Frequently Asked Questions

Isn't Tai Chi just for old people?

Tai Chi is an excellent practice for any adult. Because of its nature, Tai Chi "scales" to fit the fitness and ability of each person, allowing young and old alike to receive benefit from practice. Anyone can start learning and benefit greatly from Tai Chi at any age. But the younger you start, the easier it is to maintain and improve health.

What should I wear?

Tai Chi doesn't require any special clothing, as long as it doesn't inhibit movement. This includes stretchy clothes like yoga pants, or clothing loose enough to allow free movement. Shoes which grip the floor strongly are not ideal for practice, as we want to ensure there is no stress on the knee joints when shifting into postures.

How physically fit do I need to be to do Tai Chi?

People in many states of health and physical condition can adapt their practice of Tai Chi to their circumstances. People with serious health issues should consult their doctor before enrolling, and discuss their situation with their instructor(s).

Is there any special equipment needed?

Tai Chi doesn't require special equipment, and can be practiced in a small space (approximately 6' by 10').

How often do I need to practice?

Similar to other skills such as studying a musical instrument, progress occurs through consistent personal practice. While adapting to life's circumstances, some amount of daily practice is a key component of gaining benefit from Tai Chi.

Can I start in the middle of a session?

Unlike most other forms of exercise or qì gōng practice, the form is a sequence of movements that connect from one to the next. As such, learning the form is an iterative process, each week reviewing what students have already learned and adding additional postures and transitions to the student's repertoire. Students are welcome to start mid-session but in doing so need to be comfortable that they will not know the postures already taught. Since many students take the Beginner class more than once, they will have ample opportunity to learn those postures during the next session.

Why can't I just drop in to class?

Unlike most other forms of exercise or qì gōng practice, the form is a sequence of movements that connect from one to the next. As such, learning the form is an iterative process, each week reviewing what students have already learned and adding additional postures and transitions to the student's repertoire. Attending only occasionally will not provide students with what they need to be successful.

NOTE: Practitioners of our style who know the whole form may be able to attend select classes with permission from the instructor.

What are the core principles of Tai Chi?

Coming Soon

What is the name of our style of Tai Chi?

Professor Cheng named his adaptation "Simplified T'ai Chi Ch'uan" and "Long Form Yang T'ai Chi Ch'uan with 37 Postures".

Sometimes people refer to it as "Yang short form" or just "the short form". And some people now call it "Cheng Man-Ch’ing style" or "CMC style".

What is "the form"?

Each style of Tai Chi has a form, a sequence of postures and transitions performed slowly and consciously to study the core principles of Tai Chi. Once a student knows the form, they practice it on an ongoing basis to achieve benefits. The form is a core part of Tai Chi, as are standing meditation and tuī shǒu ("push hands"; also known as sensing hands).

What does "Tai Chi" mean and how is it spelled?

A literal translation of Tai Chi is "supreme ultimate" or "great polarity", and is a Taoist concept. The name of the art we study is more precisely T'ai Chi Ch'uan (or Taì Jí Quán) but is very frequently shortened to "T'ai Chi", "Tai Chi", or "Taiji".

There are many spellings used for Tai Chi, many of them variations of either the Wade-Giles romanization or the Pinyin romanization. Capitalization across documents and the internet varies, and sometimes the letters are spaced to correspond to the Chinese characters and sometimes not. Here are some examples:

Wade Giles or similar

• T'ai Chi Ch'uan
• t'ai chi ch'uan
• Tai Chi (shortened; no apostrophe)
• Taichi

Pinyin or similar

• Taì Jí Quán
• taì jí quán
• Taìjíquán
• Taiji (like Pinyin but with no diatritics)

We don't alter the spelling in quoted material, but for simplicity generally spell it as "Tai Chi", as it is a very common spelling. Sometimes we use the more accurate "T'ai Chi" or "T'ai Chi Ch'uan" Wade-Giles spellings (with the apostrophes) because many of the core texts of our style were written using Wade-Giles romanization.

Is Tai Chi considered a martial art?

Tai Chi is a martial art, but martial skill does not develop in the same manner as in most other martial arts. In fact focusing on attaining martial ability is counterproductive.

Martial ability in Tai Chi devlops through osmosis. Correct and, as Professor would say, "sincere" practice of the form and push hands produces a body wisdom, an instinctual power that when initially emergent surprises the practitioner.

Practicing with the goal of achieving martial proficiency has the opposite result. The student remains hard and tense and whatever fighting skill he demonstrates is a manifestation of the aggressiveness, speed and strength he brought to the study. It is not to be spoken of in the same breath as Tai Chi Chuan.

– Wolfe Lowenthal, There are No Secrets, 109