Vovinam_Vietvodao
White Belt
As you rightly guessed, Viet Tai Chi developed from the more ancient Chinese Tai Chi Chuan.
Viet Tai Chi is an Art, at the same time ancient and young. It's an ancient art because for thousand and thousand years, Vietnamese people use to practice it to cultivate their own physical and psychological well-being.
It is also young because it has been studied and worked out just during the last 20 years only.
It became a consistent structure, comprehending the whole traditional knowledge and techniques which, until that, used to belong to just a few chosen and initiate people, and never spread outside their own original country.
But Viet Tai Chi is mostly a topical art. It allows us to know a way of life acting totally in harmony with the universe and our-selves as well.
Viet Tai Chi techniques are simple actually, and are founded upon sweet, elegant and easy movements but, first of all, upon the practice of breathing, which is immediately able to make us feel great benefits.
Inside the meaning of the Vietnamese words, VIET TAI CHI, there is the first, main difference amongst Viet Tai Chi and the other Arts, all coming from the same derivation, as in example Tai Chi Chuan. These two different names were transposed into occidental languages as equal meanings, but they aren't.
They derivate from deeply different ideograms. In Chinese, Tai Chi is the Supreme Everything (as in Vietnamese it is the Thai Cuc), and Chuan is a martial Art fighting term.
Vietnamese words, composing the name Viet Tai Chi, have a different meaning:
Viet: elevate oneself
Tai: cultivating
Chi: energy
So Viet Tai Chi means
CULTIVATE ENERGY TO ELEVATE OURSELVES
Viet Tai Chi fundamentally is the art of the proper breathing. Viet Tai Chi is the learning of breathing through a discipline of physic and psychic balance.
But, even if it's practiced with discipline, it's not a martial art: mostly, it is not a fighting form, not even a defensive one.
Born in Vietnam, and officially codified for the first time by Master Charles Phan Hoang, Viet Tai Chi is a 'sweet' art, which doesn't aim to defense or physical safety, rather to the achievement of the psycho-physical welfare.
Just because it's not conceived as a martial art, and not having tough, forced movements, Viet Tai Chi is advisable to everybody, at any ages.
It is suitable for adults, pregnant women and, generally, for those who work, even and mostly those who attend a tiring job because, as we said, it teaches a proper use of breathing. Furthermore, either breathing or mental balance allow us to face with temper and rationality all the troubles of our own lives.
It is advised for aged people. After a certain age, it's arduous to attend a sporting practice, and there's the risk of traumas. By Viet Tai Chi, which doesn't provide rough movements or muscular and tendons overloads, even those who cannot face efforts because their weakness of bones and tendons, are able to attend a sweet and profitable physical activity.
Finally, Viet Tai Chi is particularly advised for those affected with physical handicaps. People that, from birth or because of traumas, have difficulties to do normal movements, by Viet Tai Chi are able to do a physical activity that doesn't involve physical decompensations, helping them to stand all the physical troubles coming from the failed utilization of some motory organs.
But, furthermore, the learning of Viet Tai Chi, who can last a whole life, allows us to better know a certain way of life very useful to live much better, in peace with mankind and the whole world.
Viet Tai Chi Techniques
The techniques of Viet Tai Chi are numerous and quite rich. They have been elaborated in a scientific way, according to the "Bat Nguyen" code (the eight principles of Art) and may be applied during the ordinary life. Any movement is independent and owns a proper efficacy. Every Quyen (a whole of coordinated movements) own a philosophical and scientific fundament.
The techniques of Viet Tai Chi gather in three Quyen families:
1. "Tinh Quyen" group (slow movements)
2. "Nhu Quyen" group (flexible movements)
3. "Hung Quyen" group (dynamic movements)
Furthermore, there also are CHIEU (sequences) and DAC-DI (specific techniques).
Oriental culture always gave a lot of importance to inner techniques, and all the traditional medicine are based upon develop and regulation of inner energy, through the study and the stimulation of energetic Meridians and as well of all the other channels which this energy moves and feed our body by.
That's the reason why all the Viet Tai Chi movements physically support a mental and philosophical principle, connecting themselves to traditional medicine's concepts.
Viet Tai Chi is an Art, at the same time ancient and young. It's an ancient art because for thousand and thousand years, Vietnamese people use to practice it to cultivate their own physical and psychological well-being.
It is also young because it has been studied and worked out just during the last 20 years only.
It became a consistent structure, comprehending the whole traditional knowledge and techniques which, until that, used to belong to just a few chosen and initiate people, and never spread outside their own original country.
But Viet Tai Chi is mostly a topical art. It allows us to know a way of life acting totally in harmony with the universe and our-selves as well.
Viet Tai Chi techniques are simple actually, and are founded upon sweet, elegant and easy movements but, first of all, upon the practice of breathing, which is immediately able to make us feel great benefits.
Inside the meaning of the Vietnamese words, VIET TAI CHI, there is the first, main difference amongst Viet Tai Chi and the other Arts, all coming from the same derivation, as in example Tai Chi Chuan. These two different names were transposed into occidental languages as equal meanings, but they aren't.
They derivate from deeply different ideograms. In Chinese, Tai Chi is the Supreme Everything (as in Vietnamese it is the Thai Cuc), and Chuan is a martial Art fighting term.
Vietnamese words, composing the name Viet Tai Chi, have a different meaning:
Viet: elevate oneself
Tai: cultivating
Chi: energy
So Viet Tai Chi means
CULTIVATE ENERGY TO ELEVATE OURSELVES
Viet Tai Chi fundamentally is the art of the proper breathing. Viet Tai Chi is the learning of breathing through a discipline of physic and psychic balance.
But, even if it's practiced with discipline, it's not a martial art: mostly, it is not a fighting form, not even a defensive one.
Born in Vietnam, and officially codified for the first time by Master Charles Phan Hoang, Viet Tai Chi is a 'sweet' art, which doesn't aim to defense or physical safety, rather to the achievement of the psycho-physical welfare.
Just because it's not conceived as a martial art, and not having tough, forced movements, Viet Tai Chi is advisable to everybody, at any ages.
It is suitable for adults, pregnant women and, generally, for those who work, even and mostly those who attend a tiring job because, as we said, it teaches a proper use of breathing. Furthermore, either breathing or mental balance allow us to face with temper and rationality all the troubles of our own lives.
It is advised for aged people. After a certain age, it's arduous to attend a sporting practice, and there's the risk of traumas. By Viet Tai Chi, which doesn't provide rough movements or muscular and tendons overloads, even those who cannot face efforts because their weakness of bones and tendons, are able to attend a sweet and profitable physical activity.
Finally, Viet Tai Chi is particularly advised for those affected with physical handicaps. People that, from birth or because of traumas, have difficulties to do normal movements, by Viet Tai Chi are able to do a physical activity that doesn't involve physical decompensations, helping them to stand all the physical troubles coming from the failed utilization of some motory organs.
But, furthermore, the learning of Viet Tai Chi, who can last a whole life, allows us to better know a certain way of life very useful to live much better, in peace with mankind and the whole world.
Viet Tai Chi Techniques
The techniques of Viet Tai Chi are numerous and quite rich. They have been elaborated in a scientific way, according to the "Bat Nguyen" code (the eight principles of Art) and may be applied during the ordinary life. Any movement is independent and owns a proper efficacy. Every Quyen (a whole of coordinated movements) own a philosophical and scientific fundament.
The techniques of Viet Tai Chi gather in three Quyen families:
1. "Tinh Quyen" group (slow movements)
2. "Nhu Quyen" group (flexible movements)
3. "Hung Quyen" group (dynamic movements)
Furthermore, there also are CHIEU (sequences) and DAC-DI (specific techniques).
Oriental culture always gave a lot of importance to inner techniques, and all the traditional medicine are based upon develop and regulation of inner energy, through the study and the stimulation of energetic Meridians and as well of all the other channels which this energy moves and feed our body by.
That's the reason why all the Viet Tai Chi movements physically support a mental and philosophical principle, connecting themselves to traditional medicine's concepts.
