Like so many other sports and exercises, the full benefits of TaiJiQuan is something which is not entirely theoretical, ie. it can only be realised after practicing and understanding, as opposed to sitting in an arm chair and imagining. It is something which is hard to explain in just using words (much less on a document or webpage), which is probably why most practitioners will tell you that it works, but without proper explanation.
However, in this section, we will attempt to explain it in a very simple way.
We've mentioned that much about TaiJiQuan being a good exercise which aids in improved body balance, improving one's posture, preventing injuries, etc. How can these seemingly slow movements help achieve all these, one may ask....
A picture is worth a thousand words.....and a movie, worth many pictures. Below is a video showing the Traditional 85 Yang-Style TaiJiQuan form. This time, as we watch, we notice the following:
* Throughout the whole form, no matter what movements are made, the practitioner's posture is trained to be always upright, in a relaxed and natural way (no special effort to do this, as it has already become natural).
* When moving, in particular when stepping forwards, backwards or sideways, the practitioner's body weight is not prematurely or unnecessarily over-utilised (reducing the chances of tripping or falling). Balance in stepping motions is achieved by moving/stabilising the leg first, before the body weight follows. One may argue that by nature, we already always put our foot forward before shifting out body weight (as in daily walking). Yes, we cannot deny that. However, the extent to which one stabilises one's foot before shifting one's body weight is what makes the difference....and that is why people do trip over when the moving leg accidentally hits something (because their body weight was committed too early).
Most who are into sports work hard in challenging their own limits, to be faster and stronger.....
However, true champions know that it is equally challenging and important to be slow and calm, which is why many sportspeople have a time of slowness or even meditation. With calmness, comes realisations of our inner selves, our finer movements, posture, etc. These realisations or "self fine-tuning" may help us improve our form further, to further enhance our sports or even our daily activities.
TaiJiQuan (Mandarin pinyin spelling), often also referred to as TaiJi or Tai Chi, is an ancient Chinese martial arts based exercise to improve one's general health and mental well-being.
