Tai chi chuan

Yang Chengfu in a posture from the Yang style tai chi chuan solo form known as Single Whip c. 1931
Also known as
t'ai chi ch'üan; taijiquan
Focus
Hybrid
Hardness
Forms competition, light-contact (pushing hands, no strikes), full contact (striking, kicking, throws, etc.)
Country of origin
China
Creator
Disputed
Parenthood
Tao Yin
Famous practitioners
Chen Changxing, Yang Luchan, Chen Fake, Yang Chengfu, Wu Jianquan, Sun Lutang
Olympic sport
Demonstration only
Tai chi chuan
Traditional Chinese:
太極拳
Simplified Chinese:
太极拳
Literal meaning:
supreme ultimate fist
[show]Transliterations
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin:
tài jí quán
- Wade-Giles:
t'ai4 chi2 ch'üan2
Cantonese
- Jyutping:
taai3 gik6 kyun4

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Part of the series onChinese martial arts

List of Chinese martial arts
Terms
Kung fu (功夫)
Wushu (武術)
Historical places
Shaolin Temple (少林寺)
Wudang Mountains (武當山)
Mount Emei (峨嵋山)
Lungwu Tang (龙武堂）
Historical people
Bodhidharma (菩提達摩)
Zhang Sanfeng (張三丰)
Five Elders (五祖)
Yim Wing-chun (嚴詠春)
Hung Hei-Gun (洪熙官)
Fong Sai-yuk (方世玉)
Dong Haichuan (董海川)
Yang Lu-ch'an (楊露禪)
Wu Ch'uan-yu (吳全佑)
Wong Fei Hung (黃飛鴻)
Huo Yuanjia (霍元甲)
Yip Man (葉問)
Bruce Lee (李小龍)
Related
Hong Kong action cinema
Wushu (sport)
Wuxia (武俠)
traditional Chinese: 太極拳; simplified Chinese: 太极拳; pinyin: tàijíquán; Wade-Giles: t'ai4 chi2 ch'üan2) is an internal Chinese martial art often practiced for health reasons. Tai chi is typically practiced for a variety of other personal reasons: its hard and soft martial art technique, demonstration competitions, health and longevity. Consequently, a multitude of training forms exist, both traditional and modern, which correspond to those aims. Some of tai chi chuan's training forms are well known to Westerners as the slow motion routines that groups of people practice together every morning in parks around the world, particularly in China.
Today, tai chi has spread worldwide. Most modern styles of tai chi trace their development to at least one of the five traditional schools: Chen, Yang, Wu/Hao, Wu and Sun. The origins and creation of tai chi are a subject of much argument and speculation. However, the oldest documented tradition is that of the Chen family from the 1820s.[1][2]