Could you please further explain how "Tai Chi is a martial art, but not in the normal sense"? Many of the slow movements are strikes and blocks set to locations similar to the forms of other Asian martial arts. It is my understanding that a serious Tai Chi practitioner will gain both self defense capabilities alongside health benefits from simply practicing the two forms. In the brief video footage you show Dr. Lin performing fast strikes and jumps--will you be explaining these in future videos? Thank you.
Hi Karen, thanks for the question. The martial ability and health benefits are "side effects" of practicing Tai Chi Chuan as opposed to its primary goal. Tai Chi needs to be practiced according to a set of principles as described in the Tai Chi commentaries. A person's ability to utilize Tai Chi for self defense purposes will depend on how many and how well they can adhere to these principles. It takes a long time to build enough sensitivity to discover and maintain them, hence for martial purposes previous generations completed about 18 "long forms" or roughly 5 hours of training a day. Most people no longer have enough time or the dedication to do that, hence modern focus of Tai Chi tends to be more towards health or spiritual practice. Having said that, you don't have to be a hardcore martial artist for Tai Chi to be able to safe your life. In some situations, just by being able to stay calm, do basic rooting or deflecting some force may be enough to change the dynamics of a dangerous situation. "...but not in the normal sense..." refers to most martial arts using physical force to overcome their opponent. In Tai Chi it is the complete opposite, the practitioner must be completely without energy or force in order to issue energy. What that implies can get very complicated very quickly. In time we hope to explain that in our videos. The footage of Dr Lin shows him demonstrating another form of internal martial arts, Hsing I Chuan. In the upcoming weeks we will upload some "how to" videos on this martial art as well. ~ Arnold
@@SelfnatureTaiChi Thank you Arnold for your thoughtful and comprehensive reply.! I will contemplate this key phrase: "the practitioner must be completely without energy or force to issue energy." I look forward to the new videos in addition to the existing ones that are helping me with my home practice. Best, Karen
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Could you please further explain how "Tai Chi is a martial art, but not in the normal sense"? Many of the slow movements are strikes and blocks set to locations similar to the forms of other Asian martial arts.
It is my understanding that a serious Tai Chi practitioner will gain both self defense capabilities alongside health benefits from simply practicing the two forms. In the brief video footage you show Dr. Lin performing fast strikes and jumps--will you be explaining these in future videos? Thank you.
Hi Karen, thanks for the question. The martial ability and health benefits are "side effects" of practicing Tai Chi Chuan as opposed to its primary goal. Tai Chi needs to be practiced according to a set of principles as described in the Tai Chi commentaries. A person's ability to utilize Tai Chi for self defense purposes will depend on how many and how well they can adhere to these principles. It takes a long time to build enough sensitivity to discover and maintain them, hence for martial purposes previous generations completed about 18 "long forms" or roughly 5 hours of training a day. Most people no longer have enough time or the dedication to do that, hence modern focus of Tai Chi tends to be more towards health or spiritual practice. Having said that, you don't have to be a hardcore martial artist for Tai Chi to be able to safe your life. In some situations, just by being able to stay calm, do basic rooting or deflecting some force may be enough to change the dynamics of a dangerous situation. "...but not in the normal sense..." refers to most martial arts using physical force to overcome their opponent. In Tai Chi it is the complete opposite, the practitioner must be completely without energy or force in order to issue energy. What that implies can get very complicated very quickly. In time we hope to explain that in our videos.
The footage of Dr Lin shows him demonstrating another form of internal martial arts, Hsing I Chuan. In the upcoming weeks we will upload some "how to" videos on this martial art as well. ~ Arnold
@@SelfnatureTaiChi Thank you Arnold for your thoughtful and comprehensive reply.! I will contemplate this key phrase: "the practitioner must be completely without energy or force to issue energy." I look forward to the new videos in addition to the existing ones that are helping me with my home practice. Best, Karen