Tai chi is aChinese martial art. Initially created forcombat andself-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into anexercise, arelaxation technique, and asport. As an exercise and relaxation technique, tai chi is practiced in set sequences known as "forms" (taolu), usually in gentle flowing motions that are often described as "meditation in motion," and may also be performed in faster and more vigorous routines. As a sport, competitors are judged on their performance in forms,pushing hands, and freesparring. As a martial art, practitioners master the applications of forms and partner work for effective self-defense.
Many styles of tai chi are practiced, both traditional and modern. While the precise origins are not known, the earliest well-documented practice began during the Ming-Qing transition atChen Village andZhabao Village inHenan on theNorth China Plain, a region where centuries of rebellions, invasions, and adverse economic and social conditions nurtured the development of a wide range of martial arts, including those of theShaolin Monastery onMount Song at the western edge of the plain.
The name "tai chi", the most common English spelling, is not a standardromanization of the Chinese name for the art (simplified Chinese:太极拳; traditional Chinese:太極拳;lit. 'Taiji boxing'). The Chinese name was first commonly written in English using theWade–Giles system as "tʻai chi chʻüan". But English speakers abbreviated it to "tʻai chi" and dropped the mark of aspiration. Since the late twentieth century,pinyin has been officially adopted in China and replaced Wade–Giles as the most popular system for romanizing Chinese. In pinyin, tai chi is spelledtàijíquán.[1][2] In English, tai chi is sometimes referred to as "shadowboxing".[3]
The etymology of tai chi's Chinese name is somewhat uncertain because of the lack of a record of spoken usage. Before the mid-nineteenth century, it appears that outsiders generically described the art aszhanquan (沾拳; "touch boxing"), "Long Boxing"(長拳),[note 1]mianquan("Soft/Cotton/Neutralizing Boxing";軟/棉/化拳)[citation needed] orshisan shi (十三式; "the thirteen techniques").[4] In the mid-nineteenth century, the art began to be associated with the philosophy oftaiji (seeConceptual background).[5] This association may have originated in thewritings of the founders of Wu (Hao)-style tai chi, perhaps inspired by a tai chi classic attributed to the semi-mythicalWang Zongyue that begins with the words "Taiji is born fromWuji; it is the mother ofYin and Yang".[note 2] However, as the Wu (Hao) founders had no financial need to promote their art, their contributions to the "tai chi classics" were not distributed widely for many years. The first public association betweentaiji and the art was a poem by Imperial Court scholarWeng Tonghe describing a tai chi performance byYang Luchan.[7][8][9][10] It is not clear whether Weng was making a new connection or whether the new name was already in use. Written evidence for the Yang family's adoption of the nametaiji first appeared in a later text, possibly completed in 1875 by Yang Luchan's son,Yang Banhou, or no later than the first decade of the twentieth century by one or more of Yang Banhou's disciples.[11][12][13][9] By the second decade of the twentieth century,Yang Chengfu's disciples andSun Lutang were using the termtaijiquan in their publications, including in the titles of some of the tai chi classics. It then appeared in a book by a Chen family member, Chen Xin, published after he died in 1929.[7][14]
Early tai chi sources are grounded inTaiji cosmology.Taiji cosmology appears in bothTaoist andConfucianphilosophy, where it represents the single source or mother ofyin and yang (represented by thetaijitu symbol).[16][15] Tai chi also draws on Chinese theories of the body, particularly Taoistneidan (internal alchemy) teachings onqi (vital energy) and on the threedantian.Cheng Man-ch'ing emphasizes the Taoist background of tai chi and states that it "enables us to reach the stage of undifferentiated pure yang, which is exactly the same asLaozi's 'concentrating the qi and developing softness'".[15]
As such, tai chi considers itself an "internal" (neijia) martial art focused on developingqi.[15] In China, tai chi is categorized under theWudang group of Chinese martial arts[17]—that is, arts applied with internal power.[18] Although the termWudang suggests these arts originated in theWudang Mountains, it is used only to distinguish the skills, theories, and applications ofneijia from those of theShaolin grouping, orwaijia (hard/external styles).[15]
Tai chi also adopts the Taoist ideals of softness overcoming hardness, ofwu wei (effortless action), and of yielding into its martial art technique while also retaining Taoist ideas of spiritual self-cultivation.[15]
Tai chi's path is one of developing naturalness by relaxing, attending inward, and slowing mind, body, and breath.[15] This allows the practitioner to become less tense, to drop conditioned habits, to let go of thoughts, to allowqi to flow smoothly, and thus to flow with theTao. It is thus a kind of moving meditation that allows us to let go of the self and experience no-mind (wuxin) and spontaneity (ziran).[15]
A key aspect of tai chi philosophy is to work with the flow ofyin (softness) andyang (hardness) elements. When two forces push each other with equal force, neither side moves. Motion cannot occur until one side yields. Therefore, a key principle in tai chi is to avoid using force directly against force (hardness against hardness). Laozi provided thearchetype for this in theTao Te Ching when he wrote, "The soft and the pliable will defeat the hard and strong."[19] Conversely, when in possession of leverage, one may want to use hardness to force the opponent to become soft. Traditionally, tai chi uses both soft and hard. Yin is said to be the mother of Yang, using soft power to create hard power.
Traditional schools also emphasize that one is expected to showwude ("martial virtue/heroism"), to protect the defenceless, and to show mercy to one's opponents.[20]
In December 2020, the 15th regular session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage included tai chi in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[21][22]
Tai chi uses 'song' (鬆) to ground the practitioner's centre of gravity, which is harmonised with the rising of the head to produce a central equilibrium and the movements of the forms through asymmetries in balance. Often described as "meditation in motion," tai chi aims to cultivate harmony, maintain health, and improve efficiency of movement through relaxed alignment of the body’s structure.
Traditionally, the foundational tai chi practice consists of learning and practicing specific solo forms or routines (taolu).[15] This entails learning a routine sequence of movements which follow a strict set of mechanical rules,abdominal breathing and a range of motion restricted to oblique angles and which are not 'double weighted' (双重). Tai chi relies on correct alignment in response to oncoming forces, by so called 'yielding' or 'rotation' a practicioner manipulates an attack with the 'Eight Gates' (Bā Mén 八門).[23] depending on how the opponent force is expressed. This practice is supplemented withSilk Reeling exercises, but these are only found in Chen and Wu(Hao) Style of Tai chi.
There are also numerous other supporting solo practices which are not directly linked to tai chi such as:[15]
Sitting meditation: to empty, focus and calm the mind and aid in opening themicrocosmic orbit.
Standing meditation (zhan zhuang) to raise theyang qi
Acupressure massage to develop awareness ofqi channels
There is no scientific evidence for the existence of qi,[24]nor any demonstrating the effectiveness of acupressure[25][26][27] beyond that ofplacebo treatment. However, they can have aninstrumental function in interpreting culturally embedded information for modern practitioners.[clarification needed]
Further training entails learningtuishou (push hands drills),sanshou (striking techniques), free sparring, grappling training, and weapons training.[15]
The fundamental training concepts of the art are detailed in a few dozen classical texts originally written inclassical Chinese by tai chi masters, the "tai chi classics". In these texts, it is noted that the physiological and kinesiological aspects of the body's movements are characterized by the rotation of the pelvis ('kua'), based on the metaphors of the pelvis as the hub and the arms and feet as the spokes of a wheel. Furthermore, the respiration of breath is coordinated with the physical movements in a state of myofascial release (MFR), rather than held muscular tension.[28]
Tai chi is a complete martial art system with a full range of bare-hand movement sets and weapon forms, such as thejian (straight sword),dao (curved sword), andqiang (spear), which are based on the dynamic relationship betweenyin andyang. While tai chi is typified by its slow movements, many styles (including the three most popular:Yang,Wu, andChen) can be practiced at a faster pace when the practitioner has correct alignment after enough slow form practice. Some traditional schools teach martial applications of the postures of different forms (taolu).
Taolu (solo "forms") are choreographed sets of movements practiced alone or in unison as a group. Tai chi is often characterized by slow movements in Taolu practice, and one of the reasons is to develop bodily awareness. Repeated and correct practice of the solo routine is said to retrain posture to align ones centre of gravity which is harmonised with the rising of the head to produce a central equilibrium and the movements of the forms through asymmetries in balance. This awareness and healthy exercise encourages controlled breathing, flexibility, strength, stamina, balance and coordination. Practice familiarizes students with the martial sequences implied by the forms to develop 'spontaneity' (ziran) in application[15]from muscle memory. Usually performed standing, solo forms have sometimes been adapted for seated practice.[29]
Tai chi developed during theMing-Qing transition period, and may have been based oninternal martial arts practices of theMing dynasty, though the exact details are controversial and subject to much conflicting historical research and debate.[30] The earliest practice documented in widely-accepted historical records began during that period of dynastic transition, inChen Village andZhabao Village inHenan on theNorth China Plain, a region where centuries of rebellions, invasions, and adverse economic and social conditions nurtured the development of a wide range of martial arts, including those of theShaolin Monastery onMount Song at the western edge of the plain.[31][32]
Tai chi has a strong association withTaoism and traditional Chinese culture, which was increasingly emphasized during the late Qing, and by the early twentieth century was integral to any discussion of the art. Some scholars place it within the broader syncretic context of Chinese Taoism,Confucianism, andBuddhism, but most point to stories of the transmission of the art through a legendary twelfth-century immortal Taoist sage,Zhang Sanfeng.[15][30]
Modern historians point out that the earliest reference indicating a connection between Zhang Sanfeng and martial arts is actually a 17th-century piece calledEpitaph for Wang Zhengnan (1669), composed byHuang Zongxi (1610–1695).[5][15] Aside from this single source, the other claims of connections between tai chi and Zhang Sanfeng appeared no earlier than the 19th century.[5][15] According to Douglas Wile, "there is no record of a Zhang Sanfeng in theSong Dynasty (960–1279), and there is no mention in theMing (1368–1644) histories or hagiographies of Zhang Sanfeng of any connection between the immortal and the martial arts."[15]
Historical documentation for the development of tai chi as it is practiced today begins withChen Wangting, who retired from military service and returned to Chen Village after the fall of the Ming dynasty.[33] Based on some of the terminology used in the art Chen and his descendants developed, it appears to draw from theQuanjing (Classic of Pugilism) by the Ming generalQi Jiguang.[34][35] Early twentieth-century martial arts historians agreed with this, though Xu Zhen claimed that Chen tai chi was also influenced by theTaizu changquan style practiced at nearbyShaolin Monastery, whileTang Hao emphasized the connection to the writings of Qi Jiguang.[36][37]
Yang Luchan, the founder of the popularYang style of tai chi, trained with Chen Changxing in Chen Village for 18 years before returning to teach in his hometown ofYongnian and later inBeijing. The other traditional tai chi styles,Wu (Hao),Wu, andSun, also trace the source of their tai chi through Yang Luchan back to the Chen village in the nineteenth century.[20][38]
In 1912 theNationalist government-supported Beijing Physical Education Research Institute (京師體育研究社;Jīngshì Tǐyù Yánjiùshè) published tai chi manuals, possibly brought to Beijing by Yang Luchan himself, for the first time under the titleTaijiquan Classics, asYang Chengfu,Wu Jianquan,Sun Lutang, and others began teaching classes for the general public there. Based on that experience, by 1914 they began standardizing and modifying the art, removing most fast and jumping movements, and focusing primarily on health results.[20]
This work was continued by theCentral Guoshu Institute. In 1936 the Institute's Deputy Director,Chen Panling (陳泮嶺), created a 99-posture unified form called Guoshu Tai Chi (國術太極;Guóshù Tàijí) drawing on his research into the Chen, Yang, Sun and Wu styles, with most movements derived from the Yang and Wu forms. After the retreat of the Nationalists to Taiwan in 1949, Chen Panling established and served as chairman of the Chinese Martial Arts Advanced Studies Association (中華國術進修會;Zhōnghuá Guóshù Jìnxiūhuì), where he taught his combined tai chi sequence, which became known worldwide as the 99 Tai Chi Form, as well as the internal martial artsBaguazhang andXingyiquan. Chen trained many prominent masters, includingWang Shujin.[39]
After 1949 thePRC government continued standardization of the art with a focus on health. In 1956, the Chinese Sports Committee (CSC) brought together a group of tai chi masters to create a shortened tai chi form that could help improve the health of the general public, because the long traditional forms were considered too difficult for most people to learn. The result was the24-posture simplified form, developed from the traditional Yang-style long form.[40]
In 1976, as part of a post-Cultural Revolution initiative to rehabilitate martial arts as a modern sport, the "Combined 48 Form" was created for the CSC by a group ofwushu coaches headed byMen Huifeng. That form integrates movements from the traditional Chen, Yang, Wu, and Sun styles.[41] By the 1980s the CSC had also begun organizing other groups ofwushu coaches to standardize longer competition forms for the major styles, including the 56-posture Chen-style national competition form published in 1988,[42] and in 1989 the Combined 48 Form was shortened into the "42 Form", also known as the "Competition Form", for competition timing and scoring.[43] This work of developing shorter forms for competition and for exercise convenience has continued through the present day, for example two short forms based on Yang style, the "8-Posture Tai Chi" form officially announced in 1999[44] and the "Eight Methods and Five Stances" form first published in 2018.[45]
At the 1990 11thAsian Games,wushu competitions were included for the first time, with the 42 Form representing tai chi. That year theInternational Wushu Federation (IWUF) also submitted an application forwushu to become a permanent part of theOlympic Games.[46]
The most popular is Yang, followed by Wu, Chen, Sun, and Wu/Hao.[15] The styles share underlying theory, but their training differs.
Dozens of new styles, hybrid styles, and offshoots followed, although the family schools are accepted as standard by the international community. Other important styles areZhaobao tai chi, a close cousin of Chen style, which is recognized by Western practitioners; Fu style, created byFu Zhensong, which evolved from Chen, Sun and Yang styles, and incorporates movements frombaguazhang;[citation needed] andCheng Man-ch'ing style, which simplifies Yang style.
Around the world in the 20th and 21st centuries, some Chinese emigrants who had learned tai chi in China continued to practice it together in their new communities.[48]
Choy Hok Pang [wd], a disciple ofYang Chengfu, was the first known proponent of tai chi to openly teach in the United States, beginning in 1939. His son and studentChoy Kam Man [wd] emigrated to San Francisco from Hong Kong in 1949 to teach tai chi inChinatown. Choy Kam Man taught until he died in 1994.[49][50]
Sophia Delza, a professional dancer and student ofMa Yueliang, performed the first known public demonstration of tai chi in the United States at the New York CityMuseum of Modern Art in 1954. She wrote the first English language book on tai chi,T'ai-chi Ch'üan: Body and Mind in Harmony, in 1961. She taught regular classes atCarnegie Hall, theActors Studio, and theUnited Nations.[51][52]
Huang Wenshan, a Chinese-American scholar and pioneer of cultural studies, has been called "the father of Tai Chi in the America."[53] A student ofDong Yingjie and a lifelong advocate of tai chi, in 1962 with the help ofMarshall Ho'o, a former student of Choy Hok Pang, he founded theNational Tai Chi Chuan Institute in Los Angeles, and the first nationwide organization of tai chi schools in the USA, theNational Tai Chi Chuan Association.[54] In 1973 Huang wrote one of the earliest comprehensive and popular books on the topic in English,Fundamentals of Tai Chi Chuan.[55] From 1973 to 1974 Marshall Ho'o hosted a television show on tai chi broadcasting from Los Angeles, which began weekly, grew to four times per week,[56] and was picked up by other stations across the country as its popularity grew.[57] Ho'o also promoted the art in Black Belt magazine, authored a book on tai chi, and co-founded the Aspen Academy of Martial Arts.[58]
Tung Hu Ling, son of Dong Yingjie and a pioneer in the spread of tai chi outside of China, was invited for a teaching tour of Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Toronto, and Hawaii organized by Huang and Ho'o from 1966 to 1967[54][59] During that tour Tung taught for a term at Huang's Los Angeles school assisted by Ho'o, who said that was "the first time a tai chi master came to us."[54] Within a year Tung returned to found a school in Hawaii later led by his son Dong Zengchen and now by his grandson Alex Dong who is based in New York, while in 1971 his son Tung Kai Ying founded a school in Los Angeles now run by Kai Ying's son Tung Chen-wei, and from those centers the family has grown a global network of schools and workshops.[60][61]
Cheng Man-ch'ing opened his Shr Jung Tai Chi School after he moved to New York from Taiwan in 1964. Unlike the older generation of practitioners, Cheng was cultured and educated in American ways,[clarification needed] and thus was able to transcribe Yang's dictation into a written manuscript that became the de facto manual for Yang style. Cheng felt Yang's traditional 108-movement form was unnecessarily long and repetitive, which makes it difficult to learn.[citation needed] He thus created a shortened 37-movement version that he taught in his schools. Cheng's form became the dominant form in the eastern United States until other teachers immigrated in larger numbers in the 1990s. He taught until his death in 1975.[62]
Chen Zhonghua arrived as a Chen style practitioner, teacher, and author fromShandong,China. He studied under two experts of the eighteenth generation ofChen-style tai chi,Hong Junsheng andFeng Zhiqiang (冯志强, 1928–2012). In 1985 he and his family emigrated to Canada, where he began to promote Hong's version of Chen-style tai chi to a western audience.
Another isMoy Lin-shin who arrived inToronto, Canada, from China in 1970, where he started teaching tai chi and related internal arts.[63]
M°Chang Dsu Yao (1918–1992) was the first Chinese Master to introduce Traditional Chinese martial arts to Italy. After a military career and teaching martial arts in Taiwan, he moved to Italy in 1975. There, he began teaching Tai Chi Chuan, that he had learned fromYang Chengfu, and Shaolin Kung Fu. His teachings attracted numerous students, among themRoberto Fassi [it], with whom he co-authored several martial arts publications.[64][65]
NorwegianPytt Geddes was the first European to teach tai chi in Britain, holding classes atThe Place in London in the early 1960s. She had first encountered tai chi in Shanghai in 1948, and studied with Choy Hok Pang and his son Choy Kam Man (who both also taught in the United States) while living in Hong Kong in the late 1950s.[66]
In Daoist philosophy motion cannot be manifested without inertia, in tai chi this is yin and yang. There must be a functionally unmoving aspect for there to be any manifestation of motion. In absence of a yin/yang demarcation (i.e when motion is completely unobstructed) 'wuji' (無極) is apparent, it is just as one cannot walk without a floor to push against. This absence of yin/yang separation is applied practically as 'double weightedness' (双重). This error is what practitioners train to remove in themselves by form and push hands practice and to exploit in their opponents when applied in martial contexts.
Some practitioners interpret yin and yang as the two aspects of health and martial arts The "family" schools present their teachings in a martial art context, whatever the intention of their students.[67]
Tai chi's health training concentrates on preservation through correct alignment relieves stress on the body and mind, it can relieve joint pain by allowing weight to transfer properly through good posture, and as an aerobic exercise requiring flexibility, strength, stamina, balance and coordination. In the 21st century, tai chi classes that purely emphasize health are popular in hospitals, clinics, community centres and senior centres. Tai chi's low-stress training method for seniors has become better known.[68][69]
A Chinese woman performs Yang-style tai chi.
Clinical studies exploring tai chi's effect on specific diseases and health conditions exist, though there are insufficient studies with consistent approaches to generate a comprehensive conclusion.[70]
Tai chi has been promoted for treating various ailments, and is supported by theParkinson's Foundation andDiabetes Australia, among others. However,medical evidence of effectiveness is lacking for these conditions.[71][72] A 2017 systematic review found that it decreased falls in older people.[73]
A 2015 systematic review found that tai chi could be performed by those with chronic medical conditions such aschronic obstructive pulmonary disease,heart failure, andosteoarthritis without negative effects, and found favourable effects on functional exercise capacity.[74]
In 2015 theAustralian Government's Department of Health published the results of a review of alternative therapies that sought to identify any that were suitable for coverage byhealth insurance. Tai chi was one of 17 therapies evaluated. The study concluded that low-quality evidence suggests that tai chi may have some beneficial health effects when compared to control in a limited number of populations for a limited number of outcomes.[72]
A 2020 review of 13 studies found that tai chi had positive effect on the quality of life and depressive symptoms of older adults with chronic conditions who lived in community settings.[75]
In 2022, the U.S.A agency theNational Institutes of Health published an analysis of various health claims, studies and findings. They concluded the evidence was of low quality, but that it appears to have a small positive effect on quality of life.[76]
In addition to its health and meditative aspects, Tai Chi is practiced as a competitive sport in several formats. The most common istuishou (推手; pushing hands), in which two participants attempt to unbalance, move, or throw one another while maintaining sensitivity and control. Competitions may use fixed-step or moving-step rulesets, depending on whether foot movement is restricted. Scoring typically rewards the ability to displace the opponent through weight shifting, yielding, and redirection.
Tai Chi form routines (tàijíquán tàolù, 太極拳套路) are also performed competitively.[77] These performances are evaluated using criteria such as balance, smoothness, and technical difficulty, sometimes incorporating movements from multiple family styles.
Some organizations promotesanshou (散手; free-hand) or light- to full-contact sparring events intended to show Tai Chi's combative efficacy, though these are less common and often overlap with broader wushu competition formats.
Tournaments are held annually in Europe, Asia and the Americas,[78] with some drawing over 1000 competitors.
In its martial aspect, tai chi emphasizes defence as attack, by practicing the forms to develop muscle memory (ziran)[15] and using the forms' asymmetries to express the 'Eight Gates' (Bā Mén 八門). Depending on how the opponent uses force, the practitioner allows a rotation through the creation of a fulcrum by yin/yang demarcation thus creating a continuous lever as the perimeter, giving all applications maximum leverage no matter what the opponent does, hence the famous aphorism that "4oz moves 1000lbs" (四两拨千斤). This also requires the maintenance of 'peng' (掤) to underlie 'lu' (捋), 'ji'(挤) & 'an' (按). Further, 'cai' (採), 'lie' (挒), 'zhou' (肘) & 'kao' (靠) can be applied through the various shapes and configurations in the form. These are all done by exploiting the opponents structural flaws like balance from 'double weightedness' (双重) which allows for joint breaks as well as; leg sweeps, kicks, jabs and throws.[79]
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