Put simply, after I practice tai chi chuan each morning, I feel completely refreshed, confident in my steps, centered and relaxed for the coming day. Going into further detail, Wang Tsung-Yue’s Song of the 13 Tai-Chi Chuan Postures explains, “As to the theory and practice, i.e., the constituents and functioning of Tai-Chi Chuan, the spirit is sovereign and the body its servant, the end purpose of these exercises is to prolong life and endow it with the youth of eternal spring.”

Long Life and Good Health

Because of its gentle nature and slower pace, Tai-Chi Chuan is accessible to a wide variety of people, from the college student to the retiree. This yogic artform detoxifies the mind and body at its deepest level, helping achieve harmony in the face of the ever changing chaotic world in which we live. To practice this art is to invest in good health for the future, taking good care of our bodies and minds, becoming more attuned to what our bodies need to stay well, and thus naturally helping to prolong our lives.

Improved Memory

Since all movements must be executed in a continuous and integrated fashion, the practice of Tai-Chi Chuan leads to improved awareness of the different parts of our bodies, a sharper memory, and better functioning of the central nervous system as we exercise our brains every morning.

Virtuousness

Tai-Chi Chuan is a lifetime learning process, fostering such positive qualities as calmness, perseverance, patience, and determination. It opens communication between your mind and your body, which is beneficial to your mental and physical health and can facilitate more open lines of communication to the natural world, in your relationships, and in your business. Tai-Chi Chuan requires concentration of the mind. During practice, all spirit and thought must be concentrated within oneself. This develops self-discipline. Personal practice connects you to the inner virtues that are already in all of us, and which you discover and cultivate for yourself: integrity, respect, appreciation, honesty, humility, attention, courage and confidence.

Flexibility

The study of Tai-Chi Chuan promotes flexibility in our physical bodies as well as in our daily business. Tai-Chi Chuan encourages students to seek peace in their problems and conflicts and offers a non-violent means of finding solutions. It is an alternative to the aggression and dishonesty we see so much in our daily lives, in our business transactions, and in our politics.

Our orthodox Tai-Chi Chuan carries on the time honored tradition of the chin-to-toe ability. In the past, the masters did not want to waste their time and required this feat to achieved before any other learning commenced. And, this is not just a hazing ritual, rather by having this ability the body has the basic mechanical structure to perform the movements correctly. However, considering the dramatic health benefits offered, even without this skill, we no longer force or require the students to perform chin-to-toe. Yet, we still gently encourage the effort knowing that the ancient skill has powerful health and performance benefits.

Your instructor is on the bottom left and 3rd from bottom right in white pants and dark shirt. Note: these shots date back to 1985 at the latest.

Balance

Tai-Chi Chuan serves to remind us who we are in nature. It is our conversation with the qi of the universe, a continual quest for balance and peace in our lives. In these 64 movements reside the seed and soul of Chinese thought. Where yin and yang are balanced is called tai chi—the name of the concept as well as the philosophy devoted to it—and Tai-Chi Chuan is an art form that focuses on balance. To practice balance in our lives, whether in our physical practice or in our daily interactions with others, is to cultivate a greater balance in our often imbalanced world. Through our study of the martial arts, not only can we invest in our own health and long life, but we can also help to balance our immediate worlds, making wiser decisions, seeing consequence and continuity, garnering a compassionate objectivity toward all things. Our heads are clear enough to understand how emotions and desires can unintentionally steer us in the wrong direction, but we have the discipline to stay steady on our path.

Tai-Chi Chuanis truly a holistic form of exercise. Every movement of Tai-Chi Chuan involves the whole body. The primary aim is to allow the person to develop a natural rhythm and sense of their body through physical activity, and to then harmonize the actions of the body with those of the mind.

Strength & Self Defense

Tai-Chi Chuan is excellent for strengthening the body in many different ways. Its movements are slow-paced and not strenuous. The practice of Tai-Chi Chuan does not tax the body. It creates strength and energy. The movements give each part of the body—muscles, bones, and joints—a chance to exercise. Regular practice also improves the natural functioning of the organs, increasing their vigor and strengthening them against disease.

Long term practice will also cultivate, build and refine ones ability to sense, neutralize and issue force in its myriad manifestations. This protective ability automatically arises–without thought–to defend the practitioner by dissolving incoming force and expelling the sources away from the practitoner in an effortless manner. Humans are by nature self-preserving. Tai-Chi Chuan enhances our natural protective instincts and allows our innate defensive energies to fully express their potential.  And, this is an energetic expression that no one should esteem lightly. Or as the old teachers said, “when the sluice gate of chi is thrown open, invincible power may be generated, power as strong and solid as steel.” From the Key to Understanding the Tai-Chi Chuan movements.

Although practitioners that are focused on martial arts power, will often strive for this ability and the chance to express it…it is not necessary to seek after, attempt or test; rather it may one day develop of its own accord. “When one understands what strength is, he will also understand the true spirit of the art. (It is comforting to know that) after prolonged practice, one will, all of a sudden, come to a full enlightenment (of its meaning and rationale).” From  Wang Tsung-Yue on Tai-Chi Chuan. This is further elaborated in The Song of Thirteen Postures, “Remember to be mindful of every single move by trying to feel it meaning, and you will eventually come into possession of the arts secrets without conscious effort.”

As a technique for self-defense, tai-chi chuan is unique because of its emphasis on mental cultivation and spiritual training rather than physical force and muscular development. The idea is to overcome an opponent by absorbing his force and—through tranquility of movement—turn the attack’s own strength against him or her. The general principles behind Tai-Chi Chuan as a martial art are non-aggression and non-resistance. The goal is more a mental state than a physical condition. The even tempo and unforced movements of Tai-Chi Chuan teach a student how to use mental concentration and spiritual calm to defend against physical assault. Even though Tai-Chi Chuan was developed as a very sophisticated self-defense system, today it is practiced almost solely as a method of physical and mental conditioning, and not as a martial art. Nevertheless, in learning the Tai-Chi Chuan form, self-defense technique is automatically developed through a greater awareness of the body and of one’s physical space. By calming the mind and emotions, one is able to act composedly in any situation that may arise, combining mental stillness with physical swiftness. Yet this faculty can be cultivated only through internal discipline