L
liangzhicheng
Guest
Ask the average person on the street what Tai Chi is, and you'll probably get some variation of the following:
1. It's a beautiful meditative dance
2. What is Tai Chi?
3. That's like Karate, right?
4. It's a really great exercise for the elderly.
While I think most people are misinformed about martial arts in general (Gong fu and Karate are not interchangeable), Tai Chi has quite its share of misconceptions due to lack of popularity and exposure in the media (opinion). Take for instance, the Propecia(?) commercial in which there is a group of elderly students led in a slow moving exercise by an elderly Asian male. The commercial ended with a dog making a circle with its paw, practicing Tai Chi as well. Sorry folks, but that dog was not practicing Tai Chi. The purpose of this thread is to bring up misconceptions about Tai Chi, and dispel them.
1) Tai Chi is for the elderly.
While Tai Chi can certainly be beneficial for the elderly, it is not intended for sole usage by those considered old. For instance, I am 22. While this may have been old in the stone ages, it certainly isn't nowadays.
2) Tai Chi is a dance
I'll agree that a lot of "Tai Chi" out there is nothing more than a dance. However, "real" Tai Chi is not a dance. The Tai Chi sequences were designed for various reasons, including martial application. You can argue about the definition of dance, but if you're going to call Tai Chi a dance, then Kata, forms, etc. are dance as well (not true IMO). Tai Chi is shortened from Tai Chi Chuan. Chuan is literally translated as fist. Tai Chi was originally designed as a martial art.
3) Tai Chi is not effective for self defense/fighting
In most cases, developing the ability to defend oneself using Tai Chi does take longer than if the student were to study an external art. However, this does not mean that Tai Chi is not effective. If you can find it, take a look at the fight between Wu Kung Yi (Wu Style Tai Chi) and Chen Hak Fu (White Crane) in 1954 (there was also a long article about this in Qi magazine). While the bout was declared a draw due to a violation of the stipulation that no kicks were to be above the waist (knees?), it is clear that Wu Kung Yi was able to defend himself effectively against Chen Hak Fu. I've read posts asking why Tai Chi fighters don't participate in MMA fights. IMHO, a true Tai Chi stylist would not participate in these fights as he/she would not seek conflict. I agree, most "practitioners" of Tai Chi would not last in MMA, but then, there aren't that many real "pracitioners" (I know I'm not one of them).
4) Tai Chi for health/meditation only is still Tai Chi
I know I'm probably going to draw some negative comments from this...but try to hear me out. As pointed out before, Tai Chi was designed as a fighting art. As such, in order to understand the form, one must understand its applications. In order to be truly centered, one must be able to deal with incoming forces while maintaining the center. Getting physically attacked can be one of the hardest situations to keep one's center. If you never practice Tai Chi in a martial situation, you probably will not be able to keep your center if attacked, and thus are not practicing Tai Chi. Let me also state that I am NOT saying that focusing on health/meditation is wrong, but rather that neglecting the martial aspect leads to incomplete understanding. Similarly neglecting the health/meditative aspects of Tai Chi while focusing on martial application is incomplete as well.
5) Tai Chi can be learned from a book/tape
While a book/tape is sometimes necessary if there are no good instructors in your area, they cannot replace an actual instructor. A teacher will correct your form, something that books and tapes cannot do.
6) I learned Tai Chi in 2 months (6 months, 1 year, etc.)
Sorry folks, but learning one form does not mean you have learned Tai Chi. Learning Tai Chi means practicing in accordance to the fundamentals, which takes time, a lot of time. If an instructor claims they were certified after a two day seminar, let's just say that you should be a little suspicious of them.
7) Tai Chi is soooo slow.
Chen stlye is known for its explosive movements. What about the other styles? Speaking from a Wu Style perspective, the form is not only practiced slowly. The slow practice allows students time to feel the form, and practice the fundamentals. It takes real skill in order to perform the forms quickly in accordance with the fundamentals. If you can't perform the form quickly and correctly, you need to practice more. Another analogy is learning to play a piece of music. You start practicing it slowly to gain familiarity before you move on to the true speed. Unless the piece of music is supposed to be played slowly, you wouldn't keep practicing the music slowly forever.
more to come?
1. It's a beautiful meditative dance
2. What is Tai Chi?
3. That's like Karate, right?
4. It's a really great exercise for the elderly.
While I think most people are misinformed about martial arts in general (Gong fu and Karate are not interchangeable), Tai Chi has quite its share of misconceptions due to lack of popularity and exposure in the media (opinion). Take for instance, the Propecia(?) commercial in which there is a group of elderly students led in a slow moving exercise by an elderly Asian male. The commercial ended with a dog making a circle with its paw, practicing Tai Chi as well. Sorry folks, but that dog was not practicing Tai Chi. The purpose of this thread is to bring up misconceptions about Tai Chi, and dispel them.
1) Tai Chi is for the elderly.
While Tai Chi can certainly be beneficial for the elderly, it is not intended for sole usage by those considered old. For instance, I am 22. While this may have been old in the stone ages, it certainly isn't nowadays.
2) Tai Chi is a dance
I'll agree that a lot of "Tai Chi" out there is nothing more than a dance. However, "real" Tai Chi is not a dance. The Tai Chi sequences were designed for various reasons, including martial application. You can argue about the definition of dance, but if you're going to call Tai Chi a dance, then Kata, forms, etc. are dance as well (not true IMO). Tai Chi is shortened from Tai Chi Chuan. Chuan is literally translated as fist. Tai Chi was originally designed as a martial art.
3) Tai Chi is not effective for self defense/fighting
In most cases, developing the ability to defend oneself using Tai Chi does take longer than if the student were to study an external art. However, this does not mean that Tai Chi is not effective. If you can find it, take a look at the fight between Wu Kung Yi (Wu Style Tai Chi) and Chen Hak Fu (White Crane) in 1954 (there was also a long article about this in Qi magazine). While the bout was declared a draw due to a violation of the stipulation that no kicks were to be above the waist (knees?), it is clear that Wu Kung Yi was able to defend himself effectively against Chen Hak Fu. I've read posts asking why Tai Chi fighters don't participate in MMA fights. IMHO, a true Tai Chi stylist would not participate in these fights as he/she would not seek conflict. I agree, most "practitioners" of Tai Chi would not last in MMA, but then, there aren't that many real "pracitioners" (I know I'm not one of them).
4) Tai Chi for health/meditation only is still Tai Chi
I know I'm probably going to draw some negative comments from this...but try to hear me out. As pointed out before, Tai Chi was designed as a fighting art. As such, in order to understand the form, one must understand its applications. In order to be truly centered, one must be able to deal with incoming forces while maintaining the center. Getting physically attacked can be one of the hardest situations to keep one's center. If you never practice Tai Chi in a martial situation, you probably will not be able to keep your center if attacked, and thus are not practicing Tai Chi. Let me also state that I am NOT saying that focusing on health/meditation is wrong, but rather that neglecting the martial aspect leads to incomplete understanding. Similarly neglecting the health/meditative aspects of Tai Chi while focusing on martial application is incomplete as well.
5) Tai Chi can be learned from a book/tape
While a book/tape is sometimes necessary if there are no good instructors in your area, they cannot replace an actual instructor. A teacher will correct your form, something that books and tapes cannot do.
6) I learned Tai Chi in 2 months (6 months, 1 year, etc.)
Sorry folks, but learning one form does not mean you have learned Tai Chi. Learning Tai Chi means practicing in accordance to the fundamentals, which takes time, a lot of time. If an instructor claims they were certified after a two day seminar, let's just say that you should be a little suspicious of them.
7) Tai Chi is soooo slow.
Chen stlye is known for its explosive movements. What about the other styles? Speaking from a Wu Style perspective, the form is not only practiced slowly. The slow practice allows students time to feel the form, and practice the fundamentals. It takes real skill in order to perform the forms quickly in accordance with the fundamentals. If you can't perform the form quickly and correctly, you need to practice more. Another analogy is learning to play a piece of music. You start practicing it slowly to gain familiarity before you move on to the true speed. Unless the piece of music is supposed to be played slowly, you wouldn't keep practicing the music slowly forever.
more to come?
