Tai Chi Chuan

The Chinese style of Tai Chi Chuan is one of the 'Neijia' (Internal) martial arts and it has its roots firmly based in Chinese history, as one of the most acknowledged martial arts forms followed and practiced in current times. The direct translation of this style of martial art means “the supreme ultimate fist” in Mandarin.

The origin of this style is accredited to Zhang Sanfeng, a Taoist monk who lived in the Ming Dynasty (although there are also claims that he lived some 100 years earlier, in the Song or Yuan Dynasty).

The basics of Tai Chi Chuan strongly recognize the power of Yin and Yang coming together. The perfect blend of these two contrasting ideologies is necessary for learning this martial art style.  Students of Tai Chi do not rely on muscular strength or trying to "out do" their opponent. Instead, they  yield to the greater force of an attacker, and lead that force to its end point, then whilst the opponent's power is spent, they counter attack.

There are a huge number of Tai Chi Chuan practitioners who consider this form to me more of a meditative exercise than a martial art form, whereas there are others who are fascinated by the combat aspects of it. The person who can strike a good balance between the mental as well as physical aspects of this style of martial arts is the one who will be able to make the optimum use of this form. Unlike other hard forms of martial arts, this style has been used as an effective cure for various ailments over the years.

Edited by James Johnson of:

Medway Tai Chi Society