Tai Chi Chuan..The dance of Yin and Yan

Tai chi or tai chi chuan is a martial art developed in the Chinese Empire, currently practiced by several million people around the world, making it one of the most widely practiced martial arts.

In the People's Republic of China, tai chi is a very popular activity and in the city parks thousands of people can be observed in the morning exercising their slow and fluid movements.

Originally, tai chi is an internal martial art (Chinese: 內 家 拳, pinyin: nèijiāquán) for hand-to-hand combat, whether armed or unarmed.1 In more recent times it has been increasingly seen as a physical practice- spiritual, which on the one hand would be very beneficial for health, while on the other it constitutes a meditation technique (meditation in movement). In front of these points of view, its aspect of martial art is losing importance until sometimes disappearing completely.

The fundamental principle of tai chi chuan is softness: the practitioner must move naturally, relaxed, loose and fluid. When exercising tai chi chuan, there are no exercises of strength, speed, or hardening, such as the breaking tests (tameshiwari) common in various combat sports. Rather, the movements are required to be carried out with a minimum of force. Unlike many other martial arts, tai chi chuan is exercised slowly, in order to apply the techniques in the most correct way possible. Some styles or forms of tai chi chuan are practiced more quickly (especially weapons forms), or they include certain very fast and explosive isolated movements.2

In the fight, the tai chi chuan fighter tries to "stick" to the opponent, that is, always keep in touch with him. Instead of reacting to certain attacks of the adversary with certain counterattack techniques, the body should react spontaneously and naturally, not resisting the attacks, but instead using the opponent's own strength, directing it against him.

The 10 fundamental rules

The following "Ten Fundamental Principles" by Yang Cheng Fu summarize a practitioner's ideal spiritual and body posture. In the various styles there is also a variety of additional principles.

Stand your head in a relaxed way

Keep your chest behind and straighten your back

Drop the lumbar region, the waist

Separate the empty and the full (distribute the weight correctly).

Let your shoulders and elbows hang down

Apply Yi (Chinese: 意, pinyin: yì) and not physical force (Chinese: 力, pinyin: lì).

Coordination of what is above with what is below

The harmony between inside and outside

The uninterrupted flow (let the movement flow).

Keep still on the move