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Tai Chi?

mrfreeze

Critical Thinker
M
Joined
Sep 14, 2005
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So the g/f who has minor woo tendencies from time to time has mentioned an interest in studying Tai Chi in order to have some fun and get in shape. After doing some minor research, all I can really find out about it is that "Recent medical reports support its health benefits". How useful is it, and what would be a good way to support this hobby without treading into woo territory?
 
It's good for flexibility and easy on the joints. That's why so many older people use it. For me, it also helped improve balance. Personally, I don't class this with woo as no religion comes with it.
 
I just tend to be wary of anything with the world "Chi" in the title. I would hate for her to wind up a member of Yellow Bamboo or some such.
 
I don't reccommend letting your girlfriend study Tai Chi. He's probably not that interesting physically, and he's full of wacky woo ideas.
 
mrfreeze said:
I just tend to be wary of anything with the world "Chi" in the title. I would hate for her to wind up a member of Yellow Bamboo or some such.
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Nah. Nothing like that will happen. She won't have to buy any special clothes either. There are different styles of T'ai Chi. I did the short Yang form with 24 movements. They teach it at the local health club along with Step aerobics.
 
I agree with The Vampire. Tai Chi is a soft martial art (my kid calls it slow motion Tae Kwon Do) that can lead to health benefits.

But beware Qigong, also known as Chi Kung, which is similar to Tai Chi and has to do with coordinating breathing and movements. In some places, it is used simply as a form of excercise, which is fine and beneficial, specially for stress control. However, you'll find many instances where it goes the "New Age" route and may take you deep into woo territory (energy fields, claims of healing powers, balancing natural forces, alternative therapies, etc.).
 
If she is going to get instructions from a teacher, ask the teacher about Chi. If teacher says there is such a thing, leave.
 
I used to study Aikido. One day, in the changing room, the conversation came round to Japanese masters who could knock you over without touching you. At this point, the head instructor came into the room. He listened for a while, then asked the person who'd brought the topic up (and was advocating it as true) if he'd like a demonstration.

So, we filed into the dojo, and knelt at the edge of the mat for the domenstration of mystical power. At this stage I was feeling slightly disappointed, as I'd come to this particular class due to the lack of any mysticism, but still interested in what was going to happen.

So, the instructor stood about 10 metres from the student, and started to breathe deeply. He asked the student to close his eyes, so he wouldn't see when the ki strike came in, and be psychologically affected by it. The student complied.

After about five seconds of this deep breathing, the senior instructor shouted and made a sharp gesture towards the student. At this point, a second instructor stood up, walked over to the student, pushed him over then quickly sat down.

The student got up amazed, convinced of the power of ki energy, and totally confused as to why everyone else was doubled up with laughter.
 
CFLarsen said:
If she is going to get instructions from a teacher, ask the teacher about Chi. If teacher says there is such a thing, leave.
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Well, if they say it's anything spooky, leave.

Some people use the term to refer to non-spooky party tricks with body mechanics.
 
I did T'ai Chi for a while and indend to go back to it... er... sometime. I found it good exercise. Fortunately they didn't descend too far into the woo. They did qigong, but I saw it more as meditation and relaxation than anything else. I don't much care what other people thought of it.
 
mrfreeze said:
I just tend to be wary of anything with the world "Chi" in the title. I would hate for her to wind up a member of Yellow Bamboo or some such.
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The 'chi' in t'ai chi is different from 'ch'i'. It is an entirely different word.

't'ai chi' is the Chinese term for the yin yang concept/symbol, while 'ch'uan' refers to fist, or martial art, since it is a martial art (with other benefits) based on the concept of yin yang. To avoid confusing chi with ch'i one can use the Pinyin (as opposed to Wade-Giles) Romanization of Chinese, which is more common now-a-days to get taijiquan. In this system chi = ji, and ch'i = qi.

A syllabus typically covers

-stretches and warmup exercises (qigong)
-form study (this is the main bulk of classes)
-sensing/push hands (as you get advanced)
-sword form (as you get advanced)

I've found it is good for developing leg strength, and more importantly, moving with relaxation. I think it is more of a 'putting D dollars in the bank to get it back with plenty of interest' type of thing. If someone is interested in being able to fight in a week, I'd suggest something else.

There are some good summaries of research on it at http://www.krapu4.com/taichi/research/tairesum.htm


Justin
 
Other training exercises include:

Breathing exercises; nei kung (?? nèigong) or, more commonly, qigong or ch'i kung (?? qìgong) to develop qi or ch'i (? qì) or "breath energy" in coordination with physical movement and post standing or combinations of the two.
Source
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Qigong relies on the traditional Chinese belief that the body has an energy field generated and maintained by the natural respiration of the body, known as qi.
Source
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Ch'i kung or qi gong (pronounced chee gung and henceforth spelled chi kung) is claimed to be "the science and practice" of chi. Chi kung literally means energy cultivation. Physical and mental health are allegedly improved by learning how to manipulate chi through controlled breathing, movement, and acts of will. Chi kung masters claim to be able to heal at a distance by manipulating chi. It is even said that one can strengthen the immune system by mastering one's chi.
Skeptic's Dictionary on chi kung
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Nothing paranormal about that. Nooooo.....
 
Sure, but you can ignore the woo and just do it for relaxation and exercise.

I'll always remember the instructor while we were doing a warmup exercise. The exercise consisted of whirling one's arm in circles from the shoulder ("as if it were a length of rope"). The instructor said "Feel the tingling in your fingers? That's Chi!"

I said "that's blood, you idiot."
 
As long as she doesn't start believing in the Chi nonsense, it can be a beneficial exercise. Also, she shouldn't delude herself into thinking that learning Tai Chi is learning how to fight.
 
True, but I found Tai Chi to be a good starting point for learning other martial arts. The movements (or at least some of them) are based on combat moves, and it does give you the balance and control necessary for learning other, "real" fighting techniques.
 
I am not so sure about that, arth. That's like saying that playing "Duck Hunt" is a good place to learn the basics of firearms.
 
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