Marisa Cicurel, Rachel Gorosh, and Christina Hart

TAI CHI

History•F

rom Chinese family•C

hen-style, Yang-style, Wu Style, Wu Ch’uan-yu style, Sun-style•D

ifferent based on speed and movements•A

ll styles relate back to Chen-style which was passed down as a family secret

•Yang Luchan became first person outside of the family to learn t’ai chi ch’uan

•His fame and efforts in teaching contributed to the spreading of tai chi.

History•T

races back to Taoist and Buddhist monasteries•D

ependent upon theories of Sung dynasty Neo-Confucianism (Taoist, Buddhist, and Confucian traditions)

•Believed by these schools and were formulated by Taoist monk Zhang Sanfeng

•Modern research says “Epitaph for Wang Zhengnan is the earliest refernce

Overview of Tai Chi•M

eaning “supreme ultimate fist”, “boundless fist”, or “great extremes boxing”

•Evolved in agreement with many Chinese philosophical principles, including those of Taoism and Confucianism

Training•I

nvolves taolu (solo hand and weapons routines), neigong and qigong (breathing, movement and awareness exercises and meditation), tuishou (response drills), and sanshou (self defence techniques)

•Yang, Wu, and Chen are faster paced

•Tuishou is a partner exercise (pushing hands)

•Taolu- martial applications

Martial Art•I

n China it is known as the art applied with internal power•U

sed to distinguish the skills, theories, and applications of neijia (internal art) from those of Waijia (hard or external) martial art forms.

•Self defense and combat

•Appropriate change in response to outside forces

•Study of yielding to an incoming attack

Health•I

nterest for health and health maintenance beginning in the 20th century•M

artial arts therapy•T

he mind brings about a state of mental calm and clarity•S

tress management•L

everage through joints•R

epetitive•O

pens internal circulation•E

ffective self-defence

Meditation•R

elieving stress and maintaining homeostasis

Jonathon Wang•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

iQPIhHKkOwE•h

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky4rJFTy97k