Taijiquan

Taijiquan is one of the oldest Chinese martial arts. At the same time it’s very popular throughout the world. Some people omitted the martial aspects and started teaching and training the health aspects only. This is why many people nowadays do not know real Taijiquan.

These are the five components of Taijiquan:

1. Hand Forms 
2. Weapons Forms 
3. Self-defence 
4. Push hands 
5. Nei Kung 

We can say the hand forms are without doubt the best known component of Taijiquan. They are a series of interconnected, flowing techniques, performed slowly. Practising forms massages and stimulates organs, circulation, nervous system, muscles joints and tendons.

In various countries universities and hospitals are investigating the effects daily practice of Taijiquan can have on our health. Many studies support the early assumptions that Taijiquan can help people suffering from arthiritis, multiple sclerosis and circulatory problems. It also improves balance and coordination. This shows, that even though Taijiquan was developed centuries ago it still is one of the best developed exercise methods we have today.

Practitioners who do not train the martial aspects of Taijiquan will never have the opportunity to develop their understanding of Taijiquan beyond the level of beginners. We can say this because Nei Kung teaches us to move our bodies as one. Pushing hand drills are methods of using the Thirteen Tactics. Self defence and applications explain the movements of the hand and weapon forms and, therefore, help us to improve the way we perform them.