Below are some facts about Tai Ji (Tai Chi) that you may not know. Enjoy reading.

1. The correct word is Tai Ji, not Tai Chi

The Chinese word is 太极, which sounds like “chi” but without the “h”. Tai Ji has a literal meaning of “very extreme” or “large pole”.

2. Oldest traceable history of Tai Ji is not from Wudang

Tai Ji is categorized as Wudang inner (nei jia) kung fu. Many movies also suggest that Tai Ji is originated from Wudang sect. However, currently, the oldest traceable documents or word of mouth proofs are from Chen Jia Gou, Henan province, northern China, which is the home of Chen-style Tai Ji.

3. Thus Zhang San Feng is doubtful

The existence of Zhang San Feng, the legendary character said to be the one created Tai Ji and widely popularized by movies and media, is also being doubted by several academists.

4.There are hundreds of Tai Ji styles / sects

Because of the low impact practice of Tai Ji, many people tried to make some variations of it. Try to enhance it here and there. Thus, making hundreds of styles of different Tai Ji. The biggest styles are Wudang style, Chen style, Yang style, Wu style, Wu Hao style, and Sun style ( “sun” as in Chinese family name, not “sun” as early in the morning)

5. The current Tai Ji is not for combat

Although originally created as martial art, the current Tai Ji is not effective for self defense / fighting. Many people tried to say otherwise by explaining the moves in Tai Ji or learning the Fa Jin power. The fact is, in 1960s to 1970s China was undergoing a cultural revolution where martial art practices were strictly forbidden by government, thus making some part of the Tai Ji training system “lost” to us nowadays. Ten (10) years are sufficient to unlearn and forget everything. What we have now are half-preserved Tai Ji styles which are good for health but not for fighting.

6. The Tai Ji competition has no specific style

If you browse youtube and search for “Tai Ji Competition”, you will find hundreds of videos of competitions. However, those Tai Ji being displayed and scored at those competitions are not from a specific style. Those with high jumps, 360 degree kicks, etc are choreographed Tai Ji. The “formal” and standardized Tai Ji from big styles / sects are boring and not beautiful to see. Thus they choreograph here and there by adding jumps, kicks, or other “beautiful” and hard-to-copy movements.

---

If this blog post has entertained or helped you, please follow, upvote, resteem and/or consider buying me beers :

BTC

ETH

LTC

DOGE

XMR

 

 

 

BTC : 1HqYTjRdZvss32vDrp1T8gRAXTgdqfZ6VS
ETH : 0x1fc22bC528ceE3DaA39555269b70e287dda9aE3E
LTC : LdEiGzjcG36EoZoezDu6rZmdwVcSJHazfr
DOGE : DMYx1w5Sr4uoMnNWymn5nMpCuySSr178TA
XMR : 46QngrRwYgAbQJzW2ZJZ8HEuirkUW2bw84ajWhk73DLG8iT9NqgfzSU4ddRZbeAaLgFeL6gAxzVtGZPHJhFmCDXF3ZEwimT