If you've just joined a tai chi class, or you're thinking about trying it out, you might be wondering who came up with this complex set of exercises and why it's supposed to be so good for you. Like other exercise forms, tai chi can help you increase your range of motion, stretch muscles and tendons, and build leg strength. However, tai chi is also a form of meditation and a sophisticated martial art --- two activities that can help boost your mental focus, relieve stress and elevate your self-esteem.
Tai Chi Origins
According to legend, tai chi was created by a Taoist priest, Zhang San Feng, in the 13th century. Trained in martial arts at the Shaolin monastery, Zhang moved to the Purple Summit Temple on Wudang mountain to expand his martial arts and spiritual practices, according to Wong Kiew Kit, Shaolin qigong and kung fu grand master, and author of "The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan." Martial arts and spiritual practices like meditation went hand in hand in Zhang's time, since these disciplines were thought to build qi or vital life energy, maximize health, and increase longevity. When Zhang witnessed a fight between a snake and a crane, he realized that the animals' soft, natural, effortless movements were the key to developing an ideal martial art and meditation combination, and tai chi was born.
Aspects of Tai Chi
There are as many different styles of tai chi as there are schools. When you're looking for a class, however, your best strategy is to find an instructor with a background in all three of tai chi's aspects: meditation, healing and martial arts. If a teacher argues that tai chi is not a martial art, or that it is only a form of healing or meditation, it's a sure sign that he has received an unbalanced tai chi education. These three aspects "are completely intertwined," notes Bruce Frantzis, a Taoist lineage master of qigong, bagua, tai chi and meditation and author of "The Power of Internal Martial Arts." A good class may emphasize one of these aspects over the others, but your instructor should be well-versed in all three.
Finding a Teacher
The No. 1 quality of a good tai chi teacher is a balanced personality, advises Ellae Elinwood, a healthy aging expert and teacher of qigong, shiatsu and tai chi. In her book "Stay Young With Tai Chi," Ellinwood notes that anyone who has practiced tai chi long enough to become a teacher should be calm, relaxed and at ease in her body. An ideal environment for learning tai chi is noncompetitive. A teacher who cultivates an environment of patience, enthusiasm and support, especially for beginners, is your best asset in helping you succeed as you start your tai chi journey.
What to Expect
Tai chi is not something you can learn in a few weeks. Most beginners --- even those with good body awareness and fitness levels --- struggle to learn the foundations of tai chi stepping, internal softness and mental focus. For this reason, the No. 1 enemy of tai chi students is frustration. Go into learning tai chi armed with perseverance, advises Benjamin Lo, a tai chi master who teaches in San Francisco, in an interview on the website of the Wu Wei Tai Chi Club. Tai chi is a lifelong challenge, and requires consistent practice, says Lo.
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