Tai Chi Chuan / Taijiquan

The most common image of Tai Chi Chuan (also spelled Taijiquan or Taiji) is the very slow and graceful dance-like movements. But Tai Chi Chuan is much more than just a slow dance. It is, besides a very nice way of doing gymnastics together with other people:

a form of Qi Gong with roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
a Taoistic meditation
a famous chinese martial art (self defence)

All these parts are essential, and for a complete training in Tai Chi Chuan they should be all mastered.

Some more about the martial art aspect: the slow form is also a preparation for self defence applications: study the movements and you will see the punches, kicks, grappling techniques etc. In more advanced classes we train self defence applications, fast forms (with explosive punches, kicks), weapons such as sword, knife (sabre, broad sword), spear, lance and stick, as well as partner excersises, e.g. push hands.

I have been training (Yang) Tai Chi Chuan since mid 2000, and have now studied the Yang long (slow) form, Yang fast set, as well as the first broad sword form.

I don't have much more (yet!) to tell about myself in Tai Chi Chuan. Please see the home page (http://www.taichi.nu/, in swedish) of my teacher Klas Larsson - or any other links below - for more about what Tai Chi Chuan is about.

Some good Taiji links

Here are some web pages I tend to visit for more information about Tai Chi Chuan.

http://www.taichi.nu/ (in swedish)
Klas Larsson is my teacher, and this is his home page, with course information.
http://www.tungkaiying.com/
Home page of my teacher's teacher Master Tung Kai Ying.
http://www.knudtaichi.dk/
A danish/english home page by Knud Erik Andersen who also train in the tradition of Tung Kai Ying. This site has much intresting information, especially where he writes about the styles of Master Tung.
http://www.taichinyt.dk/ (danish)
A danish - now discontinuated - magazine. Editor is Knud Erik Andersen.
http://www.scheele.org/lee/classics.html
The Tai Chi Chuan Classics. These should be studies for a more deep understanding of Tai Chi Chuan.
http://www.yangfamilytaichi.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro
A Yang style community which I sometimes reads but not participate in.
Some link pages
- http://www.knudtaichigb.taichinyt.dk/mappe7/linksgb.htm
- http://scheele.org/lee/tcclinks.html

Yang Tai Chi Chuan - The ASCII Art version

Vincent Vi created the Yang form as ASCII-art 1994. Example:

Grasp bird's tail 

  . o    ,o     o      o     o     o     o      o
  `-(    `|\    )=,  `-)   `-(   '-)    '-)   '-(
   /<    /<    /<     /<    < \   < \   /<     < \

The complete ASCII file.


    ,o888b,`?88888
  ,8888 888   ?888
  8888888P'    888
  888P'        888
  `88   O     d888
    `?._  _.o88888

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Created by Hakan Kjellerstrand (hakank@bonetmail.com).