Don't be fooled by the watering down of Eastern arts in the Western world. T'ai Chi Ch'uan (the correct name for it) is indeed a self-defense applicable art. Every single move, from every one of the 5 major T'ai Chi style forms is a Martial Application. The applications are broken down to three levels.: Chin-na - Seizing and controlling Ch'uan Fa - Striking Tien Shue (Dim Mak) - pressure point activation and neurological shut down points. If you ask your instructor to teach you the Martial Applications, and they say that T'ai Chi is for health only, they probably don't know pure T'ai Chi, but a watered down westernized version of it. Please note, this is NOT a slam on any style or teacher, just my version of the truth. And as my instructor (who I recently recieved my Wu's instruction certificate from) says, "The truth, no matter who it hurts, is still THE TRUTH".