What are the different styles of tai chi?

There are five main styles: the Yang, Wu, Chen, Hao and combination styles. The Chen is the original style, established in central China's Chen village in the seventeenth century. It is the most athletic and physically difficult style, incorporating jumping kicks and stamping actions. The Yang style, which has many variations, originated from the Chen and is the most widely practiced style of Tai Chi today. The Wu style, which was developed directly from the Yang, is the second most popular style. It emphasizes smaller, more compact movement than the Yang and incorporates more internal chi work. The Hao style is very rare, even in China. It is very internal and has the smallest and most subtle movements. Combination styles mix various styles together, including movements from other Martial Arts.

What is the best tai chi style for people over 50?

The slow motion, short form styles are generally best for people over age 50 because they generally take longer to learn movements than younger people. The Chen style is not recommended for older people, because of its stamping, jumping, and sudden moves. The small Frame styles (Wu and Hao) generally have higher stances than the large frame styles (most Yang styles). For older people with weak or injured lower backs or knees, forms with higher, rather than lower stances are better. The small frame styles are usually better for upgrading the health of your internal organs.

Is tai chi the best martial art for self-defense?

In the short term -- less than a year or two -- External martial arts give a more reliable minimum level of self-defense competence than Tai Chi. Long term -- with a time horizon of ten years and more -- the balance shifts to a more internal direction. This can be seen in many Japanese and Korean Martial Arts where at the higher black belt levels, circular, soft, and internal techniques are often considered the choicest meats of advanced training. For more on tai chi as a martial art, see The Power of Internal martial arts or The Big Book of Tai Chi.

Do you have to learn self-defense to get the health benefits of tai chi?

The simple answer is no. However, knowing some simple fighting or self-defense applications for each move will help you remember some of Tai Chi’s choreography and how to string the moves together in longer and longer sequences. These applications also help you remember the specifics of how to move your chi while doing a form.

What is tai chi's value for external martial arts practitioners?

If you are adept in an external martial art, such as kung fu and Karate, Tai Chi and other Internal arts will expand your arsenal of fighting techniques. More importantly, they will help you learn how to apply chi to the movements you already know, and thereby increase your martial creativity and power.

What is tai chi's value for older martial artists?

The External martial arts — Karate, Judo, Tae kwon do or boxing—are mostly a young person’s game, because they are hard on the joints and spine. It is extremely common for top-level external Martial Arts masters and senior practitioners in China, and even in Japan, to take up Tai Chi after they pass the age of 50. Doing a tai chi form is a practical way to extend their physical skills many years past the point at which these abilities would naturally decline in their own martial art. As well as maintaining health, tai chi keeps the hips oiled and moving with speed and power, which lies at the heart of virtually all martial arts.

How do yoga and tai chi compare?

Similarities: health and longevity are primary goals of both Tai Chi and hatha yoga, and many people cross-train in both disciplines. Both emphasize stretching, breath work and chi, called prana in yoga. Both seek to integrate the body, subtle energy, and mind. Their approaches to physicality are significantly more subtle than ordinary Western exercise methods and sports. Both help calm your mind and deal with stress.

Are chakras and tantiens the same?

Not exactly, although both terms denote major energy centers of the human body. The seven chakras of the yogic system (or nine, if you count the chakras above the head) are primarily the gateways to different levels of human consciousness. They only tangentially influence human physical health, through psychological and psychic interlinks. The three tantiens of the Chinese system are also gateways to the different levels of human consciousness. However, the Lower tantien also directly controls all the energy channels, both major and minor, which govern and regulate all aspects of physical health.

Why should dancers and athletes do tai chi?

Tai Chi can help prevent joint, muscle, and spinal injuries and thereby extend an athlete’s peak performance years and prevent lifelong injuries or pain, the practice can also speed up the normal healing time from injuries, so that less training time is missed. Tai chi increases speed, reflexes, power and endurance. The slow-motion movements of tai chi calm the mind and help the central nervous system function more smoothly. This improves timing and makes it easier to get what in basketball is termed “being in the zone.” Tai chi’s emphasis on fluidly turning from the hips and waist improves power, balance, and fluidity of motion. The practice strongly develops whole body coordination, which is key to success to high performance sports and dance. For more details on tai chi and athletics see The Big Book of Tai Chi.

At what age can a child begin tai chi?

The answer does not revolve around age, but the child’s maturity. By age 14 or 15, most teens have the maturity, especially if classes are taught with a self-defense flavor. Children can begin earlier if they are not too easily distracted and have the ability to be physically patient and methodical. Tai Chi practice can make kids more focused, coordinated and calm.