For thousands of years people have studied tai chi. I want to help clarify what tai chi is and how it can help you.

First lets understand what it is that tai chi actually does for a person.

Inside each of us is a substance called "chi" some know it at "Qi" and it goes under many other names. Whatever you want to call it , it has been with us since the beginning of time. When I first started studying martial arts I was memorized by chi. I wanted to have the ability to make my flesh as strong as iron and create stronger sensitivity. I was a thick headed individual when I first started my martial training. For years my sifu tried and convince me that I needed to take tai chi to improve my martial arts skills, but I just didn't see the connection. All I saw was how long and boring the form was.

For the record : All developing your chi really is learning how to increase your blood flow through your body. And through chi training you develop proper breathing techniques.

Tai Chi means Grand Ultimate Fist , if you would have asked me when I was younger I would have said , ya right it looks grand ultimate waste of time if you ask me. Thats because I was ignorant to the truth and worse even I was a very unskilled martial artist , talking trash out of my butt.

There came a time in my training where my skill just stopped progressing, I mean I was getting faster, stronger becoming a better fighter but the core of my skill was not improving. I would train faithfully week after week witih my sifu and I would try harder and harder, but he with out blinking an eye would do away with my feeble attempts. I wondered to myself how could this man that I have 30lbs on defeat me with using any strengh at all. Ofcourse his answer was my chi wasn't as cultivated as his. So I finally broke down and started my journey down the road of Tai Chi.

When I started martial arts I first studied Karate then I moved on to kung fu.

I was getting really good at my main system of choice Wing Chun but those systems only took me so far in my understanding of the truth or what some people like to call the "way" or Tao.

If you study Tai Chi alone it will take decades to learn how to use it in a real fight. Not because the style isn't good , but because thats usually how long it takes your brain to except the truth.

Ofcourse if you train in other systems you will see the benifits Tai Chi immediately. And if you are doing tai chi for health you will start seeing the benifits immediately , however if you are studying tai chi for fighting it will take you years to learn how to use it correctly.

If you want to learn how to defend yourself fast I recommend Wing Chun its a simple direct system of self defense. I am not talking about sport fighting I am talking about true self defense. I have trained and sparred with many many systems of martial arts. None touch the effective of Wing Chun. By the way that is the main style of martial arts Bruce Lee brought to the united states.

The first 3 years of my tai chi training was dedicated to nothing but memorizing the form. There are approximately 148 movements in the Yang Style Tai Chi long form. Many teachers break it down in smaller sections to make it easier for people to learn. And in truth there are only a few core movements you need to practice to get some of the benifits of Tai Chi.

Why do millions of people around the world do Tai Chi ?

Simple answer it reverses the aging process. It heals injuries, cures diseases. increases your health. Teaching you how to breath correctly and betters your balance.

Tai Chi engages your mind and body to work as one. It aligns your bones. Do you know how many people suffer from pains due to nothing more then bad posture. Anxiety attacks , depression, overweight all these problems can be cured with continual Tai Chi training.

Tai Chi is not like other forms of excercise

You can't over train in tai chi. Its a low impact form of excercise so any person with any physical condition can learn.

Why is Tai Chi considered by many to be the most effective martial art on the planet including myself.

Softness will always beat hardness. The harder you try the faster you will fail. After all you can only be so strong. Tai chi works because it requires pure skill.

I smile when someone stronger then me struggles to move me. They try so hard and it just gets them more frustrated. I can't tell you how many times I am training someone who is breathing heavy and sweating all over ask me why am I not even winded.

Signs that you can look for to find a good tai chi Sifu (teacher)

All tai chi classes should kinda look like this

Preperation: Chi gung , Chi development is critical to learning and understanding how to use tai chi. If the school or teacher you are investigating doesn't do chi gung stay away.

Tai chi form: Main Excercise

The form teaches you structure, balance, cordination, body control, increases your awarness, strenghthens your muscles and mind. Also if you have a really good teacher you can learn the martial applications of the form also.

Push hands or sensing hands: This is the holy grail of tai chi, through pushing hands you learn sensitivity and how to apply tai chi techniques to your self defense.

In conclusion, Tai Chi will lower your blood pressure, teach you self control and better you as a human being.

Its a journey worth starting. It is a journey I will continue till my last breath of this world.

Peace

Larry Rivera