ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Tai Chi's Origins And Health Benefits

Updated on June 2, 2011

Martial Arts In Slow Motion

To watch someone doing Tai Chi it may appear as if they are performing martial art moves in slow motion. In actuality, they may be doing just that. Also known as Tai chi chuan, translated "Supreme Ultimate Fist", Tai chi is an internal ancient Chinese martial art practiced for defense training as well as its’ health benefits. A number of training styles exist, both traditional and modern. Some may focus on health while others are geared towards the martial arts.

Today, tai chi is a popular activity practiced worldwide. It originally developed in ancient China for self-defense but eventually evolved into a refined stress reducing exercise and help with other health conditions.

There are over 100 movements and positions in tai chi, many named after animals or nature. Regardless of style, all forms of tai chi have a common thread…self paced, rhythmic movements and breathing. The combination helps to achieve a sense of inner calm.

Low Impact Exercise

Some forms are faster paced than others, but most are gentle and can be done by almost everyone regardless of age or physical ability. Tai chi stresses technique over strength and is low impact. Therefore, it could be suited for older adults who may not exercise regularly. In addition, it's inexpensive, needs no special equipment and can be done indoors or out, alone or in a group. However, consult your physician before starting a new program.

The ancient Chinese art has only recently been studied scientifically. Preliminary results indicate it has many benefits beyond stress reduction such as reducing depression and anxiety, improving muscle strength and balance. The reports also show improvement in blood pressure, sleep, pain relief and cardiovascular fitness. An important thing to remember is tai chi instructors are not required to be licensed and to get the greatest health benefits from tai chi, it must be practiced regularly.

In the beginning Tai Chi was not associated with reaping health benefits from the practice. That aspect is relatively new since the 1990’s. It was apparently adopted by the new Age movement and modified.

As a rule, tai chi schools don’t require uniforms, but loose, comfortable clothing and flat soled shoes are recommended. Tai chi uses leverage through the joints based on relaxation, rather than muscular tension.

There are now dozens of new styles, but the five original family schools are the groups recognized by the international community as being the orthodox styles. However, all tai chi styles can be traced back to the Chen style, passed down as a family secret for generations.


No doubt, early forms of tai chi were greatly influenced by eastern religion and philosophy and the earliest known reference to the art is around 1669.

The philosophy behind tai chi is, if one uses hardness to resist violent force, both sides are certain to sustain injury. So the idea is not to directly resist an incoming force, but gently meet it and follow its motion until the force exhausts itself. One master wrote, "The soft and the pliable will defeat the hard and strong." Effectively capturing an opponent's center of gravity is the basic goal.

Tai chi classes have become popular in hospitals and clinics as well as community and senior citizen centers, obviously due to its’ reputation for low-stress training. There are even tai chi tournaments.

Before tai chi's introduction to the west, health benefits of tai chi chuan were for the most part explained in view of traditional Chinese medicine, which is based on the body and its’ healing capabilities. Today, tai chi is being rigorously studied in the west and the majority of health studies have been positive.

In 2003, the National Library of Medicine awarded a grant to the American Tai Chi and Qigong Association to build a website titled "The Tai Chi & Consumer Health Information Center". The center has since provided scientific information about various health benefits of tai chi for arthritis, diabetes, balance control, pain reduction, mental health, cardiovascular diseases, fitness, and over all well being.

Most communities now have training classes for tai chi. Videos, as well as other media are readily available for those interested in learning it.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)