"Generally people think that Tai Chi Chuan is an exercise to keep fit and healthy. Some see Tai Chi as a slow moving effortless dance which is easy to be done. They think it is for old people. Well, they are partly right and partly wrong.

Right, it is a slow exercise to keep fit and healthy.

Wrong, it is not for old people only. Although it is one of the best Health Exercises, it is one of the most powerful forms of self-defence. It needs proper training and practice to be effective. For both health and martial arts defence one needs to have a learned master to guide him through the forms, clarifying every step. It's a training of perfection. That is why it is called Taiji, meaning the 'Grand Ultimate' represented by the Yin-Yang symbol. This Yin-Yang symbol represents the origins of matter and life, or the protons and neutrons of a nucleus; the substantial and insubstantial. Thus Tai Chi Chuan is a practical application of Tai Chi philosophy. Just to explain this philosophy takes volumes and therefore we are not going into it here.

There are lots of books, videos or cds, but there are few or even none who are able to perform the art correctly through them. Very few people have been able to put themselves on the correct path of training that will lead them beyond empty choreographed forms. The longer you spend trying to figure it out for yourself, the harder it will be for you to unlearn the incorrect things. This goes to prove that it is not as simple as it looks. BUT don't be discouraged for there are lots of masters who can guide you through the art satisfactorily."