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The Tai Chi Chuan,
also known to western people as Tai Chi, is an exercise with the
movements of one's head, eyes, arms, hands, body, legs, and feet done in
coordination with one's mind and respiration. People describe Tai
Chi practice as 'flying clouds and flowing streams'. Phrases like
'exerting strength like pulling silk threads from a cocoon', 'hiding the
power as a needle in cotton', and 'concentrating one's spirit inwardly
while appearing peaceful outwardly' are also frequently cited.
There
are five secrets for Tai Chi practice. The first secret is the
tranquility of the mind. This tranquility is the basis for
concentration and alertness. Another secret is that the body
should always being relaxed and agile. This results in apparent
peacefulness and gracefulness. Other secrets include gathering the
chi to penetrate the entire body, unifying the strength of the whole
body, and developing the chi into spirit.
The
correct way to master the art of Tai Chi is to begin with the practices
of a stationary posture and of some simple repeated exercises. As
a mater of fact, the whole routine of Tai Chi is usually difficult to
remember. It requires years of supervised instruction with a
master to become proficient at it. If one is just learning Tai Chi
for health purposes, but not for its value as a martial art, practicing
some simple Tai Chi forms repeatedly will be enough for one's physical
well-being. This is the purpose for introducing some of the Tai
Chi forms in this site.
The
first form in this site, the un-polarized pose, is the essential
exercise for mastering the essence of the five secrets mentioned above.
The second form, pressing down, helps you to sink the Chi into
Dantian and to build a correct pattern of breathing. The
third, fourth, and fifth forms are exercises for the coordination of
mind, sight, and body movement. When practicing the last three
forms one should be aware that the legs are the bases and the waist is
the axis. The mind directs the sight and the hands follow the
sight. The whole body is in constant motion.
Exercising Requirements 
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