Taijiquan   is a Chinese Martial Art that uses "Internal" Principles to develop ones skill rather than focusing on "external" speed and strength.  After years of experience in Martial Arts, I settled on the art of Taijiquan (Tai Chi). The word "Taijiquan" is roughly translated as "supreme ultimate fist" and draws its roots and principles from Taoism. It is more than a martial art. The ancient sages designed Taijiquan to be rejuvenating for the health and spirit.

Taijiquan is inseparable from Taoism and I have learned many things about it by studying Taoism and vice versa. The origins of Taijiquan are clouded in Legend, but all follow similar lines.

Origins of Taijiquan

Taijiquan traces its roots back to the Taoist Temple in the Wudan Mountains.  At this temple, a great martial artist, Zhangsanfeng developed an Internal Boxing Art that was taught to the monks. It is said that Zhangsanfeng originally mastered the famous Shaolinquan.

Shaolinquan is the art developed by Tamo at the famous Shaolin Monastery (a Chan Buddhist Monastery). Shaolinquan was abandoned for many years, before Jiaoyuanshangren began to teach at the temple.   Jiaoyuanshangren was a master monk that was proficient in quan and fencing and who had further developed the Eighteen Buddha's Palms into 72.  Zhangsanfeng studied for ten years at the Shaolin monestary and mastered all the arts.

It is further said that Zhangsanfeng left Shaolin to study with a famous Taoist and learned the secret of immortality. After this, he lived at the Wudan Temple for many years. He then traveled throughout China.

There are many stories about how Zhangsenfeng developed the Internal Boxing which later became Taijiquan, but all the styles trace their origins to Zhangsanfeng.

What differentiates Taijiquan from other arts is its adherence to internal principles. These principles can be found in the masters of all martial arts. Taiji starts with these principles. Practitioners learn a different way of moving, a more natural, powerful way of moving.

Taijiquan is a martial art, but the emphasis is not on fighting, rather on self defense. when studying the Taiji Classics, we find that they used a different set of words for self defense than would normally be used in a martial concept. It is thought that these words were used to mean that dilligent practice of Taijiquan will defend against many things as well as physical attackers.

Taijiquan as a Martial Art
The movements of Taijiquan are deceptively simple & - to the outside observer, ridiculously slow. Many people who practice Taijiquan do so for it's beneficial effects on one's health, their spiritual development, inner peace & long life. And of these, most people who have not had experience with Taijiquan under a qualified master have not had the opportunity to understand how the martial applications that are taught to them Enhance & Support the healthful benefits that such a practice promotes. Eventually, students of Taijiquan mature & advance to the state where the combative techniques are taught to them by a qualified master in such a way that these techniques themselves explain the actual processes behind the inner work & refinement of ones personal being. Such a person will sit at a tournament surrounded by the friends & family of people competing in the Taijiquan division, & while everyone else comments on how graceful & controlled their friends or relatives look-
 the knowledgable Taijiquan practitioner sees these things & much, much more. The various strikes, pushes, blocks, kicks, redirective maneuvers, evasive techniques, spiral throws, joint locks & separations. This is the fighting, the Quan, of Tai Ji Quan. This is the Grand Ultimate Fist or Boxing.
        Many styles of boxing tend to lend their abilities to people who are aggressive & belicose, while Internal Arts generally are practiced by people who are quite calm & almost continuously meditative in their awareness of the world around them. The very nature of its training, with emphasis on gracefulness, gentleness, and harmonious energy flow, is intrinsic to the development of mental freshness and cosmic harmony. 'Traditionally', Taoists are known for their love of freedom, disregard of mundane trifles, and penchant for joviality. A Taijiquan master, while confident of his martial skills, is soft-spoken, humble, tolerant, and at peace with himself and with others.