Tai Chi Martial Application
From Silk Reeling to Pushing Hands, Chen Style Tai Chi is well known for its powerful martial techniques. External arts such as Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Kickboxing and some styles of Kung Fu focus mostly on physical or external power; muscle on muscle, speed on speed, force on force type of training. Tai Chi Chuan is an internal style of martial arts. This means that Tai Chi utilizes all aspects of one’s being, as opposed to external styles of martial arts that rely primarily on physical strength to overcome an opponent. By using all of one’s being, tai chi brings together every aspect of a person; physical make-up, internal energy, or life-force known as Chi, breathing in precise time with the movements, and a clear, totally focused mind. Of course, this requires greater discipline than simply hammering away at an opponent, or one of life’s problems, where one will ultimately use up one’s Chi, or life-force, thereby depleting their inner strength and creating disharmony in one’s body and mental state of mind.
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