Direct Answer: NO... Tai Chi is very effective as a means for self defense, but only when using it as the internal art that it is, and not trying to make it something it is not. Basically, by maintaining your composure and awareness you will learn to be patient, allow your opponent to commit to there intention first, but be ready to intercept, surprise and counter that attack. Rather than anticipate, we wait. Rather than tense up, we relax. Rather than freeze, we energize ourselves. Rather that focus, we maintain calm awareness. In other styles, much of the practice is dedicated to what we will do to others (externally), such that punches are trained in repetitions to continuously increase the power and devastation that it may cause... where in tai chi we abide by principles such as 'no excess, no deficiency', so while the strike must be skillful and accurate and delivered from the correct angle and positioning, it need not be any more powerful than it has to be. Therefore, much training is devoted to what we do with ourselves (internally) to maintain calm awareness, center the breath, develop balance, and be in-the-moment to avoid anticipating what you think may happen and instead wait for the opponents defect... and counter through skills such as timing and positioning. Tai chi being continuous, trains you to understand that not every counter is going to be enough to bring you to safety, so again by using the principles of tai chi, we do not stop until there is an opportunity for escape to safety. That requires you to stay in-the-moment and maintain calm awareness before/during/after the physical altercation.
That doesn't just happen, it require training and practice applying the internal principles through the art at different levels and scenarios. Qigong develops the physical and energetic bodies through simple repetitive movements withing a single energy pattern; the Form (whichever style you choose) challenges you to adapt and challenge the energy patterns learned in qigong to a more dynamic practice changing, combining and blending the energy patterns; Pushing Hands further challenges you to maintain your posture and composure while engaged with another external entity, thereby not only protecting your center, but also by working your energy patterns with and against that of your partner; Sparring moves it up another notch, first by adding additional fear of getting hit (and for some the fear of hitting others). Additionally, sparring detaches you physically from your opponent, so as opposed to pushing hands, you must rely solely on your energetic and emotional bodies to remain connected until contact is made.
Now some folks will say, tai chi as a martial art is dead, or nobody teaches this anymore, or its been taken over by new age hipsters and turned into some sort of bad yoga dance. I say the Truth is Out There, but like anything else that has value, it will take time and money and EFFORT on your part if you want to find it and actually train tai chi for self defense.
Peace & Tao,
Pete
