T'ai chi

T‘ai-chi ch‘üan / Taijiquan
(太極拳)

The lower dantian in taijiquan: yin and yang rotate, while the core reverts to stillness (wuji)
Yang Chengfu in a posture from the Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan solo form known as Single Whip c. 1931
Also known as	Taijizhang; t‘ai-chi; taiji
Focus	Chinese Taoist
Hardness	Forms competition, Light contact (pushing hands, no strikes), Full contact (strikes, kicks, throws, etc.)
Country of origin	China
Creator	Said to be Zhang Sanfeng
Famous practitioners	Chen Wangting, Chen Changxing, Chen Fake, Yang Luchan, Yang Chengfu, Wu Ch'uan-yu, Wu Chien-ch'uan, Wu Yu-hsiang, Sun Lu-t'ang, Wang Pei-sheng
Olympic sport	Demonstration only

Tai chi
"Taiji quan" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	太極拳
Simplified Chinese	太极拳
Literal meaning	"Supreme Ultimate Boxing"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Tàijí quán Wade–Giles T'ai4-chi2 ch'üan2 IPA [tʰâi.tɕǐ tɕʰɥɛn] Wu Suzhounese Thǎ-jíh jʏǿ Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Taai-gihk kyùhn IPA [tʰāːi kɪ̀k kʰy̏ːn] Jyutping Taai3-gik6 kyun4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Thài-ke̍k kûn Tâi-lô Thài-ki̍k kûn

T‘ai-chi (Mandarin: tàijí 太極, an abbreviation of tàijí quán 太極拳, literally "Supreme Ultimate Boxing") is an internal Chinese martial art 武术 practiced for both its defense training and its health benefits. Though originally conceived as a martial art, it is also typically practiced for a variety of other personal reasons: competitive wrestling in the format of pushing hands (tui shou), demonstration competitions, and achieving greater longevity. As a result, a multitude of training forms exist, both traditional and modern, which correspond to those aims with differing emphasis. Some training forms of t‘ai-chi ch‘üan are especially known for being practiced with relatively slow movements.

Today, t‘ai-chi ch‘üan has spread worldwide. Most modern styles of t‘ai-chi ch‘üan trace their development to at least one of the five traditional schools: Chen, Yang, Wu (Hao), Wu, and Sun. All of the former, in turn, trace their historical origins to Chen Village.

The concept of the taiji ("supreme ultimate"), in contrast with wuji ("without ultimate"), appears in both Taoist and Confucian Chinese philosophy, where it represents the fusion or mother of yin and yang into a single ultimate, represented by the taijitu symbol . T‘ai-chi ch‘üan theory and practice evolved in agreement with many Chinese philosophical principles, including those of Taoism and Confucianism.