--- In [email protected], Kristy McClain <healthyplay1@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Steve,
> Â
> I am learning Tai Chi as part of a mindfulness and extension of a spiritual
> practice. Question? Is Tai Chi considered a martial art like karate, or
> no? Are karate and kung fu related?
> Â
> Any tips on how to improve one's focus and concentration while practicing--as
> a beginner?
> Â
> Thanks..k
>
> Hi Kristy. Yes, Tai Chi Chuan, or Great Ultimate Boxing, is a "soft"
style form of Chinese Boxing. I had the opportunity of working-out
with a practitioner of Tai Chi Boxing, and I was suitably impressed.
Martial arts are generally divided into "soft" or "internal" and
"hard" or "external". Soft arts emphasize the development of inner
energy (chi or ki), sensitivity to the direction of momentum, and
utilization of the opponent's force to unbalance him or her. I have
some training in Aikido, which is a soft art. The term "kung fu"
really refers to a high level of expertise in any endeavor. The
terms Chuan Fa, Wu Shu, Kuo Shu, Sanda refer to fighting. Karate
is a hard-style Okinawan martial art that combines an early native
form of fighting called "Te" and some basic external Chinese Boxing
techniques, mostly from the Fukien White Crane system. There are a
huge number of different systems of Kung Fu/Chuan Fa, some similar,
some not. Those systems that are called Shao-lin trace their origin
to Bodhidharma, the 1st Patriarch of Chan. It is said that
Bodhidharma went to the Shao-Lin temple where he sat for 9 years
"listening to the ants scream". He noticed that his fellow monks
were in poor shape, and that this was interfering with meditation.
So he taught them a series of exercises called "18 Hands of The
Monk", which formed the basis for Shao-Lin Boxing.
Your Sifu will give you all the needed tips. When you get to
practicing Push-Hands with a partner, you will start to see the
martial applications.
Steve
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