There are different ways of thai chi distributed throughout China, the best known are the Chen, Yan, and Wu Su, although different teachers for each of them banded together to unify this art form into one. That is how we reach the two forms of practicing this discipline. The long form, consisting of approximately 100 movements, and the short form, consisting of 24 movements and whose duration does not exceed 5 minutes.
Each movement is conceived as part of Nature. Therefore, among the nomenclature of essential movements appear curious names such as these: "caressed the horse's mane", "brushing your knees", "the movement of the pipe", "monkey moves by the branches," " caressing the tail of the bird, "among others.
The meeting opens with the always-wu chi posture that begins just after a phase of warming where everyone becomes aware of his body and whose duration is 30 minutes.
The wu-chi requires 3 key steps: total relaxation, breathing and abdominal empty mind. Once that was achieved, begins practice of thai chi itself.
The movements of this discipline are always executed in the same way, based Nature, the movement of water, animals, etc.. It possesses the following characteristics:
• Circular is excluded absolutely all the straight lines. All movements are composed of an infinite number of circles, curves and spirals of all sizes. This will save energy and the concentration appears.
• Gentle: no action physically but psychologically, it means that the development of the action must occur without using force and guided by the mind.
• Slow: the slow movements allows to distinguish better control and coordination. And that makes mastering the movements that have a better perception of how they performed. The thai chi is not a mechanical activity but on the other hand, requires a constant presence of mind and sustained, and their movements slow, varied and harmonious, allow us to be aware of how they are and how we move in space , Which develops a sense of balance.
• Coordinated: tuning, extremely precise and detailed, the position and movement of each body part, is the prerequisite for the proper execution of exercises thai chi chuan. To achieve the best possible coordination perfect body, requires a total mind-body integration. The more care is provided in its implementation, better movement, more precise coordination, concentration and deeper.
• Continuous: Rule said that the thai chi chuan, is due to run everything at once. This means that the link movements does not allow interruptions or discontinuity. But that continuity of the exercise is not just limited to gestures. It also refers to the interior of oneself from a psychological and mental.
The benefits of Tai Chi are increasingly studied and examined by doctors. Tufts University, Boston United States reviewed 47 studies conducted in this art for more than two thousand years old that has been used in China to release energy and negative feelings. "In general all the studies reported that the continuing practice of Tai Chi had beneficial effects in controlling the balance, flexibility, cardiovascular condition and reduced the risk of falls in older people," said Dr. Wang chenchen Medical Center of Tufts University.
