Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese discipline which integrates mind, body and spirit. The Chinese characters for ‘Taijiquan’ as it is also known, can be translated as ‘supreme ultimate force’ which is often associated with the Chinese concept of the dual strengths of Yin (the earth) and Yang (the heavens), and the notion that one can see a dynamic duality (masculine/feminine, active/passive, dark/light, forceful/yielding) in all things.

Modern day Tai Chi can trace its roots back to the second millennium B.C. and the movements have their origins in the martial arts. According to legend it was further developed in the fifteenth century by the Taoist monk, Chang San- Feng, who had been honoured by the Emperor with the title of ‘chen-jen’ or ‘spiritual man’ because he had attained enlightenment.

The story goes that Chang San-Feng while travelling on Wu-Dang mountain witnessed a fight between a crane and a snake. Every time the bird spread its wings to attack the snake would move slightly to escape, but maintained its usual circular shape. As the contest continued up and down the mountain Chang realised that soft wins over hard and also recognised the value of circular movement. Being the bigger and stronger the bird appeared to have all the advantage but the snakes elusive movements eventually enabled it to win.

When performing it as a martial art Tai Chi practitioners use subtle movements to dodge blows and turn an attackers own momentum against him. However nowadays Tai Chi is far more than merely a method of self-defence. In fact many of its practitioners focus on doing it purely as a meditative exercise for the body, so that it is sometimes described as a moving form of yoga and meditation combined. The principles of yielding, softness, being centred, slowness, balance, suppleness and rootedness are all elements of Taoist philosophy that Tai Chi has drawn upon in its understanding of movement.

The concept of free-flowing ‘chi’ energy central to Tai Chi is actually the same ‘vital force’ believed to animate our bodies in Chinese philosophy and medicine. This ‘chi’ circulates in patterns that are closely related to the nervous and vascular system, but it can sometimes become blocked due to illness and this is where acupuncture and other Oriental healing arts are often employed to clear the blockage. However, in fostering the free circulation of the ‘chi’ one of the main aims of Tai Chi is to enhance the overall health and vitality of those who practise it and, in common with many other complementary therapies, to act against illness in a preventative capacity.

One of the martial applications of Tai Chi is an exercise called ‘push hands’ in which two people stand face to face while performing circular arm movements in an effort to throw each other off balance. Based on the theory of ‘overcoming the hard with the soft’ this seemingly easy exercise involves both strength and skills and incorporates the need to be sensitive and responsive to another person’s ‘chi’ or ‘vital energy’ which is one of the principles of Tai Chi.

The emphasis is always on being able to channel potentially destructive energy, as in a kick or a punch, away from oneself in a manner that will dissipate the energy or send it in a direction where it is no longer a danger. Nick explains to me that in Tai Chi we learn not only about ourselves and what makes us tick but also the world around us. “We are taught to get in touch with nature and to appreciate our place within the natural world,” he says. “When the Taoist monks realised this they began to study the animals, the stars and the changing seasons.”

They realised that our energy levels increase and decrease at different times and that like nature human nature also has a cycle that changes from day to night, month to month and season to season. Through observing nature closely they saw that all of nature had one thing in common, and that was movement. Our own planet rotates around the sun. Everything on earth moves: The tide comes in and out; water rises from the ocean only to return as rain; and blood is continually pumped around our bodies by the heart.

As they contemplated how we humans could become a part of this great movement it suddenly dawned upon them that we were already an intrinsic part of it, only as mankind had evolved we had somehow lost touch with our own true nature.So they began to study the movements of the animals and copied hard, soft, graceful and even violent movements…negative and positive…yin and yang.