Tai Chi Chuan means "grand or supreme ultimate fist". The "supreme ultimate" is one of the names given to the Yin - Yang symbol. The word fist is added to it because Tai Chi Chuan has a martial side. Its origins are obscure, but it is thought to have been practiced for at least 5000 years. Old Chinese drawings depict Taoist monks doing movements pertaining to Tai Chi.

Most people know of it as a form of gentle exercise. The movements are simultaneously beauti-ful, smooth, and even hypnotic. Tai Chi is a unique martial art. It is also one of the most difficult to learn, in the sense that it takes a long time. The main reasons for this is the slowness of the movements and the circular actions involved. Students have to become aware of their body in a way which few other disciplines require.

There are various styles of tai chi but the Yang style, named after the family who taught it and preserved it, is the most popular and most widely known today. The Chinese have introduced into their school and college curriculum some modes of Tai Chi.

The core of Tai Chi is the "form": a series of postures. Although known as postures, they are never held in static form but are passed through as ballet dance. Forms vary in length from 18 postures to more than a hundred. Beginners are introduced to the idea of the form first, and are then taken through a few postures at each lesson.

At a later stage a student can take up the study of "push hands". Push hands is a form of training with a partner. The technique involves resting your hands on the arms of your partner and by moving your whole body gently pushing him back. Your partner must learn first to give way or yield in a certain fashion, and then to push you back. Some schools carry this study of push hands even further. The prin-ciple of yielding and pushing is extended into fighting mode and self-defense applications.

Various weapons are used in Tai Chi. These include the double-edged sword, which is the favor-ite. In the west, however, weapons training is very rare.

Written By Sifu Rino Côté