Tai chi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
tàijíquán / t‘ai chi ch‘üan
(太極拳)

The lower dantian in Taijiquan: Yin and Yang rotate, while the core reverts to stillness (wuji).
Yang Chengfu (c. 1931) in Single Whip posture of Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan solo form
Also known as	tàijí; t‘ai chi
Focus	Chinese Taoist
Hardness	Forms competition, Light contact (pushing hands, no strikes), Full contact (strikes, kicks, throws, etc.)
Country of origin	China
Creator	Said to be Chen Wangting or Zhang Sanfeng
Famous practitioners	Chen Wangting Chen Changxing Chen Fake Joey Bond Yang Luchan Yang Chengfu Wu Ch'uan-yu Wu Chien-ch'uan Wu Yu-hsiang Sun Lu-t'ang Wang Pei-sheng
Olympic sport	Demonstration only

Tai chi (Chinese: 太極; pinyin: Tàijí), short for T'ai chi ch'üan or Tàijí quán (太極拳), is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for both its defense training, its health benefits and meditation. The term taiji is a Chinese cosmological concept for the flux of yin and yang, and 'quan' means fist. So etymologically, Taijiquan is a fist system based on the dynamic relationship between polarities (Yin and Yang). Though originally conceived as a martial art, it is also typically practiced for a variety of other personal reasons: competitive wrestling in the format of pushing hands (tui shou), demonstration competitions and achieving greater longevity. As a result, a multitude of training forms exist, both traditional and modern, which correspond to those aims with differing emphasis. Some training forms of tai chi are especially known for being practiced with relatively slow movements.

Today, tai chi has spread worldwide. Most modern styles of tai chi trace their development to at least one of the five traditional schools: Chen, Yang, Wu (Hao), Wu and Sun. All of the former, in turn, trace their historical origins to Chen Village.

Related pages

• Kung-fu
• Taoism

Images for kids

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  Painting in Chenjiagou, illustrating taolu according to the Chen style of taijiquan.

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  A Chinese woman performsYang-style t‘ai-chi ch‘üan

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  Master Yang Jun in demonstration attire that's come to be identified with taijiquan

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  Taijiquan form (Taijiquan Taolu) at the Associació Catalana de Choy Li Fut, Tai Chi Chuan i Chi Kung.

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  Wu-style master Eddie Wu demonstrating the form "Grasp the bird's tail" at a tournament in Toronto, Canada

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  Outdoor practice in Beijing's Temple of Heaven.

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  Two students receive instruction in tuishou ("pushing hands"), one of the core training exercises of t‘ai-chi ch‘üan.

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  A matched set of two feng huo lun.

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  Yang Chengfu utilizing one of the many possible applications of the Single Whip technique.

See also

In Spanish: Taichí para niños