Im interested in tai chi not for self defense but more for relaxation and connecting body and mind can some1 tell me a style of tai chi that would do this and what advantages tai chi has on your body and mind ..thank you in advance
I'm not an expert on tai chi (I only took it for a few months at a rec centre), but I think pretty much any tai chi you take will focus on the mind/body aspect. You have to go out of your way to find one that teaches self defense. As for mind/body benefits someone with more experience can probably help you out more here, but the benefits I always hear are better posture, and better balance. See if there is some sort of Tai Chi society in your area. You're probably better off finding out what Tai Chi is good in your area and doing that then deciding on a particular style and trying to find someone who teaches it.
Best person to ask is Taiji Butterfly, (sorry Nig.) but he knows a great deal about tai chi and also teaches it. I've been doing tai chi for about 18 months now and it's great for relaxation but I do a lot of meditation at home which also works. I hope you find a good teacher and start learning a.s.a.p. lisa xx
since I started taichi at 23 I've become more relaxed physically and mentally, my flexibilty and speed has improved. I've grown 2inches in height, and the only way I figured I got that was from my IT sitting posture throughout my life also my blood pressure has dropped considerably. I also do qigong breathing exercises and meditation as part of kungfu which crossed over into Taichi.
Any style of tai chi is good for health and relaxation, providing it is taught properly. In my opinion (and others will probably disagree) it is best to find a teacher that understands the martial side of the art. You don't have to practise it as a martial art - but if you don't understand the purpose of the moves it is very difficult to get them right. As for the health benefits - there's a whole range of claims on this. Just try a google search. Here's an article to get you started: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3543907.stm
For your first question about what style to do alot will depend on whats available in your area. The best thing to do is find all the local classes and pay them a visit. You will not know what is best for you until you have had a taste of what is on offer. As for health benefits Tai Chi promotes natural correct posture this helps to improve the strenght of muscles and ligaments. By holding the spine in the correct alignment and along with the movement of the waist the student stimultes the nervous system which helps decrease the heart rate. Other benefits include improved circulation. Better balance and can help with stress. It also helps with mental sharpness. If you want to look at it from a TCM view it helps keep Qi flowing through the body and joints. The moves open and squeeze the meridians that run through the body. This will help clear blockages of Qi which TCM practitioners believe cause illness. But the best way of checking this out is go and try it and find out for yourself if it works for you. Ps Pete e is correct if you want the full benefits of Tai Chi you need to do the whole of it that includes the martial side of Tai Chi. If you practise form and nothing else as my Teacher says you just as well off doing a country walk.
Thank you all Thanks for everyones input on this topic i appreciate your time and efforts to help me. One more thing I forgot to ask was, can this be self taught as in watching videos and or books? And thank you all for the inspiration and help I really appreciate what you all have done for me and I hope I can do the same for all of you.Oh and whats the difference between taiji and tai chi?
No you cannot learn from videos. It can help point you in the right direction but you need a good teacher to explain properly. No real difference its only a name but im sure a few will go into great detail about when each word should be used but its all Tai chi chuan or Taiji. There are other ways of spelling it but Taiji butterfly or Onyomi(wrong spelling) will explain better im sure.
Thank's MoonOnTheWater Thank's I appreciate your help. Hmm I kind of figured that it cant be self taught. Eventually I will take it because not only do I want to learn Tai Chi, I would also like to be able to teach other's and have it as some thing I would have in my backround for when I open up my own Dojang in the future. Thank you all again for your help I appreciate all of you taking the time out to help me.
No problem though my knowledge is limited as i like to keep it all vey simple and i like the martial side more than most. Though i have found most of my students even my little old ladies prefer this way of doing things. The advantage of this forum though i believe many make it much more complicated than it is there is a large range of knowledge here that you can tap and learn from.
Excellent Excellent way of putting it moon. Thanks for your advise and input again. I Really do appreciate your time and patience with me.
