Tai Chi DVDs

Tai Chi DVDs

Tai Chi Chuan, which translates from Chinese as “Grand Ultimate Fist,\" is a martial art of Taoist origin. It seeks to unify the balance between your energy, or Qi, and your environment, and the martial art is practiced slowly, with focus on correct balance, body mechanics, and proper breathing. DVDs can be used to study Tai Chi at introductory or advanced levels, including “pushing hands,\" a form of sparring, training in traditional weaponry, and cultivating Qi for health and longevity as well as for combat.

The “Grand Ultimate” is the achievement of Taoist harmonic balance between your Qi, heaven, and earth through the cumulative practice of Tai Chi in order to control your Qi mentally and physically. Tai Chi has a number of different styles; Chen style is the most popular in China, while the Yang, Wu, and other spin-off systems have adherents across the rest of the world. Tai Chi DVDs focus on a variety of styles of the martial art.

Qigong is the practice of cultivating one’s Qi through movement exercise and breathing. This \"inside out\" concept can be beneficial to your health and has a long tradition in China. There are numerous schools of Qigong, and a number of them are incorporated within martial arts such as Tai Chi, Xingyi, or Bagua. External-based martial arts, such as Shaolin, also have taught this but from an “outside-in” approach.

Tai Chi Chuan is legendarily credited to a Taoist monk named Chang San Feng living in China in the 1400s, although its documented historic roots are in the Chen family village in Honan, China. Lineage records date back to the 1700s. Since that time, Tai Chi Chuan has been continually practiced, up to later incarnations found in classes and DVDs.

Numerous scientific studies have found that the practice of Tai Chi can be of great health benefit to many, especially the elderly, who often experience problems with maintaining balance. The low-impact, slow movements associated with this practice also have been found to improve joint mobility, benefit blood circulation, and lower high blood pressure. Instructional video DVDs can be a great introduction to the art of Tai Chi. Video DVDs can be a useful tool for learning the Tai Chi 24 Form, which is the official beginners' form sanctioned by the People's Republic of China. This form of Tai Chi can be found in numerous DVD releases by different instructors. Repeated DVD viewings of the Tai Chi 24 form can familiarize learners with the prescribed sequence of movements.