What is TaiChi? What is its purpose?
TaiChi Chuan, also known as Taiji Quan, means Supreme Ultimate Fist. It is a “soft” or “internal” Chinese martial art. To generate power, TaiChi cultivates and applies the concepts of proper postural alignment and relaxation, or "song" (release).
This quotation from my teacher perfectly captures the intent of Tai Chi as an internal training technique. It also discusses the health benefits of Tai Chi.
“As I teach it, the purpose of the internal training is to achieve balance and harmony. When yin and yang are in balance and the mind and body in harmony we can maintain zhong ding (equilibrium) and live in peace.”
Nevertheless, the world we live in requires that everything be quantified, even what cannot be well explained. The well-known Taoist Work Tao Te Ching, which is credited to the wise Lao Tzu, begins with the phrase, "The way that can be spoken of is not the true (eternal) way." This statement warns us against the silly attempt to constrain ultimate truth and thus miss it in its entirety. As it stands, here are a few more elements to help illuminate the path.
Modern TaiChi is recognized for its slow, deliberate motions, which have several health advantages. The health advantages of TaiChi, if we are limited to practicing memorized choreographic sequences, would be similar to those of dancing or any other related discipline or movement expression at best, but these benefits are already plentiful. In other words, Tai Chi may be beneficial for circulation, balance, awareness, coordination, memory, posture, strength, and mobility.
However, when the foundations of TaiChi are taught as we teach them in HME Tokyo and other schools in the Heaven Man Earth system, the activity becomes far greater than traditional exercise. These basic tenets of TaiChi are known as jibengong, and they change the conditions of mind and body; internal and external. With a proper instruction and repetition, the practitioner becomes what my teacher refers to as “the TaiChi animal.”
Through Tai Chi, we use Qi to improve our bodies. Although it may sound ethereal, anyone who has studied genuine Zhan Zhuang (standing pole) techniques can immediately dispel this. We practice proper postural alignment by holding still positions for extended periods of time, which permits the muscles to unwind. The soft tissue may relax once the bones is in alignment.
These static standing postures are demanding, both physically and mentally. They lead to a process that is too easily referred to as “sinking the qi to the dantien”, but this is a much bigger conversation that I will leave for another time.
Through this Nei Gong, or internal process, we teach the body proper structure and release. Physically speaking, this helps the body maintain healthy bone density and strength through weight bearing, nourishes the connective tissue that is stretched during the release process, improves posture by paying attention to and correcting skeletal alignment, and permits the release of unnecessary muscular tension.
These physical attributes naturally transfer to the mind after training the body for some time in release and structure. The mind naturally quietens down, becomes more capable of being in the world, rather than reacting to the world. The mind and body are both liberated through these exercises in release (song). A mind and body that are both liberated and organized is, in my opinion, the most ideal state to strive for.
As a recognized level two instructor and direct pupil of Heaven Man Earth International founder Sifu Adam Mizner, I will instruct and train you at HME Melbourne in the genuine internal ways that have been passed down to me. Feel the peace and strength of authentic Taiji Quan (Tai Chi) for yourself.
At HME Tokyo, as a recognized level two instructor and direct disciple of Heaven Man Earth International founder Sifu Adam Mizner, I will instruct and train you in the genuine internal ways that have been passed down to me. Feel the peace and strength of authentic Taiji Quan (Tai Chi) for yourself.
Feel free to read about my Tokyo classes and online 1:1 lessons.