What is TaiChi Chuan (Taiji Quan)?
This question is covered in much more depth in our lecture series. It could be said that TaiChi Chuan is an internal martial art that is a physically applied aspect of the Chinese science of Yin and Yang, or the nature of opposites. It is a fighting style that was developed after generations of scientific study in the martial arts, and is still developing today. TaiChi Chuan today is most easily recognizable by the martial arts form that groups of elderly people can be seen practicing in parks. This is mainly due to the fact that one great side effect of its scientific strategy is that it promotes a health body and boosts the condition of the internal organs.

What TaiChi Chuan is taught in your school?
The full course in Chinese Martial Arts Fitness Center covers all the Major family styles, as well as the modern competition styles. During the course of one study term a student can only learn so much though, but all of the major forms are available for learning. If a student has a particular form he or she would like to learn, and it is not being covered during the time of attendance then it may be arranged for that student to have private lessons in the desired form. But don’t fall behind in your regular course work. Pushing hands is also introduced when a student shows more proficiency in the basic course. Also as part of the course Bagua Zhang and Hsing-I Quan may be introduced to give a broader perspective of Chinese internal styles.

What is an internal martial art?
Again this will be covered more in depth in our lecture series. Anything referred to as an internal martial art tends to be a style that focused around using the intentions to lead movement, rather than just action and reaction. Internal martial arts also tend to draw their energy first from the Electromagnetic forces of the Body (or Qi) rather than using brute strength to apply their power. From a position of muscular system, internal martial arts tend to rely more on skeletal alignment and tendon strength rather than larger muscles movements for their applications. Internal martial arts tend to be more scientific in application and training methods, build fundamentals deeply before actually giving the meat of fighting applications to a student.

What good is TaiChi Chuan if it is so slow?
You may have seen mostly elderly people practicing TaiChi Chuan very slowly, and even younger practitioners do it slow. This is the form they are practicing. The form is practiced slowly in most TaiChi Chuan styles, although there are fast explosive forms as well. If one is asking what good is it, I assume you mean in a fight. In actual applications and self defense situations the moves are sped up to actual fighting speed. Of course you can’t move so slowly and expect to overtake an opponent with fast reflexes. But the inner peace and quietness gained by training the form slowly can help one to slow down a situation in one’s mind, giving you an opportunity to analyze physical data more clearly. There are many benefits of training slowly, but if you only train the form and never think about fighting applications don’t fool yourself into thinking this makes you a better fighter. One has to keep clear that forms are forms and fighting is fighting, forms give you the basics and a chance to analyze your own positions. If you want to fight you must fight and think about actually applying techniques.

Why do people practice TaiChi Chuan so slowly?
Training slowly has several effects, for one it allows you to improve your stances and positions through self analysis. Having more efficient postures and eliminating gross wasted movements is one of the major benefits of TaiChi Chuan practice. If you do it fast you don’t have time to analyze, even in Fast form styles you do it slowly in the beginning. Also TaiChi Chuan practice is one way to bring a practitioner to a meditative state. Moving fast boosts the heart rate, hastens your breath, constricts the muscles and blood vessels cutting blood flow to the brain and pumping more blood into the muscles. These physiological changes make it quite hard to remain in a meditative state. TaiChi Chuan is also a form designed to train you to keep your heart rate even and blood flow balanced even though you are in a stressful situation, such as combat. Training slowly keeps you in stressful stances for longer periods of time thereby increasing your strength in fighting postures much faster than training at fighting speed would. Slow training at first can be very stressful, you may even find your legs shaking, and this is because your body takes time to adjust to new physical stimuli. One other point in TaiChi Chuan that many people are concerned about is breathing control, when you move slowly you are able to control your breathing more than if you were at a sprinting speed.

Isn’t TaiChi Chuan just for old people?
Absolutely not, in fact people who begin practicing earlier benefit more from TaiChi Chuan than those who begin at more advanced stages in life. One of the main reasons for this is that the body adapts to new stresses more quickly at younger ages. Many of the better masters we see tend to be quite old, this is true, but they didn’t just begin. Many of the world’s top TaiChi Chuan masters have been training the art since early childhood, a lifetime of practice got them to the stage they are at, They probably were even quite skillful at very young ages, but they just happen to be a little more experienced and much wiser at the older ages, so their skill is that much greater.

I heard TaiChi Chuan is a fighting art, is that true?
Yes absolutely. It is hard to see it when you see a group of elderly people doing the forms at a very slow manner and in a fuller non aggressive attitude, and usually these days many people are not taught the fighting concepts of the art. I have heard people advertise TaiChi Chuan as the peaceful martial art. I have also heard of people who take up the art because it does not involve combat, nothing could be further from the truth. TaiChi Chuan does promote inner peace, and quietude, but its fighting applications are some of the most scientific, and some might say most vicious of all martial arts. While the numbers are far less, there are those that still understand the true nature of the art today. TaiChi Chuan is a complete art, and its gifts in all areas can only be realized if it is fully investigated and understood, cutting oneself off from one part of the learning is detrimental, and restricts a practitioner from ever attaining the highest levels. I am not saying one must learn to fight and then go around killing people, but knowledge of fighting in the art opens up subtle doors in the more peaceful aspects that may not have been seen in a more basic study.

What is pushing hands?
Pushing hand is the first introduction a TaiChi Chuan practitioner will have to human interaction with the art. It is the foundation for the fighting aspects of the art, but it is more as well. Pushing hands offers a practitioner the opportunity to work with a classmate to test and see ones strengths and weaknesses, it allows one to gauge their own development, and is a handy tool for identifying shortcomings or unseen mistakes in ones form and postures. Pushing hands has developed into a competition of its own. There are yearly competitions around the world now, and many participate, unfortunately some place pushing hands proficiency above actual TaiChi Chuan proficiency digressing it into a tug of war match testing each other’s strength rather than actually utilizing true TaiChi Chuan fundamentals. The problem there is that lower level practitioners have made an advancing tool the focus of their practice, thereby impeding their own advancement. The key when practicing pushing hands that you are not competing with your partner (unless you are actually taking part in a competition of course). Pushing hands is a tool for students to self analyze and help a partner do the same.

Are there different types of TaiChi Chuan? What are they?
There are five main styles of TaiChi Chuan or families. These are Chen, Yang, Wu, Wu, and Sun. In addition to those styles, several modern competition styles have been created, mainly the 42 forms and the 42 sword forms. These are the most prominent styles, inside those styles themselves there are several subdivisions. There are several smaller styles that were developed outside of these styles as well, but never became as famous. There is no one style that is really better than another, it depends on personal taste, and body type. The theories inside are also slightly different, and some of the developments within the styles represent the generations of research. Martial arts are a science that develops along with those who train it. You can’t keep down the human mind; we discover new things about old ideas every day.

Health Benefits
TaiChi Chuan is well known for its health benefits, such as reduced stress, improved breathing, fitness, flexibility and balance. Regular practice promotes a calm and clear state of mind. Our relaxing exercises improve flexibility and demonstrate the principles of correct breathing according to Qi Gong principles.

Martial Application
There is more to these peaceful movements than meets the eye. With correct training, TaiChi Chuan can also be a highly effective martial art. Every motion is based on principles of efficient movement and self-defense. These coordinated and balanced movements may be used by competent TaiChi Chuan practitioners to defend themselves effectively against any attack. In application, the movements match the speed of the opponent. During practice, the movements are kept slow in order to attain precision of movement, calmness and balance. Greater self-awareness will enable you to harness the structure of your body for improved leverage and mobility.
Unlike many other martial arts, TaiChi Chuan does not rely on brute muscular strength and speed. TaiChi Chuan relies on skill and accuracy. It is a non-aggressive alternative for people who wish to learn self-defense.

The Importance of Stretching
It is essential to stretch before any TaiChi Chuan or Wu Shu workout in order to prevent injury and prepare you for the best possible practice. Flexibility is helpful to your performance because it allows you to concentrate on breathing, position, pace, etc. rather than the limits placed on your motion due to poorly stretched muscles. Also, remember that general flexibility improves best with stretching exercises such as those outlined below. Stretching too hard will make your muscles sore and tight, so be patient and allow your flexibility to develop over time.

Our Philosophy
Even if martial ability is not one of your goals, we believe that training accurately and with an intent to discover the true meaning of the movements will make learning TaiChi Chuan more rewarding. It is enjoyable to learn, and there is always something new to discover about yourself or the art. It is suitable for people of all ages and fitness levels.
We aim to make TaiChi Chuan easy for everyone to learn by explaining the art clearly and without reference to supernatural abilities. Our teaching style is open, and we give everyone the opportunity to achieve the highest level.

Please visit our school:
Chinese Martial Arts Fitness – TaiChi School
1404 Richey St.
Pasadena Texas 77502

Call us at 832-416-1732

Have fun losing weight and getting in the best shape of your life doing TaiChi, a gentle, relaxing, meditative exercise that reverses the aging process and helps correct health issues like weight problems, high blood pressure, arthritis, breathing problems etc. TaiChi is perfect for people with stress in their life. Highly recommended for lawyers, doctors, judges, teachers, parents, seniors, college students, bosses, managers and anyone else who could use some stress relief.