Why Try Tai Chi?

Health: There are many physical benefits that come with the practice of Tai Chi including: Better mood, with lower levels of depression, stress, and anxiety, greater aerobic capacity and muscle strength, more energy and stamina, enhanced flexibility, balance, and agility, lower blood pressure and improved heart health as well as, reduced of inflammation in the body. For those focused on Tai chi as a martial art application, good physical fitness is an important step towards effective self-defence.

Meditation: The focus and calmness cultivated by the meditative aspect of Tai Chi is seen as necessary in maintaining optimum health (in the sense of relieving stress) and in application of the form as a soft style martial art. By practicing Tai Chi, you relax the mind and body deeply, which is the key to maintaining and improving your health. When you are calm and centered, your body's natural restorative abilities are most efficient. An unhealthy or otherwise uncomfortable person may find it difficult to meditate to a state of calmness or to use Tai chi as a martial art. Health training, therefore, concentrates on relieving the physical effects of stress on the body and mind.

Martial art: The ability to use Tai Chi as a form of self-defence in combat is the test of a student's understanding of the art. Tai Chi is the study of appropriate change in response to outside forces, the study of yielding and "sticking" to an incoming attack rather than attempting to meet it with opposing force.  The use of Tai Chi as a martial art is quite challenging and requires a great deal of training.