Tai Chi
From the Japanese customary silence, we move on to a unique Chinese martial art Tai Chi. Tai Chi Chuan literally means “Supreme Ultimate Fist” and it is an internal Chinese martial art often practiced for health reasons. Today, this superior martial art form has spread worldwide rapidly.
As the rigours of life are getting more stressful, more and more people are turning to ancient techniques of stress busting and fitness, be it Yoga or Tai Chi, and instructors today work on the styles that will suit people of today and meet their requirements. Tai Chi is of two types — soft and hard styles, the former aimed at internal power. There are three aspects of Tai Chi Chuan namely — Health and fitness without which Tai Chi form of self-defense cannot be executed, Meditation, in order to stay calm and focused thus maintaining inner balance and Martial Art which involves the study of appropriate change in response to outside forces in order to win in combat (a challenging prospect which needs good training and discipline).
Tai Chi is gaining popularity as a sport. Not only are people learning it for self-defense and health reasons but also for increasing concentration and for pleasure!