THE TAIJI QUAN
Tai Chi Chuan literally means "Fight of the Great Term" or "Supreme Art of Combat". "Tai Chi" stands for "Great Term" or "Supreme Unity", while "Chuan" means "fight" and brings to mind the martial origins of this art, characterized by the search for harmony and balance of Yin and Yang in that microcosm which is the human being.
The history of Tai Chi Chuan is 3 millennia long. A discipline with such a long history certainly conveys messages rooted in the history of man, but, at the same time, it is intuitive that it has undergone changes during its transmission.
This has had repercussions on the relationships between schools then and still has repercussions today: adherence to one school rather than another has a significant impact on the execution and movements assimilated by the student and, if the students are not accustomed to confrontation in the school, it is easy to fall into errors of entrenchment and presumed exclusivity.
What is certain is that since 1949 the Chinese have promoted the martial arts on a large scale and have made efforts to unify the genealogies of each art. The genealogy currently presented recognizes a certain Cheng Wang-t'ing, a student of Wang Tsung-yeuh as the founder of tai chi chuan.
From the movements invented by Cheng Wang-t'ing, after some generations, two men drew different techniques: Chen Yu-pun created a new style, based on the concept of spiral to be found in the movements; Chen Ch'ing-p'ing founded a style more ento and compact. Besides the style of the Chen family alone, the Yang style was born, thanks to Grand Master Yang Lu Chan (1799-1872).
In this bifurcation we find a distinction still in force; the main style transmitted today is the Yang, even if in the last years the Chen style has spread, together with the styles elaborated by the Chinese athletic organizations.
Since about the seventies, the art of Tai Chi Chuan has spread throughout the world. Today this art is taught not only in schools, many of which often boast of possessing the "true art", but also in private clubs, multipurpose gyms, and wellness centers. Sometimes these same entities make use of Chinese teachers from the United States, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Malaysia.
There are many positive benefits of constant practice. Among these we list some of them: strengthening of character, investigation of the self, elasticity of tendons and muscles, lengthening of breath and strengthening of lung capacity. Improvement of the general state of posture, work on joint connection and internal energy.
Movement on a single point allows you to open your senses to the original motor expression and let the form flow.
A very recent study published in the American Journal of Health Promotion, conducted by researchers in Arizona, confirms how the practice of Tai Chi is beneficial to the health of the body and offers psychological benefits by improving the quality of life in general. The study on the effectiveness of Tai Chi in people with rheumatoid arthritis showed that its practice has a significant benefit for leg and hip movements.
Israeli neurologists and rehabilitators have tested the effects of Tai Chi on people affected by stroke, recording a marked improvement in the recovery of general functions and social relationships in practitioners.