question

hello everyone. this is my first post in this section.

what i would like to know is the following: what are the benefits of training Tai chi? has it affected your life in any positive way? how? why have you decided to start training it?

thank you very much

cheers

 

answers to all your questions are going to take a lot of time hehe the benefit of taichi, aside from being a fighting system, is that it boosts your health considerably. this is the main reason people practice taichi, most people having little or no interest in its martial side.

 

Id agree with moondog regarding tai chi's health benefits, although personally i think that it is important to realise the fact that Tai chi was originally used as a martial art and should remain so. People today see tai chi as a form of meditation and as a way of improving ones health, balance and flexibilty. while this is true, and these benefits are undoubtedly a good thing, to neglect the martial application side of the art completely is a shame because it is a very worthwhile and effective style of combat and can be used effectively by people of all ages and strengths, whereas martial arts like Tae Kwon Do rely on the practioner being young and strong.

Since i began learning Tai chi i have become markedly fitter, stronger and healthier. I love it

 

ey hugh, nice to hear from another taichi buff. i didn't mean that i disregard the martial side (i study taichi for its martial effectivity), just that most people do.

there have also been some accounts of people being able to see their opponents in 'slow motion' after training in taichi for a few years, just in case that interests you neryo

 

Ah yes. sorry i see your point moondog, the martial side of tai chi is shamefully overlooked these days. glad to meet another person who hasnt forgotten this

As for the "slow motion" thing - sounds incredible! I'd imagine that sort of ability would take a serious amount of training over several years tho.

 

I began training in Tai Chi Chuan on the advice of my Sifu in another (external) style. In the short time I have been studying it, I have found that aside from the applications of TCC itself, the principles behind it are applicable to my main style, so have given me a deeper understanding of those techniques.

 

Im not surprised. most external kung fu styles utilise internal techniques to a certain degree, but this is not always apparent. My friend recently stopped learning Win Chun recently and joined me in my Chen Tai Chi classes. After the frist lesson he remarked how similar some the training had been to win chun even though win chun is generally though of as an "external" style

 

Ive gotten a lot outa ttc. I used to have horrible posture and be considerder sickly and kinda weak. Over the past four months my friends have told me my posture has improved, Ive been sick once for liek 2 days. Ive gotten more confidant and overall i feel better. I feel more calm and i just cope better. Ive also gotten a lot stronger

 

Tai Chi Chuan is a remarkable martial art. It's philosophy goes contrary to common sense and yet is has a rather prestigious history. Here is a martial art where the weak can beat the strong and the slow can defeat the fast. You will learn to relax your muscles in a way you never thought possible. You will learn to move your body as an integrated unit with no part moving by itself. You will greatly improve your leg strength and flexibility. Your health issues will most likely fade away. You will be less likely to become angry or judge others quickly. But, most of all, you will realize that your mind id in control of everything your body does. Your mind is the key to unlocking the woders of Tai Chi Chuan.

 

Benefits for me include increase in stamina/endurance, better balance, increased awareness of both me and my surroundings, more relaxedness and more able to deiver power to my target. Positive effects include more relaxed and thus less prone to losing my temper (which has been a problem in the past, well ok still continues to be a problem at times, but much less often and I am still working on it), increased self awareness has meant I have learned to listen to my body and myself more so this has led to a knock on effect in other areas of training and life in general. It also has a good effect on my relationship with my family as I learn to relax more and that not everything needs to be done at 100 miles per hour... why did I decide... well to be honest at first I thought Taiji was the touchy feely thing presented by the new age hippies of the west and was simply a method of meditation and relaxing helping to control my temper... I soon found out different and have enjoyed practicing Taiji as a martial art with its side benefits...

 

Wang Xiang Zhai said taiji makes you in to a cripple, and I pretty much found that. Just to give the opposing side of the coin. I don't think it helps your health at all, it damages the knees, and cripples the body's ability to flow fluidly and realistically as needed for self defence and combat. Sorry - but that's what I think.

Personally, I've yet to see anyone at all give a convincing, realistic demonstration of taiji except against the most useless of opponents.

 

Fire-quan,
Why do you spend so much time on the Tai Chi forum, if your opinion of Tai Chi is so low?

Also, I think what you think is complete tosh. Sorry, but that's what I think. Perhaps you should have tried learning Taiji from a competent teacher.

 

TC (and PK) themselves don't produce bad knees, etc.That's the result of incomplete instruction.An example would be how most people turn the leg by allowing it to be "dragged" into position by the turning of the torso, rather than turning it with the torsne can turn a weighted leg w/out knee damage if one knows how.The problem is ignorance on the part of so many instructors,who were never taught such things.Another example is allowing the front shin in a forward stance to angle forward too far.(Except this has nowadays become an accepted deliberate teaching in many places).

The vast majority of TC teachers worldwide don't seem to have received a good enough education,even on what should be a basic level, of preventing injury in this regards.

As for TC crippling the ability to flow fluidly and realistically as needed for self defense and combat, I guess we have different experiences.I didn't think I was facing compliant,or useless opponents.Sorry you've never had a TC instructor who could use it.Guess we've had different experiences there,also.

Y'know, much as I respect Wang/Huang,did he cite any high level (fighting)practitioners in his day who had become crippled due to their training?And if so, did he know if they had/had not learned the methods which should prevent this? If not, then this is one opinion of his I choose to discount.(If so, however, I wouldn't be awfully surprised,considering the watering down that occurred in the 1920s and after).Since you use the word "cripple", and the common usage pertains to physical disabilities, I am assuming this is what you meant by the term.

Or perhaps you should give us his reasoning.Unless it pertains to theoretical philosophical outlook on his part, not physical observation.Because then it really is just opinion with nothing concrete behind it. Not truth like if one drops an object off a tower, it falls down, rather than up.

And lest you feel this is an ego driven defense of TC,I could dispute his opinion if he had voiced it in regards to CLF, which I have never done.Or SPM, or Ying Jow, or ....

:topic: I've had a few complications lately, including my OS getting messed up and having to get a new ISP.I'll be able to devote some time soon to answering yours and Kembang's posts in the "Martial + What " thread.Didn't want you two to think I'd been avoiding it.Or that you'd shut me up.

Later.

 

The yang-style long form contains a turn on the heel of the straightened right leg, toes pointing first north-west then south. I mean the turn between the second and the third kick. I never quite figured that one out and the other day practiced it barefoot on carpeted floor around 20 times. Enough for my knee troubles to return, I am sorry to say. Could someone give me a clue as to how to do that one a) in a balanced way b) without ruining the knee? Advice would be most appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

a) I don't think ALL the balance is supposed to be on the heel in that move.
b) You have to strengthen the knee through stance work, stretching etc. I know the knee itself cannot be strengthened but you can strengthen the supporting muscles and stretch the supporting ligaments.

 

Well, it could be true that I didn't have a competent teacher, but it isn't.

But anyway, that's just one of the standard "BS DEFENCE" strategies - as if I need to prove that you're right that Taiji is effective. Hey - you assert it, you porve it. Show me one video of Taiji on youtube being used effectively in a real, or competition fight - I mean, one where we can see that it is taiji, not just someone who trained in taiji having a kick box.

I've never, ever, seen one convincing demonstration of taiji for self defence or combat against a serious opponent in actual fight, competition or otherwise - ever. If there is one, on Youtube - I mean, there's bazillions of vids of taiji, well, it should be easy to show it me - right? I mean - just one.

Don't blame me if there isn't - I just believe in truth, that's all.

Doesn't mean I don't think it can be used - I'm just saying, I never saw it.

 

Yes, he cited that Yang lineage holders of his day, and their students. He clearly meant that it was physically bad for your body, as well as crippling fight ability.

 

Now, there would be a balance between the arms and the other leg, do you mean that? But the axis then would still be above the heel. Or am I mistaken there?