Qi (pronounced chee), is our vital life force energy: It can be considered as a bioelectrical force holding us together from conception, the flow of which, if impeded, can lead to sickness or death. It, therefore, stands to reason that in order to remain healthy we need to cultivate this vital life force.

The human body contains twelve main and eight extra acupuncture meridians. These meridians can be looked upon as the body’s network of roads along which the Qi must travel, whilst bathing and nourishing all our internal organs. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and ancient Daoist texts tell us that the internal flow of Qi is an emulation of the external movements of the human body. In other words, if our external movements are unnatural, then, the internal flow of Qi is also unnatural and hindered.

Taijiquan is a moving Qigong (pronounced chee kung), literally meaning internal work, designed to perform natural flowing movements to enhance the natural flow of the internal Qi. By daily practice, the flow of Qi through all the acupuncture meridians can be increased, improving poor health and increasing strength, whilst inducing a state of calm.

There are literally hundreds of different types of Qigongs, both, static and moving and each one claiming to be better then the rest!

Whilst static Qigong’s can be looked upon as harnessing prenatal energy, it is the moving Qigongs that distribute this energy all across the body.

Moving Qigongs, such as the Taiji form, are quite difficult to perform. Trying to relax whilst remembering whole sequences of movements, technical details, proper breathing, yin/yang, opening/closing, balancing of pairs etc. can be an utter nightmare, even for the most competent of beginners. Static Qigongs can clear up most of this clutter and help the beginner gain correct posture and Sung (pronounced soong). They are also a way to get “good things” out of your practice before the form itself, eventually, takes over!

Sung – a very important concept in Taiji – has been translated, slightly incorrectly, as to relax. However, a more accurate description would be to move without feeling or being aware of the movement itself! This meaning becomes more evident as we progress with our training. Suffice to say for now that if we were to totally relax our body whilst doing our Taiji, or any other exercise, we would simply collapse!

Qigongs can be split into essentially 3 categories: those, for self-healing, martial arts and medical use. It is the first two, which primarily concern Taijiquan practitioners, whereas the last is for medical practitioners. The ideal times of practice for Qigong are outside at dusk or dawn. Four breathing techniques are essentially used during practice, depending on one’s experience and level of study and the type of Qigong being performed. These are:

• Normal Breath – where the abdomen expands whilst inhaling and contracts whilst exhaling.
• Reverse Breath – where the reverse of the normal breath occurs.
• Pre-natal Breath – where a rolling of the abdomen occurs.
• Tortoise Breath – An advanced form of the pre-natal, where we hold our breath for 7 seconds allowing our inner and outer energies to mix.

Much has been written upon the rules of Qigong and we do not wish to repeat them here. There are several excellent articles & books available on the subject and some can be found in our media section. However, a point we would like to raise is some of the claims made by so-called practitioners of Qigong, which range from the sublime to the ridiculous!

Many tricks are used to dupe people into believing that somehow through the practice of Qigong, they will attain supernatural powers or heal un-curable diseases! Whilst we acknowledge that very little is currently understood about the human brain and its ability to certainly influence our body in what may appear to be a ‘miraculous’ way, most of these claims can be easily explained through the science of physics or in some cases as outright cons!

Many renowned ‘Masters’ claim they can attack and disable an opponent without even laying their hands on them through the use of their Qi! Many tests have been conducted and filmed, where these ‘Masters’ have failed to achieve their claims on any person other then their own students! The social network site YouTube, is full of such videos, which have debunked these theories yet, still, these Masters are paraded and allowed to earn substantial sums from their absurd claims!

Circus tricks, such as, the bending of spears on the throat, the breaking of stones using bare hands, lifting heavy weights attached to the genitals etc. are all offered as proof of Qi and Qigong. Some self-styled ‘esoteric warriors’ claim even claims of inanimate objects, such as, daggers moving of their own accord, and levitation!

All this has lead to another ‘new’ breed of Taijiquan practitioners and schools who reject the concept of Qi outright, thus leaning towards the no less an extreme opposite side of the spectrum! This is not surprising, yet is as equally foolish a position as the former! There are some practitioners who have been practicing the ‘Internal’ for merely a decade or less, yet feel that they are in a position to pit their experience against thousands of years of Chinese study and experimentations on the subject, and, with a mere wave of their hands dismiss this deep history!

What both these positions show is perhaps a lack of understanding of the subject in some cases and serious falsifications in the rest!

Daoist breathing techniques and related exercises have been used for many a millennia by both, martial artists and non-martial artists alike. Using the breath to cultivate energy and strengthen the body can be found amongst the indigenous peoples of almost every land on this globe we call earth!

What we need to do is to strip away the crazy notions and see and practice Qigongs for what they are… essentially a beautiful way to unify mind, body and spirit. Leading us to calmer, healthier lives and an inner strength, which can be called upon in the time of battle!

If one understands the principles, thoroughly, then they will no longer have the need to remember techniques as the body will move instinctively and deal with the threat appropriately. By preparing the body for combat, we become healthier, physically and mentally, as well as internally and externally. This is how the legendary healing powers of Taijiquan ( Tai Chi Chuan ) can be achieved.