The Tai Chi style martial arts were created by the famous Taoist Zhang Sang-Feng during his stay in Mount Wu Dang in the 16th century. According to the legend, he was inspired by observing the fight between a snake and a eagle. The snake curled on the ground, still but alert, preparing but not act. Whenever the eagle attacked it, it slightly moved its body to avoid the attack and then waited for the best opportunity to counter attack. He hence created a new way of self-defense, Tai Chi Chuan, based on the observation of the fight between these two animals and the theory of change between Yin and Yang.

Zhang San-Feng

    In CTMAA, we focus on the Yang and Chen style Tai Chi systems, although weaponry in other schools is also covered. The strategy of Tai Chi in self-defense is to always neutralize the attack if the opponent is stronger than you, lead him to imbalance, and then “borrow the opponent’s power.”

    Yang style Tai Chi Chuan (empty-hand form) is perhaps the most popular martial art in the world. It is characterized by its slow, soft, smooth, uniform-speed, and large movements. It is practiced slowly for the following reasons: (1) with slow movements, the mind can focus on the movement at any instant, (focus on soundness of structure, stability, softness) (2) to cultivate the "soft power", (3) to absorb chi through skin pores and acupuncture cavities and feel the circulation of chi in the body, (4) to feel the surrounding chi field for guiding the flow of your movement, or so called “swimming in the air.” The ability to maintain a soft body under the tension of fighting is essential. First of all, the word "softness" here actually means "use the minimum amount of force to maintain the optimal structure" rather than "complete relaxation". It is the so-called "needle wrapped and hidden inside cotton." When a Tai Chi expert fights with an opponent, a common strategy is to follow the sequence of neutralization, control, and counter attack. And a soft body facilitates the executing of effective neutralization. Furthermore, since one major component of internal fajing or power delivery is the sudden change of body condition from soft to hard, the ability to remain soft increase the contrast of softness and hardness and thus increases the amount of power issued at the point of impact.

Yang style Tai Chi Chuan

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