About Tai Chi Chuan Classes in Winter Garden

Tai Chi Chuan (which loosely translates to supreme ultimate boxing), Tai Chi boxing, or simply Tai Chi, is an ancient Chinese martial art. Its origins date back over 700 years. Some historians claim that it even goes as far back as 1500 years. The art is a variation of qigong (chi kung), which in Chinese means energy or breath skill, as Tai Chi is practiced with an emphasis on breathing and energy. 

Like most Chinese martial arts, Tai Chi comes from a mix of myth, legend, and truth, originating in the Wudang Mountains. Its creation is accredited to the Taoist Monk by the name of Zhang San Feng. During this time, China was considered the center of Asia and was referred to as the Central Kingdom. Also during this time, animals were observed very closely as they were believed to possess the secrets to natural skills for fighting. Hence the relationship between animal survival and human fighting in Chinese culture. 

While Tai Chi was not necessarily an official term during this time, several styles of Chinese martial arts developed out of necessity due to the consistent battles fought in defense of neighboring countries and even local tribes attempting to take over the Central Kingdom. Because of this, it was important for those within the Central Kingdom to develop their martial arts skills in secret with the understanding that four basic techniques were needed to defend the kingdom: Kicking, hand striking, joint locking, and wrestling.

Zhang San Feng spent years in the Purple Summit of the Wudang Mountains promoting the Taoist theory as well as studying nature and its animals. Upon watching a bird and snake fight, seeing their continuous movements of attacking, yielding, and counterattacking, he realized the concept of what would later become Tai Chi — which is the conquering of yielding and unyielding and coping with all motions by remaining motionless. This is how the “crane and snake” became an artistic martial form with the cultivation of energy through qigong. 

While there are various styles of Tai Chi, its basic principle remains the same in the simple yet profound philosophy of everything on earth consisting of two opposing forces that harmonize to create a whole. This is depicted with the Taiga diagram, or the yin and yang symbol which encompasses the concept of expanding and contracting, storing and releasing, giving and receiving, white and black, yin and yang, offense and defense.

Tai Chi is a 13 form martial art, meaning that it has 13 groups of movements based on attacking or yielding. These 13 movements were created with the eight extraordinary vessels in mind which connect with five internal organs. There are eight hand movements (the eight trigrams) which are broken down into two parts — four hand movements and five steps (referring to footwork).

Tai Chi was passed down through various families, hence the different styles. All styles encompass a series of gentle physical exercises and stretches with postures that flow into one another to ensure that the body and mind are in constant motion in an attempt to cultivate qi (chi). While Tai Chi is a powerful martial art that has fighting applications, it’s mostly used today as a form of meditation and gentle fitness.