The Virtues of Tai Chi by everydaytaichi ken chun
A Tai Chi Journey by Kenneal Chun 5-2017
revised 6-2020
Although I have had an interest in tai chi since my youth, it was only later in life, that we began our journey to learn and appreciate this art.The personal benefits in physical and mental health improvement and maintenance that we have gained from learning and practicing this art has had a great impact on the lives of my wife, Lucille, and me. Besides gaining the physical and mental benefits from this art, we have also been able to use our career skills to teach and promote it. Lucille is a teacher by training and uses her significant teaching skills to pass on to others the knowledge of this art. I myself have tried to correlate my medical knowledge about the function of the mind and body with the concepts of tai chi. My previous knowledge in basic Chinese martial arts has been useful but not essential in understanding and learning this art.
Although tai chi is originally derived from the martial art tai chi chuan, nowadays, it is most commonly taught for its benefit as an exercise. The origins of tai chi chuan are centuries old but until the latter 19th and early 20th century, it was a sequestered form of martial art known by only certain clans and privileged individuals. Over the decades since then, the knowledge of this art has been more widely disseminated and the practice routines simplified and shortened. The main thrust of practicing this art slowly changed from promoting a fighting skill to the practicing of its concepts and movements to promote health of the body and mind.
There are several main styles of tai chi with many more offshoots and modifications by individual teachers and practitioners. The most widely known and practiced form is derived mostly from the Yang style and is referred to as the simplified 24-step tai chi chuan, universal form, or 24 form. This was formulated by tai chi experts in 1956 under the auspices of the Chinese government to try to provide a form that was easy enough for everyday people to learn and perform as a means of getting regular exercise. On August 1, 1956 the book “Simplified Shadow Boxing” was published by the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission based on the Yang Style of tai chi. Yang style tai chi, with its slow, soft appearing, flowing and rounded movements is relatively easy to learn. Direct off shoots of this form are the 8 or 10 form and the 16 form which are shortened versions using some of the same movements present in the 24 form.These latter forms were formulated in 2001 to try to provide shorter forms with which to introduce new students to the art. We have taught these three forms to provide a framework of exercise. The rudiments of sequence and body movement of the various forms can be learned relatively easily if pursued diligently. Understanding the subtleties involved in employing the mind to direct the body to perform the coordinated body movements which are the bases for tai chi can continue for as long as this art is practiced. Progressive insights and understanding of these concepts provide an on going challenge to improve one’s tai chi making the journey an interesting ever changing and satisfying one. It can be practiced regularly without being over strenuous, and can be continued into old age. This basic number of forms has allowed us as teachers of tai chi to concentrate on the few we teach to try to both master and teach the basic concepts inherent in each of the movements as they involve both the mind and body. We feel that a few tai chi forms done well and with understanding can still provide the benefits to the mind and body that we seek.
Once one has gained a sufficient amount of experience to master the basic concepts and skills involved in each movement one can consider advancing to mastering other longer and more challenging forms. There are many which have been advanced or modified from established longer forms. One of the classical “long forms” is commonly referred to as a group, as the 108 form however, the actual number ascribed to a given specific form may vary which is related to
which movements are counted as individual separate movements . The number 108 has a numerology significance to the Chinese. However, despite the number ascribed, the format of these long forms are very similar. Historically it was first ascribed to Yang Cheng Fu who during the 1920-30s simplified and shortened the tai chi training forms from the very long forms previously used in tai chi training. He reduced this number initially to 81 and then finally to 85 forms. In 1957 this Yang school form was edited and published in the book “The Sport of Shadowing Boxing” by the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission. This contained 88 forms and served as a text book for learning this longer form. The tai chi movement has since produced other forms, several of which were promoted as a means of developing a form which could be used by practitioners from different styles to display their skills using a unified set of movements. Among these are the 48 form and more recently the 42 form.
The potential benefits of tai chi are many. There are benefits to the physical body and to the neurologic and psychologic functions of the mind and nervous system. When done for health reasons similar movements with their basic martial arts intent and concepts are performed but done in a slower and gentler manner. Performing the various body movements requires strength, flexibility, coordination, knowledge of sequences of movement of body parts, coupled with focusing of one’s mind in order to direct the body to perform the given movement as precisely as possible.
The body is exercised with martial arts based movements of its various parts to improve its physical function. The slow deliberate movement and need to concentrate helps to calm and focus the mind and relax the body. It can be stress reducing. This has prompted some to refer to tai chi as “meditation in motion”. Learning to concentrate and focus on the immediate task at hand to the exclusion of many of thoughts that otherwise run through our minds throughout the day and at any given moment is a very useful skill to aid our everyday activity. It helps us breakdown our daily activity to deliberate intentional actions which have our focused attention rather than relying on semi automatic thoughts and activities, all being considered at one time, as we try to multitask our way through our days. This multitasking strategy is commonly no longer adequate due to the aging of the body with deterioration of strength and coordination and the slowing of the mind and reflexes. With these age related limitations we are at increased risk of making missteps and slips with resulting injury.
We view the learning and practice of tai chi as a journey. Initially, those trying to learn the movements in tai chi may first realize that their physical strength and coordination is not as it may have been in their youth. Part of the goal of learning tai chi is to learn about one’s body and its level of function and then to try to improve this with practicing of the art. As the student is being educated in how to perform a given movement he begins to realize the given functioning state of his body and mind and this is the starting point from which he can pursue learning tai chi to improve his condition. The body is tasked with moving in an intentional manner directed by the will of the mind. It is trained in a non forceful, safe manner to move in a smooth coordinated fashion moving the various parts of the body in the appropriate manner to master all the components of moving body parts in a synchronized fashion. With repetitive drilling of elements of posture, sequential movement of body parts, and maintenance of center of balance, all directed by a focused mind, the practitioner can learn to use his body in an efficient and safe manner.
With repeated practice the mind learns to train the physical body to comply. In concentrating to direct the body, the mind learns to focus on the task of the moment to the exclusion many
otherwise extraneous thoughts. Focusing on the immediate task at hand helps one to learn to think in the moment which may provide benefit in performing daily activity safely with minimal distraction and in an orderly fashion to reduce risk of injury. Learning to focus one’s mind on fewer thoughts at a time and to progress in an orderly fashion can provide clearer uncluttered thinking which can translate into better physical and mental performance. Also, the learning of the sequences of movements can be a means of exercising one’s memory function which is an important function to nurture.
It is not uncommon that following a session of tai chi one may feel a sense of peace and calmness which may last for various amounts of time in a given individual. The knowledge that the exercise of the mind and the body in this manner can reduce anxiety and stress can be a useful coping strategy. Over time the familiarity and confidence in this manner of thinking and movement can hopefully be incorporated in the practitioner’s daily life and can lead to improvement of its quality.
Tai chi taught and practiced in a group setting can have a social benefit when one comes into contact with others participating in the same activity with similar goals and interest. This can provide an opportunity to build new social bonds helping to nurture our human need for social interactions as social beings. Recreational opportunities and fulfillment of practical needs can grow from the nurturing of these personal bonds and friendships.
revised 6-2020
Although I have had an interest in tai chi since my youth, it was only later in life, that we began our journey to learn and appreciate this art.The personal benefits in physical and mental health improvement and maintenance that we have gained from learning and practicing this art has had a great impact on the lives of my wife, Lucille, and me. Besides gaining the physical and mental benefits from this art, we have also been able to use our career skills to teach and promote it. Lucille is a teacher by training and uses her significant teaching skills to pass on to others the knowledge of this art. I myself have tried to correlate my medical knowledge about the function of the mind and body with the concepts of tai chi. My previous knowledge in basic Chinese martial arts has been useful but not essential in understanding and learning this art.
Although tai chi is originally derived from the martial art tai chi chuan, nowadays, it is most commonly taught for its benefit as an exercise. The origins of tai chi chuan are centuries old but until the latter 19th and early 20th century, it was a sequestered form of martial art known by only certain clans and privileged individuals. Over the decades since then, the knowledge of this art has been more widely disseminated and the practice routines simplified and shortened. The main thrust of practicing this art slowly changed from promoting a fighting skill to the practicing of its concepts and movements to promote health of the body and mind.
There are several main styles of tai chi with many more offshoots and modifications by individual teachers and practitioners. The most widely known and practiced form is derived mostly from the Yang style and is referred to as the simplified 24-step tai chi chuan, universal form, or 24 form. This was formulated by tai chi experts in 1956 under the auspices of the Chinese government to try to provide a form that was easy enough for everyday people to learn and perform as a means of getting regular exercise. On August 1, 1956 the book “Simplified Shadow Boxing” was published by the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission based on the Yang Style of tai chi. Yang style tai chi, with its slow, soft appearing, flowing and rounded movements is relatively easy to learn. Direct off shoots of this form are the 8 or 10 form and the 16 form which are shortened versions using some of the same movements present in the 24 form.These latter forms were formulated in 2001 to try to provide shorter forms with which to introduce new students to the art. We have taught these three forms to provide a framework of exercise. The rudiments of sequence and body movement of the various forms can be learned relatively easily if pursued diligently. Understanding the subtleties involved in employing the mind to direct the body to perform the coordinated body movements which are the bases for tai chi can continue for as long as this art is practiced. Progressive insights and understanding of these concepts provide an on going challenge to improve one’s tai chi making the journey an interesting ever changing and satisfying one. It can be practiced regularly without being over strenuous, and can be continued into old age. This basic number of forms has allowed us as teachers of tai chi to concentrate on the few we teach to try to both master and teach the basic concepts inherent in each of the movements as they involve both the mind and body. We feel that a few tai chi forms done well and with understanding can still provide the benefits to the mind and body that we seek.
Once one has gained a sufficient amount of experience to master the basic concepts and skills involved in each movement one can consider advancing to mastering other longer and more challenging forms. There are many which have been advanced or modified from established longer forms. One of the classical “long forms” is commonly referred to as a group, as the 108 form however, the actual number ascribed to a given specific form may vary which is related to
which movements are counted as individual separate movements . The number 108 has a numerology significance to the Chinese. However, despite the number ascribed, the format of these long forms are very similar. Historically it was first ascribed to Yang Cheng Fu who during the 1920-30s simplified and shortened the tai chi training forms from the very long forms previously used in tai chi training. He reduced this number initially to 81 and then finally to 85 forms. In 1957 this Yang school form was edited and published in the book “The Sport of Shadowing Boxing” by the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission. This contained 88 forms and served as a text book for learning this longer form. The tai chi movement has since produced other forms, several of which were promoted as a means of developing a form which could be used by practitioners from different styles to display their skills using a unified set of movements. Among these are the 48 form and more recently the 42 form.
The potential benefits of tai chi are many. There are benefits to the physical body and to the neurologic and psychologic functions of the mind and nervous system. When done for health reasons similar movements with their basic martial arts intent and concepts are performed but done in a slower and gentler manner. Performing the various body movements requires strength, flexibility, coordination, knowledge of sequences of movement of body parts, coupled with focusing of one’s mind in order to direct the body to perform the given movement as precisely as possible.
The body is exercised with martial arts based movements of its various parts to improve its physical function. The slow deliberate movement and need to concentrate helps to calm and focus the mind and relax the body. It can be stress reducing. This has prompted some to refer to tai chi as “meditation in motion”. Learning to concentrate and focus on the immediate task at hand to the exclusion of many of thoughts that otherwise run through our minds throughout the day and at any given moment is a very useful skill to aid our everyday activity. It helps us breakdown our daily activity to deliberate intentional actions which have our focused attention rather than relying on semi automatic thoughts and activities, all being considered at one time, as we try to multitask our way through our days. This multitasking strategy is commonly no longer adequate due to the aging of the body with deterioration of strength and coordination and the slowing of the mind and reflexes. With these age related limitations we are at increased risk of making missteps and slips with resulting injury.
We view the learning and practice of tai chi as a journey. Initially, those trying to learn the movements in tai chi may first realize that their physical strength and coordination is not as it may have been in their youth. Part of the goal of learning tai chi is to learn about one’s body and its level of function and then to try to improve this with practicing of the art. As the student is being educated in how to perform a given movement he begins to realize the given functioning state of his body and mind and this is the starting point from which he can pursue learning tai chi to improve his condition. The body is tasked with moving in an intentional manner directed by the will of the mind. It is trained in a non forceful, safe manner to move in a smooth coordinated fashion moving the various parts of the body in the appropriate manner to master all the components of moving body parts in a synchronized fashion. With repetitive drilling of elements of posture, sequential movement of body parts, and maintenance of center of balance, all directed by a focused mind, the practitioner can learn to use his body in an efficient and safe manner.
With repeated practice the mind learns to train the physical body to comply. In concentrating to direct the body, the mind learns to focus on the task of the moment to the exclusion many
otherwise extraneous thoughts. Focusing on the immediate task at hand helps one to learn to think in the moment which may provide benefit in performing daily activity safely with minimal distraction and in an orderly fashion to reduce risk of injury. Learning to focus one’s mind on fewer thoughts at a time and to progress in an orderly fashion can provide clearer uncluttered thinking which can translate into better physical and mental performance. Also, the learning of the sequences of movements can be a means of exercising one’s memory function which is an important function to nurture.
It is not uncommon that following a session of tai chi one may feel a sense of peace and calmness which may last for various amounts of time in a given individual. The knowledge that the exercise of the mind and the body in this manner can reduce anxiety and stress can be a useful coping strategy. Over time the familiarity and confidence in this manner of thinking and movement can hopefully be incorporated in the practitioner’s daily life and can lead to improvement of its quality.
Tai chi taught and practiced in a group setting can have a social benefit when one comes into contact with others participating in the same activity with similar goals and interest. This can provide an opportunity to build new social bonds helping to nurture our human need for social interactions as social beings. Recreational opportunities and fulfillment of practical needs can grow from the nurturing of these personal bonds and friendships.
Ken's Tai Chi Up on Koko Crater
