The meaning of Taijiquan (taichi) is literally ‘supreme, ultimate’. The five most popular styles of Tai Chi are Chen, Yang, Wu, Wu (different) and Sun. As well as being one of the most effective martial systems in history, it is extremely beneficial for health when practiced regularly. This is because the art combines self defense with health preservation practices. Therefore, Tai Chi is a rich and diverse art.

The history of Taijiquan is shrouded in mystery, but one of the most popular genesis stories is that of ‘The Dream of Chang San Feng’. He was a Daoist priest and scholar, one night he had a dream where a snake and a crane where fighting over food. Each animal had their unique methods of attacking and defending but neither could overcome the other. This dream recurred night after night; nevertheless, neither snake nor crane was victorious.

Chang believed the dream represented the universal dynamic of Yin-Yang theory and that only through the unity of opposites can an outcome be reached. Consequently, he established his own art based on these principles and called it “Supreme-Ultimate” or more commonly Tajiquan.

Tai Chi stresses slow, controlled breathing coupled with relaxed and balanced postures. This approach aims to eliminate unwanted tension in the body; thus allowing Qi to circulate freely. The fluidity of taiji permits the practitioner to meet aggressive force with softness allowing one to strike or throw using the constantly flowing energy within the body. Therefore, if someone punches a Tai Chi practitioner they will redirect the energy of that punch and use the attackers force against them. This is how softness is used to overcome hardness. 

The core elements that make up Tai Chi are empty hand forms, weapons forms and qigong. The combined effect of this training is to increase a students flexibility, strength and understanding of body mechanics. Students will begin by learning a short form to learn the fundamental movements and body mechanics of the art. Then there they can then move on to more advanced training methods such as long forms, sword and fan forms.

At Shengjing Shan students can learn Chen, Yang and Wu Tai Chi. Master Qu has won many gold medals for his Tai Chi and so have his students for all three styles of Tai Chi. You could be a future gold medal winner too.