activities I’d like to take up – one day.

Conclusion

I find it heartening that the west is slowly becoming more open to ancient Chinese practices, and I think tai chi offers many benefits that other forms of activity do not.

It obviously depends on what your goals are, but to me, its main strengths would be its low-impact nature, the fact you can do it any time or place you want, and overall benefits to your mental and physical health.

All I need to do now is make time to learn and practise it. 🙂

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above, and all of the turmeric products are ones I use:

1. Tai Chi Books
2. Tai Chi Classes
3. Tai Chi Courses
4. Tai Chi Videos