Almost every morning, in parks all over China, you can watch people practicing Tai Chi. They practice in the heat and humidity of summer and the freezing cold of winter. Why such devotion even in inclement weather? The Chinese — and devotees of the sport on Marco — are convinced that Tai Chi promotes health, calmness and a sense of well-being. It is said that those who practice Tai Chi regularly will experience “longevity in the springtime of their lives.”
At the Greater Marco YMCA, you also can see people practicing Tai Chi. Young students will be learning Tai Chi in a summer camp in July. Those of us of a more venerable age can practice Tai Chi every Tuesday and Thursday morning.
Participants thoroughly enjoy the benefits and the fun of practicing the slow-motion martial art of Tai Chi. We are stronger mentally and physically. We have more energy and we balance better. Those who dislike more traditional exercise often love Tai Chi for the camaraderie of fellow students, sense of calm it brings amid the chaos of normal living, and for a good exercise workout without sweat.
What exactly is Tai Chi?
Tai Chi is an ancient martial art that cultivates internal strength, physical well-being, balance, energy and inner peace. The movements are slow and deliberate, flowing from one to the next, developing strength and balance. Tai Chi follows the principle of keeping the opposites of Yin and the Yang in harmony. This promotes calm and a sense of peace. Thus, when practiced regularly, Tai Chi can have a profound, positive effect on a person’s mental and physical well-being. Practicing Tai Chi just feels good!
The origins of Tai Chi
The legend about the origins of Tai Chi says that in the 13th century, a Taoist monk in China looked out his window and saw a crane fighting with a snake. From the back and forth, side to side, up and down paths of the crane and the snake, the monk choreographed the moving meditation we call Tai Chi. Many of the moves in Tai Chi have names that involve snakes and cranes such as “White Crane Spreads Its Wings” or “Snake Darts Out Tongue.”
The Tai Chi symbol is a circle with black on one side and white on the other, but there is a small circle of black within the white and a small circle of white within the black. These symbolize the balance of Yin and Yang upon which Tai Chi is based. For every movement up, there is one down.
Tai Chi health benefits:
Tai Chi is now practiced all over the world as a means of keeping body and mind well and supple. There are many health benefits to practicing Tai Chi.
Not only do the slow and gentle outward movements push out stress, but the inward movements take in the healing energy (Chi or Qi) from the Earth and the Heavens. It is the perfect exercise for the total body.
As we constantly shift weight from one leg to the other with a straight spine and bent knees, we improve our balance, strength and posture. As we move our arms, hands and feet, all our joints are lubricated and exercised, helping ease the effects of arthritis. The whole body movements massage our inner organs. As a moving meditation, Tai Chi calms the mind and spirit for better mental health and lowered blood pressure. Also, we challenge our minds as we learn the moves. In fact, a modified version of Tai Chi is practiced in many Alzheimer wards and nursing homes to help their patients. Tai Chi also has proven to be very beneficial for Parkinson’s patients and people recovering from strokes.
How can Tai Chi be a martial art? It’s so slow.
The Tai Chi taught to adults at the Greater Marco YMCA focuses on the exercise and health benefits of Tai Chi rather than the martial art aspects. But, Tai Chi also can be a martial art. Balance is the key to Tai Chi, not brute strength. If your balance is good (and you learn some tricks to good balance when learning Tai Chi), it is more difficult for someone to knock you over. If a person never knows what you are going to do — hit or retreat, kick flat or pointed, sweep — you have the advantage of surprise and can catch him or her off guard.
Tai Chi used as a martial art relies on sensitivity to the opponent’s movements and center of gravity. The key is to “capture” or offset this center of gravity and topple the adversary by using mostly pushing and open-hand strikes, to acupressure points (ouch!), leg sweeps, moving forward and then retreating. Many kicks are delivered with a flat foot and are lower than kicks in Tae Kwon Do or Judo and Karate. Hand hits are higher and with fingers or flat hand which also is different. By maintaining balance, withdrawing and pushing forward, a person who is proficient in Tai Chi can overcome a larger opponent.
If you are curious to see how Tai Chi can be used with an attacker, watch a wonderful YouTube video made by a Russian martial arts teacher. To see it, Google “the uses of Tai Chi June 24.” The video lasts a little more than two and a half minutes. The teacher in the video demonstrates a move of Tai Chi at the usual speed (slow). He then speeds it up to knock down another teacher who attacks him. He does this with most of the moves in the Yang Style of Tai Chi.
The Yang Style of Tai Chi
There are four main styles of Tai Chi, each containing the same basic 13 moves, but each executing them in a different way — the Chen Style (the original form), the Yang Style, the Wu Style and the Sun Style.
The Yang Style was created in the early 1800s by Yang Luchan and is very gentle with slow, even, fluid and smooth moves that look like a dance when performed. Everyone can do Tai Chi or a modified version of it. Even if you have to kick near the ground, touch a wall for balance, or sit in a chair, you will still get the benefits of Tai Chi.
The popular and gentle Yang Style Long Form of Tai Chi has 108 moves, but this is deceptive as many of the moves are repeated again and again, sometimes as many as 11 times, and each of the repetitions counts as one of the 108, so it isn’t as formidable as it appears. You really will only need to learn about 45 different positions and then learn the order in which to do them. It takes time to learn, but it is time well spent.
Where can you learn Tai Chi?
The Greater Marco YMCA offers a class for beginners and intermediates from 8:30 to 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays (show up at 9 a.m. if that is too early). Those of you who danced or have ever learned another martial art will find that you quickly will move from beginner/intermediate class to the advanced one which is taught from 10 to 11 a.m.
Anyone who has practiced Tai Chi before, even if it is a different form, may want to try coming to the end of the beginner/intermediate class to get more instruction and continue with the advanced students. Both these classes are taught year-round. They are free to Y members or you can purchase a day pass for only $10.
Come join the fun! You may be surprised how good you feel afterwards! For more information on this class or membership please call 394-3144, ext. 0
Lely Homecoming activities bring ...
Cape Romano's infamous dome home
Collier County arrests 11-03-09
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.