Tai Chi, Chi Gong and other meditative styles of martial arts have been around for quite sometime. These meditative styles of martial arts are sometimes called internal styles. Styles such as BaGua (or 8 palms), is based off of the numerology of works such as the I Ching. These styles of martial arts focus on deep breathing, meditation, relaxation, and proper body alignment and posture. For the purposes of this article, I will be speaking mostly of Tai Chi, but really any internal Chinese art could apply to what is being said here.

Tai Chi is excellent for stress relief and encouraging proper posture. Many practitioners of Tai Chi claim that they never see, or need to see, a chiropractor. Tai Chi is heavily influenced by Chinese medicine, which is a holistic approach to well being which incorporates what westerners might call physiotherapy, massage, and homeopathy, but also acupuncture and theories of how the body works. Many highly priced and sought after medical doctors are also homeopaths and naturopaths and study eastern medicine.

Tai Chi sessions last about an hour. Students are encouraged to relax and focus their attention on the basic movements which are formulated to improve strength, flexibility, coordination, body awareness, and balance. Deep breathing exercises are also a major part of Tai Chi, and other internal Chinese martial arts. These arts, if practiced correctly, can also be used for self-defense. Tai Chi uses push hands, search hands, and sticky hands drills for learning how to knock someone off balance, find the center of someone else’s balance, and disable them from doing the same to you. It is quite a tricky skill to learn, but can be quite handy in a fight if you know how to use it properly.

The focus of Tai Chi lessons is often cultivating a healthy spirit, in other words, reducing stress and improving concentration and body control / will power. Not everyone uses Tai Chi for fighting. Because Tai Chi is typically practiced slowly, the movements may not be suitable for children, who are restless and can easily become bored. In China, Tai Chi and Ba Gua are often the last arts a practitioner will learn after other more external (punching and kicking) styles of Gung Fu.

If you are looking for an unparalleled way of reducing your stress level, improving your strength, concentration, balance, posture, and all around health, Tai Chi and other related internal martial arts would be an excellent addition to work out routine.

About the Author: This article about Tai Chi and martial arts was written by Josh Bachynski. Josh teaches Arnis, Escrima, Tai Chi, Ba Gua, self defense, and other martial arts in the London Ontario area.