Tai Chi--usefull for self defense..?

[OldRookie]

I am curious about Tai Chi if it has any value in self defense or just more for relaxation/focusing/stress relief ?....

 

Read an article about a school for Tai Chi where the beginners start with slow movements (that we are used to seeing on Tylenol commercials..),and more advanced students train faster & even use swords??!!

 

Excuse my ignorance on this as I have read it IS an actual Martial Art;I just wanted feedback from practicioners.

 

 

[SaiFightsMS]

There is more than one type of tai chi and some are quiet physically demanding.

 

 

[Benjymaan]

Yes T'ai Chi Chuan is an inredibly effective means of self defense, with several years training, if you are thinking of joining a T'ai Chi club then don't expect instant results, the process of chi cultivation is arduous and takes practice and time and effort. I have been training in T'ai Chi for 22 years now, and when i spar with friends who practice in other martial arts such as taekwondo or shotokan and also chow gar, and i do not have difficulty winning, study T'ai Chi and see if you like it but don't practice it if you are a hotheaded teenager looking for combat skill, go do kickboxing

[OldRookie]

Thanks for the info Benjymaan. Hotheaded teen,definately not me -I'll be 43 in November!

 

 

[Phantasmatic]

I kind thought you were an older person because your name has the word "Old" in it.

 

 

My aunt does T'ai Chi and she says she loves it. Her class is for stress relief and such, but some other classes are rather difficult at the same school.

 

 

[ChangWuJi]

I think I posted on this before. The problem with most people's conception of Tai Ji Quan is they see mostly watered down versions packaged and sold by people who have very little kung fu. It is probably the most often butchered form in martial arts. Most people who take the art also are not truly being taught martial aspects, and do not even participate in push hands (a tai ji form of sparring and sensitivity building), or any Chi Na training(locks etc used with many Chinese systems). They are lured by reports of health benifits, which even more sadly they do not realize because of poor instructors. If you ever see Yang style practiced by a true martial artist.....the form does not simply look slow..it is a power similar to watching a mud slide, they are deeply rooted, and show great power from the legs up through the dan tian. This slow tempo is for neigong (internal) conditioning only....application is not slow, but as quick as one senses the opponents imbalance. The sword is the same......do not mistake speed in training for speed in application.

 

Chen style (original Tai Chi) is eally powerful and quicker to learn for combat than the other Tai Chi styles (with the right teacher), but it is more suitable to younger and healthy people. Chen style especially is explosive and alternates between slow and fast movements. As for the jian, there are still a few die hard traditionalists practicing both the later well know public Yang Style Jian & lesser known, Yang Family Michuan Jian as purely a martial art.

 

Consider how many people think they will eventually attain the kind of martial power the ancients demonstrated. They somehow convince themselves they will reach such an exalted state just by doing their forms, a little Zhan Zhaung, and maybe some mishmash of Chi Gungs for all of an hour or two per day. You gotta be kiddin' me! They need to pay more attention to some of the other, less "cool stories". You know, the ones that talk about the training that Yang Lu Chan put his boys through being so tough that one was ready to commit suicide to escape it, or even some of Wu Tu-Nan's tales of Yang Shou Yu making Tu-Nan practice under a tall table for hours on end, to the point of not being able to stand afterwards. Or they might even pay attention to some of details regarding basic training in the Zhabao style that Tim Cartmell knows; if the basic exercises for that style are so tough that most people cannot do them, what does that imply about the training in other styles of real Tai Chi Chuan? That, IMHO, is how the Masters in those "cool stories" came have the skill and ability that made them famous: along with a healthy dose of raw talent, enduring through training so grueling it would kill most people.

 

 

[dtstiachi]

great post ChangWuJi

Tai Chi was from its inception, a fighting art. Our school and my grandmaster still teaches us Tai Chi as a fighting art. The training is intense and I love it. I would recommend anyone who wants to consider a fighting art look at Tai Chi and seek out a qualified instructor who understands the power of this ancient internal art.

[The Hammer]

Taijiquan is definitely a martial art with numerous self defense practical applications. I would suggest that you search the differnt sites vailable in the web. An excellent site is https://www.chenzhonghua.com

[SevenStar]

in regards to taiji, there are two main things that the mainstream sees:

1. watered down versions that are so prevalent today

2. the length of time it takes to become proficient using taiji in combat

[Ted T.]

Taijiquan is definitely a martial art with numerous self defense practical applications. I would suggest that you search the differnt sites vailable in the web. An excellent site is https://www.chenzhonghua.com

My Chen style teacher's teacher is Chen, Zhonghua, and, since he lives in Calgary, he gets down into our corner of the country quite often.

The Tai Chi Tradition Annual Camp in Victoria, BC (April 23-29, 2005) will be less than 20 k from my place...if anyone's going - look me up!

But back to the topic, it is commonly heard that yes, tai chi is good for self defence if you have 20 years and fight mostly other tai chi guys. If not, my advice is to go cqc!