ZIRANMEN

Tai Ji Quan (also known as Tai Chi) is the most widely practiced martial art in the world. Famous for its ability to enhance health and relaxation, it was invented by Taoist philosophers who noticed that in nature, softness often overcomes hardness. Accordingly, they invented an art based on yielding and neutralizing an opponent's force. The slow, circular movements of Tai Ji strengthen all parts of the body and improve flexibility, coordination and balance. Master Liu is proficient in a number of Tai Ji styles. The following styles are offered at the school:

 

Wu Dang Tai Ji Quan

Legend has it that the basis for Tai Ji Quan was created by Daoists on Wudang mountain, as a development of Daoist health exercises and self defence techniques. The swordplay in this particular style of Tai Ji was specifically developed for the Liu He Men tradition by General Li Jing Lin, also known as 'The Magician of the Sword'. This particular style of Tai Ji is unique in that the origins for the style are still unknown, hence the name Wu Dang Tai Ji Quan.

 

Chen Style Tai Ji Quan

Most styles of Tai Ji Quan today can be traced back to Chen Wang Ting, a general during the Ming Dynasty. After the fall of the Ming and the establishment of the Ching Dynasty, Chen returned to the Chen village and created his own style of boxing, which was then continiously practiced and developed by his family until it became Chen Style Tai Ji Quan as it is known today. This style of Tai Ji Quan has a stronger martial appearance than most other styles of Tai Ji, combining slow, flowing and strong, explosive movements (Fa Jin).

 

Beijing Tai Ji Quan

In order to be able to easily access the performance Tai Ji Quan practioners in competition, the Chinese Sports Committee brought together a number of experts in each style of Tai Ji in order to a create a central standardised style. The result were a number of forms that contained the essence of each major style of Tai Ji, such as the a 24 Movement Form, a shortened Yang style form, and the 42 Movement Form, which contains elements of Chen, Yang, Wu, and Sun styles. As these forms were designed specifically with accessibility in mind they are much shorter and easier to remember than the much longer traditional forms. As such, forms from the Beijing standardised set are often the most popular ones to learn for beginners.

 

Tai Ji Push Hands

Push hands practice is an excercise that occupies the space between solo forms and free sparring. It is a two man exercise which allows practitioners to test and develop their skills in sensitivity to opponent's energy, structural alignment and yielding.