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T'ai Chi Chuan literally means "grand ultimate fist" in chinese. Many people feel it is the ultimate form of martial art. But it doesn't look like a martial art; the movements are done slowly with a back and forth rhythmic motion that looks more like a dance than a fight. The slow pace and relaxed, balanced postures make it one of the easiest exercises to perform, but the remarkable attention to detail make it one of the hardest to master. When it is practiced regularly with focused attention it becomes a moving meditation. The breathing deepens, the mind is clear but alert, and the body is balanced and relaxed. The "martial" in the art comes out when you visualize each of the movements as a pantomime of a punch or a block or a crushing blow. After much practice, the movements become reflexive; you can call on them quickly when you need to, without thinking. People Study T'ai Chi for lots of reasons: Linda does it because it relaxes her. Mark does it to help clear his mind of the day's stressful events. Anne does it to get more in touch with her spiritual energy. Doug practices to help develop balance and strength in his legs. Sue is getting on in years and practices T'ai Chi to keep herself limber. Bill and Ted do it because its, like, cool. Being quite old, as martial art systems go, the origins of tai chi are obscure. One theory is that the art arose as a fusion of Taoist and Buddhist self defense and exercise systems sometime in the 14th Century. Ed Owens has composed a short article on the conceptual origins of Tai Chi Chuan, which you may find interesting. There are five or six main styles of Tai Chi taught today. As shown on this family tree, all styles originated with the Chen style and spread from there. The style taught in the Health and Harmony Kung-Fu Association is the Kwan Ping (Guang Ping) Yang style brought to America by Master Kuo Lin-ying and handed down through Peter Kwok. The forms taught in our system are:
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