Tai Chi as a martial art
Most people associate Tai Chi as the slow-motion exercise performed by seniors in the park who do their best to get a little exercise in their later years. Therefore, most people have no idea that Tai Chi is actually a very sophisticated martial art form.
Tai Chi is a westernized spelling adaptation of Taijiquan which translates as Supreme Ultimate Fist. Taijiquan’s martial applications are so numerous that volumes have been written for each of the five main styles and it would take a lifetime to properly learn each of these individual styles.
Taijiquan incorporates all four fighting modalities: strikes, kicks, joint locks, and throws into the beautifully flowing movements witnessed by the untrained observer. The forms are only made with the hidden techniques. The story of why this is so begins in feudal China, where warlords kept a close eye on the peasantry and did not allow martial training for fear that larger numbers of peasants would gain sufficient advantage to overthrow them. Thus, the peasants hid the martial training within the forms so as not to attract the ever watchful gaze of the oppressors.
While Tai Chi has become extremely popular for Western mass consumption, Taijiquan really only appeals to a select few who have the patience, diligence, and inner strength to spend the time and energy necessary to learn and absorb the philosophies. , concepts and adequate techniques demanded by this living art. Is not easy. Unlike external martial arts like Karate or Tae Kwon Do, where students can see martial progress within six to twelve months, Taijiquan students will not be able to use their art for martial purposes until they change internally and philosophically. This often takes many years to achieve simply because it takes time to overwrite the competitive and combative Western worldview programmed into each and every one of us.
The good Taijiquan martial artist learns not to compete and not to resist. He learns to bind, neutralize, and control using the least amount of his own energy while at the same time harnessing the opponent’s energy. These abilities are tried and true, but they are not easy to obtain or master.
Taijiquan is an extremely profound living art form that enhances a student’s physical abilities, emotional balance, mental clarity, and spiritual wisdom to forge an extremely competent martial artist who strives for the ultimate goal of self-mastery.