Even revered masters of chi manipulation in China, haven't the foggiest idea; you just do it. The manipulation of chi is something that occurs naturally, on instinct, after years of meditation. Basically you meditate, meditate, meditate and keep on meditating when one day you wake up and say "wow, I have super powers!" I didn't mean to put it so bluntly or cornily but, just being honest; that IS basically how it is. You basically sit there meditating waiting for something to happen. Now, as to what MAKES IT HAPPEN; "emptyness of the mind." Daoist and Buddhists, hold the view that the soul is already powerful, the thing that prevents us from taping into that well of power is the garbage in our mind. Here is an analogy; imagine, you have 500 lbs of garbage on your back. Lets asume for a moment you are able to carry it, albeit with great difficulty. You walk around with it everywhere; sure, you would get anywhere much faster if only you weren't carrying that stuff but, sadly, you just will not put it down. Its heavy, its burdensome, but you just will NOT put it down. Now, why won't you put it down? Because, you've been carrying it your whole entire life.

Daoist mystics believe that chi is already constantly flowing in your body, and when you do something as mundane as wiping your rear after taking a dump, you are directing chi to that part of your body. What? Even masters of chi have to use the bathroom you know. If you are interested in meeting a Daoist mystic be warned, they stink to high heaven, as most live like homeless people. They take meditation so seriously they never bathe. Miyamoto Musashi, Japanese history's most powerful swordsman, was said to have never bathed. Musashi, spent virtually all his time living in the wilderness, his mornings would begin with basic Kenjutsu, and his day would be dominated by almost nothing but meditation. Ocassionally when he got lonely he would visit a brothel or two but as soon as he was done, he would return to his cave to meditate. Anyway; how vigorously your chi flows, is rooted in whether or not your mind has been cleared of garbage. If your mind is garbage free from constant "blanking out" while meditating, the chi flows on its own, and you do not actively focus, its direction is something that happens naturally. At least that is the view held by Daoists; I am not aware of the methods used by the Shaolin temple, Yogis in India, or modern day British Druids. Oh yes the Druids are still around; you need to be careful though, as in modern day England there are modern drug addict hippie new age whack jobs who claim to be Druids, but they're not. Being a Druid, to take that religion seriously requires SEVERE discipline, I am not aware of what goes into it specifically as the order has been historically secretive.

"'I think sometime around sept-oct"" thats what she said but no it will not come out only in koreon they cancelled taichi chasers in amereica for some reason but idont know what

Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico

Almost all Tai Chi practiced nowadays is either the Yang or Wu style (although a few practice the Chen or Hao).

Tai Chi styles are generally done in two ways- long forms and the short forms. Long forms yield more benefits for the student, but require a longer amount of time to be set aside for them and have a much higher degree of difficulty to learn. While some quality is definitely sacrificed, short forms yield a large degree of benefits and are much easier and simpler to learn.

Of all the Tai Chi short forms, the most basic and well known is the Yang 24 move short form. This article does a fairly good job detailing the subject:

http://www.taichimaster.com/tai-chi/tai-chi-secret-how-to-choose-a-tai-chi-style/

If you want to have access to the best resource on the subject and the different forms of Tai Chi, their difficulty, who teaches them and what they can accomplish I would recommend getting the book Tai Chi Health for Life.

Also, if you want to get technical, the basic components of Tai Chi exist within Qigong, and the best form that exists within Qigong (which while simple contains most of the attributes and benefits one would get from practicing Tai Chi) is known as Cloud Hands. It's actually simple enough to be detailed within an instructional booklet (as opposed to a 5000 page tome for a Tai Chi form), with the book on it being called "Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body."

My own opinion is that the best way to learn Tai Chi is to first extensively master the energy components within the form from a simpler qigong form before beginning the Tai Chi one. If you're open to that, The Energy Gates method is the classic one that's been taught for the past few thousand years in China!

Absolutely nothing, at least philosophically speaking, technique speaking it has been heavily influenced by the Buddhist inspired Shaolin martial arts. Tai Chi Chuan is in fact a blend of Shaolin Kung Fu, and Wudgan Mountain (specific branch) Daoist Chi Kung. You could say that Tai Chi is basically Chi Kung exercises with punching and kicking added in. Well, punching, kicking, stepping, dodging, throwing, locking, tripping, blocking, evading, everything that goes into what is called a "martial art."The answer below is considered to be 'wild history' not documented history. Zhang San Feng was a real figure in Chinese history but there is no proof that he practised Taiji. If he were the originator as some claim there would be mention of it on his tombstone and there is not. Documented history tells us that Taiji was developed over many generations in Chen village (Chenjiagou). The villagers were inspired to practise martial art by the constant attacks on them by bandits and starving peasants after their food and resources. Over many generations their original art became more and more sophisticated and developed a unique quality. Chen ChangXing is generally credited with making the changes to the art that moved it from being a normal muscle based art to what is now referred to as an 'internal' martial art. He based his method on the same theory that pervades Chinese Traditional medicine and traditional Qi Gong, the theory of Yin and Yang. His changes produced a martial art that was even more powerful than usual but was very difficult to master. ========Here is the accepted, traditional (traditional, not documented) history of Tai Chi Chuan, my source, is a book titled "The Dao of Taijiquan; Way to Rejuvenation." Anyway, here is the traditional history of Tai Chi Chuan.Once upon a time in time in China, there was a genius, a polymath named Shang Sang Feng. From another, forgotten source on the man, Shang Sang Feng was said to have been a boy of unusual intelligence, and completed all the educational requirements to become an imperial official right at the tender age of 19 or 21. As far as raw volumes of exacting information, to become an imperial official in Shang Sang Feng's time required roughly what would today be the equivalent of 10 PhD's. In other words the man was f**king sharp, in every sense of the word a true genius, a polymath like I said.He worked in the imperial court some 30 years or so, or just under 30 years, where he gained notoriety for his wisdom and strong sense of ethics. Shang Sang Feng was said to be so intelligent and so wise, that for speaking "out of turn" against the emperor, as often times he did to safeguard against corruption, he effectively argued his way out of being imprisoned, or beheaded, a rare feat in Chinese history as most imperial scholars and officials who spoke out of turn were promptly beheaded. The real Shang Sang Feng, again, was closer to the character Doogie Houser than he was to the Kung Fu hero portrayed in many Kung Fu movies. In other words the man was a super nerd, for his time period.Disatisfied with court life, eventually becoming bored from having high privelege, wealth, status, and respect, the story goes that he longingly admired the Shaolin monks so one day, at the age of around 47, he decided to leave his priveleged position, he left his family leaving his wife and children his entire holdings, and making the difficult journey to the Shaolin temple with two servant boys, he set out to go to the temple. The boys, it turns out, were readily accepted by the temple as having endured the journey, the monks noticed they both had unusual fortitude in fact, the servant boys who traveled with Shang Sang Feng, I forget their names, were said to have become masters of Shaolin Kung Fu in their own right. Shang Sang Feng was initially rejected because he was way too old, and the monks were genuinely concerned that a 47 year old body of a court scholar would not be able to endure the rigors of the training of the Shaolin temple. Nevertheless Shang Sang Feng persisted, and eventually the head abbot of the temple at that time relented, and thus his Kung Fu studies began.A decade later, at the age of 57, Shang Sang Feng had completed his training at the Shaolin temple however his body was badly damaged, just like the head abbot had warned. Even though Shaolin Kung Fu makes use of Chi, and certain aspects of Chinese medicine, it does not train EXCLUSIVELY in Chi, meaning that with all the chi circulation stuff going on, if your body is not strong enough, 12 hours of training per day will eventually damage it, chi meditation and all. Badly mangled, the abbot, dejected, regretful and sad over Sang Feng's condition, told him that at best he had only 4 more years or so of Kung Fu practice his body was so badly damaged from the hard training, after that, he would become weak as a cripple. See, the Shaolin monks could endure the training because many started as children, so their muscles developed alongside the training, their muscles are adapted to hard training that is, from a very early age. When you have a lifetime of hard training, your body is adapted, and it can handle it, however if you are a middle aged person like shang sang feng what you end up with form a lifetime of inactivity is not good health if you push yourself too hard, but instead, a badly damaged and weakened body. Shang Sang Feng felt really sad of being unable to practice Kung Fu, or rather the prospect of being unable to practice, as, despite the misery, despite the agony and constant injuries, he apparently loved Kung Fu so much, he endured the training. The abbot at the Shaolin temple told him that Daoist hermits at Wudang mountain, may have been able to help Shang Sang Feng with his dilema, and thus, the what has now become historical journy of Shang Sang Feng to Wudang mountain began.All told the trek was difficult, and because of his weak condition, even though with his Kung Fu skills he effectively defended himself againts various brigands, thieves and highway men, when he got to Wudang, the hermits there thought he was an old beggar. That was how horrible a condition he was in. Shang Sang Feng was nursed back to health through the use of accupuncture, and various special herbs known to Daoist hermits. He then expressed his desire to regain his health, and thus his instruction in Chi Kung began. Having spent another 10 years studying Chi Kung, at the age of 67, he was a master of Chi Kung in his own right, and something else; even though Shang Sang Feng was 67 years old, his Chi Kung training had made it so that he did not look a day over 37. His graying beard, was jet black once again. His tired and sullen "old man's" eyes, were sharp once more, all in all, the chi kung had miraculously not just restored his health, but outright rejuvenated him.One night while sleeping, he had a dream of a snake surviving an attack against an eagle although the stories differ. In some stories, a snake, slithering and sliding about, avoids an eagle's talons. In other stories its a crane avoiding some large animal. Whatever the case the dream inspired Shang Sang Feng to combine the Chi Kung he learned at Wudang, with the martial arts he learned at the Shaolin temple, thus, the martial art known as Tai Chi Chuan was born. Upon being inspired he spent another 10 years perfecting and refining his new found art, then, at the age of 77, he had completed what he felt was his "master work," his life's work. Another decade passed, and around the age of 90 or so, he took on disciples.Shang Sang Feng chose three disciples, to pass down his martial art. Some stories go that one, he instructed to keep what was then called "Wudang Kung Fu" only in Wudang mountain, and to choose only one successor per lifetime, only one student, the other disciple he instructed to go out into China, and to instruct other people only in Chi Kung while the third disciple, he instructed to teach "Wudang Kung Fu" to as many people as humanly possible. In fact, what is now called "Tai Chi Chuan" was not called that in China until the 19th century, prior to the 19th century, Tai Chi Chuan was called "Wudang Kung Fu." Or "Wudang Wushu" if you are a strict traditionalist and purist. It was Shang Sang Feng's third student, who took on a disciple who would eventually start a lineage which would led to the Chen style's founder Chen Chang-hsing, who was an army general.Chen Chang-Hsing was taught, tradition goes, by the disciple, of the disciple, of the disciple, of the disciple, who learned from Shang Sang Feng himself. The name I got from a website but its a .org website so the information is relatively reliable. For better information refer to Jou's book "The Dao of Taijiquan; Way to Rejuvenation." See, since Shang Sang Feng himself, the original Wudang Kung Fu that he invented underwent substantial modifications, and because it was a style of Kung Fu, each subsequent generation of disciples picked up techniques from various schools not the least of which the Shaolin temple. In othe words by the time Chen Chang-Hsing got a hold of it, it more closely ressembled Shaolin Kung Fu, than Wudang Kung Fu. The so-called "softening" of Tai Chi Chuan was in fact a return to Shang Sang Feng's original teachings, that is the reason why the Yang style shares so many similarities with "Wudang" Tai Chi Chuan, a story goes, that dissapointed with the Chen style, and not getting chi circulating results fast enough, or rather efficiently enough, Yang Lu Chan, with the help of his teacher, made modifications to the Chen style they originally studied, and together they modified it so that it was barely recognizable as the Chen style anymore. Using input from a Daoist sect afiliated with a temple in Wudang, further modifications were made until Tai Chi Chuan became a "snail dance" as it is derisively called.Now before you jump to conclusions; the Yang style, is the Yang style okay? It is a style philosophically similar in approach as Wudang tai chi, however its a completely different style. Also, the reason there is a 108 step form, and another 88 step one, is because Yang Lu Chan, and later on his great grandson Yang Cheng Fu, both taught large numbers of students. Some people trace their knowledge of Tai Chi directly to Yang Lu Chan himself, their lineage of teachers never having studied under Yang Cheng Fu, while other people trace their knowledge of Tai Chi only as far back as Yang Cheng Fu who made further modifications. For example; in the original, older version of the Yang Long form, before stepping into brush knee, you "swing" back a little bit, and then when you "swing" forward, you let the momentum carry you into the next step. However in the Yang Cheng Fu modification, the 88 step version, you don't "swing" back at all, you simply step furthermore, some moves are notably absent. To avoid confusion, there is a "swing step" version of the Yang Long form, which is the one taught to the masses by Yang Lu Chan way back when, then there is a "fixed knee when you step" version taught by Yang Cheng Fu, which is more popularly practiced in southern China and Taiwan, finally, there is a 37 step version developed by Cheng Mang Ching, and to further add to the confusion, there is a 24 step version developed by the PRC's sports comission.Finding precisely which "Yang style" you are studying, to say the least, is a headache. Also, the Chen family, religiously speaking, have for generations been Buddhists, hence the reason why in the Chen style there are moves called things like "Buddha palm" and "banging Buddha's drum" and so forth. Tai Chi's connection to Buddhism, is that the Shaolin temple is a Buddhist temple first, and a Kung Fu training school second, despite the fact that Shaolin monks spend the better part of their day training in Kung Fu. Also, the majority of martial forms found within ANY Tai Chi style, including the original Wudang style (which is said to no longer exist, or have existed at all), were all developed by Buddhist monks, so, okay, there IS a connection in that many of the martial forms of Tai Chi were developed originally by Buddhists. What the Daoists added, was the emphasis on Chi training, rather than muscular or cardiovascular development.Shaolin Kung Fu is 50/50; that is, equal parts meditation, and rigorous physical training. However, any style of Tai Chi Chuan is 90% meditation, 10% physical training, because in fact the form itself, and the chi kung that often accompanies Tai Chi training IS the meditation. See you can't meditate while you are doing backflips, however, you can more easily enter into a meditative state while doing martial arts, if you move slowly, and moving slowly, forces you to focus more, because only through slow movement that force you to focus, will the chi begin to flow. For chi to flow, a person needs high intensity focus with all other thoughts shut out, and because it is difficult to quiet the mind when sitting still, Daoist hermits have for 4,000 years relied on movement to help quiet the mind more readily, that is why in Daoism it is said "you achieve more wisdom through careful movement, than from sitting still." Paradoxically though Daoist hermits also say; "large movement is not as refined as small movement, but small movement is not as refined as stillness." You move around a lot, so that one day your mind will remain quiet of its own accord.Indeed; you ever try sitting still for hours you notice that quieting the mind is damn well near impossible, you have to be there like that for long hours, however when playing sports or something else requiring activity, its much easier, or rather it seems to happen on its own with no conscious effort. The logic of daoists behind the slow movement of chi kung, is precisely that, keep the body active, but slowly active, so that the mind will eventually learn to be quiet on its own automatically with no conscious effort.hope that was a good answer.

The technology at this point in time is still primitive to the point its results are inferior to that of an adept practitioner. There are also tons of different variants on how the machines can be designed or operated.

The only approach I have to work well enough to be worth bothering with are Orgone Accumulators (which essentially pull in and concentrate large amounts of energy from the atmosphere). If used properly, they can achieve amazing results and dramatically increase a subjects sensitivity to their internal awareness.

There is also a small discipline seeking to merge Reich's Orgone work with Acupuncture, and the one doctor I know who's practiced it has told me they had very favorable results.

The uniform color for Ku style/Yang style Tai Chi is black shirt and pants with black buttons. There are other colors for Tai Chi/Wushu uniforms, but those are other styles. Tai Chi is a style or type of Wushu. To tell you the truth, I really don't know what color the uniform is for Ku-style Tai Chi. I'm thinking it's Sky Blue or Light Blue, but I'm not really sure.

Tai Chi Chuan was invented to help an average sized man to stand a chance against much a much larger man in fight, using special techniques and an attitude of mind. If a very strong man falls prey to exhaustion, even a weaker man can bring him down. Basically regardless of your body type, every body type has limits. It is a way to transcend the body's limits, and to optimize its functions.

Chi is the term used in traditional Chinese medicine and in "internal" martial arts for the biological energy that energizes all living things and connects them. The flow of this energy in the body is considered essential for health. Health practices such as acupuncture and acupressure are designed to unblock the flow of chi.

The practice of "chi-gung" trains the student to develop and strengthen the flow of this energy in the body for increasing health and in the martial arts, to increase power and the ability to neutralize force directed against you.

There are many styles of chi-gung such as "Eight Brocade, "Wild Goose" and "Animal Exercises" (nowadays given the modern name, "Zookinesis". This is an ancient style which also provides great exercise).

The way this energy is used in the martial arts is as a type of internal sense. The student is able to pay attention to the feeling of all the muscles, joints and other parts of the body and is able to coordinate their activities precisely. This allows him to use the minimal movement for maximum effect. There is the least amount of external body movement possible, while the muscles and joints are internally shifting to create the most advantageous alignment of the body for fighting at each moment.

In massage, the masseur must be able to perceive any blockages to the flow of energy to his patient and use techniques to unblock that flow. In this way he brings the maximum chi energy (and blood and lymph) to each cell of the body, keeping the body healthy. Such massage is referred to as "Tai-chi massage" or "chi-gung massage".

{| |- | Yoga is not a martial art. It originated in India. It is believed that the martial arts can trace their roots to Indian martial arts training, some of which probably incorporated things similar to yoga in the routines. |}

Tai Chi is an ancient art that has been around in China for a long time. There are many masters of Tai Chi. One of these many masters include the famed master Zhang Dong Hai.

Racing through the forms. The basic ones are designed to be done slowly to get the maximum benefit.

If you want to learn the forms, there are plenty of them for viewing on YouTube.

Beyond that, I believe the best resource you could access which will have many pertinent guides and pieces of advice you can use to have a clear guidance in what you plan to pursue can be found at www.taichimaster.com (and it's free!)

One basic type of exercise is called, "chi-gung". There are hundreds of styles of chi-gung but their purpose is to clear the channels of chi in the body (the meridians) and to strengthen the flow of chi. Some styles are very active, such as those based on animal movements (like "zookinesis", a modern translation), also increase range of motion of the joints and develop fine motor coordination. Other styles involve very little movement. Chi-gung is not only a physical exercise but includes concentration and proper breathing.

Slow forms such as Yang, Chen and Wu styles develop the fluidity of body movement and eliminate the tendency of the mind to lock up. Attention becomes distributed throughout the body rather than just in the head. You learn to relax all joints so that you are well connected to the ground (root).

From these exercises you then go on to Push Hands, training in healing and self defense.

Yes you do. Some skeptics believe that chi is a myth.

Some believe that it is real because numerous scientists were proven wrong in testing to see if chi is real or not. Chi isn't like a religion because chi is physically proven whereas religion is proven spiritually. So for all of you who don't believe it is real, try it for yourselves sincerely and passionately then we will see what your opinion is.

With 2 years practice in addition to heavy meditation, assumign both equally talented, built, and birthday practitioners fight, the Wing Chuner will probably win. I don't think I was clear so I'll try again; you assume they are identical in every way, evenly matched to the point where its ridiculous. You also assume that in addition to the training requirements of their respective martial arts, that they also do a lot of meditation. With 2 years of training, the Wing Chun guy wins, and he will keep on winning, until 10 years have passed, after which point, the Wing Chun guy will never win again against his Tai Chi rival unless, he himself learns Tai Chi. It is the same story with all internal martial arts; they are in fact, more powerful, effective, and efficient than the external ones, however to use them effectively requires more time, largely because being peaceful, being benign, and applying "peace" in a fight, is counterintuitive to most people. When someone attacks you your instinct is not to sidestep and throw, or sidestep and redirect the attack, your instinct is to either run, or if cornered, smack the crap out of them. The internal schools, and their Japanese cousin Aikido, consider this a "mind that is still stuck on a primitive level." Again, the external martial arts, are more effective than the internal ones but only for the short term; with long term practice like I said, the Wing Chuner will never again defeat his Tai Chi rival no matter how hard he trains and meditates. Unless, like I said, he takes up Tai Chi Chuan, or some other internal martial art himself. Getting more esoteric, the reason the external schools, internal martial arts masters of days past have said, will give you a temporary edge over the internal ones, is because it is easier to build up the muscles quickly, than it is to build up the chi flow, and later the spirit. Think for a second; what do you use when you fight? Obviously your muscles; martial arts are very physical. No one in the west has heard, certainly "he smacked the crap out of me with his soul." It just does not happen. See, to effectively use the internal styles, according to the beliefs of internal practitioners who hold Daoist teaching to be true, your very soul has to be "muscular." External martial arts, make your muscles muscular, internal martial arts make your soul "muscular." Internal martial artists argue, because the soul is the only thing that does not deteriorate with age assuming you follow a "good path" or "path nourishing for you," it makes more sense, to cultivate the soul in martial arts, than the body, because the health of the body is dependent on the health of the soul anyway. So why bother with physical training? Those are not my thoughts; that is how most internal schools feel about the matter. Of course external martial artists may counter "but huffing and puffing, sweating it out IS good for the soul!" Myself personally, pick whatever is available without neglecting meditation; to meditate, be sure to count the breaths, and to do 1,000 deep breaths. If you are not properly fed, or rested, you'll collapse from exhaustion; breathing may seem easy, but consciously breathing in deep, is a lot of hard work, it is deceptively hard in fact.

No, they are very different, though there is a distant historical relationship.

Yoga is a series of positions that stretch and exercise the body.

Tai Chi is a series of motions that stretch and exercise the body. Tai Chi is also a marital art and can be used for self-defense.

No. There is no gradation system in Tai Chi. You can win competitions though. In some schools there is a sash system. It usually is three, one that is worn by students, yellow, one that is worn by an instructor, red, and one worn by the master, black.

A Tai Chi uniform; you can google it and it should take you to martial arts or Kung Fu supplies outlets that sell them. The material ranges from cotton, to polyester, to the same material used in professional basketball shorts, don't know the specific name for it but it has a glossy look to it, its supposed to be breathable, and, the most expensive ones are made of silk. Its not a luxury kind of silk mind; the ever ingenous Chinese, have found away to take the silk extracted from silk worms, and make clothing designed for athletic purposes (namely Tai Chi). It is highly breathable, highly resilient, and I think it will even withstand a washing machine. There are many ways to weave silk, and since China is pretty much the authority on silk weaving they have discovered all sorts of ways. Again though, a silk Tai Chi uniform is ridiculously expensive; you're better off just buying a breathable cotton fabric Tai Chi uniform.

Tai Chi is a practice that has existed for centuries. It is believed that theories and practice of Tai Chi was invented by the Taoist Monk Zhang Sanfeng in the 12th century, and many different styles have been adapted since then.

In China you can learn it for free if you can wake up early enough. Actually, that also goes for any major U.S. city with a large Chinese community, if you can wake up early enough you can get free lessons. However if you are too lazy or "unsincere" to do it the hard way, you can purchase Terry Dunn's DVD "Tai Chi For Health" I believe its called. You can always google Terry Dunn and look for his DVD; its only 20 bucks and very easy to find. If you have a Hastings or Barnes and Noble near you, and I BELIEVE Barnes and Noble MAY sell DVD's and movies now, then you should be able to find it. Been a while since I been to Barnes and Noble; the closest one is in Spokane Washington and that's like 3 hours away. There is the $20 DVD you can buy or, you can get on Tai Chi magazine's website, and look at DVD libraries with greedy Chinese turds wearing expensive silk Tai Chi uniforms offering low quality Tai Chi lessons for up to $400, the total cost of the DVD library. Remember, if you live in a major city with a large Chinese community, all you need to do is wake up ultra early, and go to a park. As they say "when the pupil is ready the teacher will appear" right? Whoever you encounter, that will be your teacher; remember, if a man or woman, regardless of their age, has the kind of discipline to wake up that early to do Tai Chi Chuan, if they have that kind of discipline, it probably means their skills are formidable. Remember that; one of the things that separates a high level expert from a wannabe, even a wannabe who receices instruction in a school, is the ability to get up to train at 5 a.m. Serious martial artists, all wake up early; never forget. Actually serious ANYTHING; Arnold Swarzennegger, back when he was a bodybuilder he was a real turd. He was cocky and overconfident in his younger years and he displayed this in the more or less autobiographical movie "stay hungry." He was at his very worst, when he was juicing up; steroids gave him a size of I think 240 lbs of solic muscle. Okay moving on to the point; "the governator" said, that he could tell "losers" from "champs" apart, by what time they went to the gym. The people who trained with him in the early hours of the morning, they all had a trophy in something; be it Mr. America, or Mr. Europe, or whatever. All other bodybuilders who did not train early in the day, they were all "loser wannabes," now, these are Arnold's own words, I'm not making this up hey if anything I think he used even more derogatory language, I'm actually being nice compared to the way he was. Myself personally the bodybuilder I look up to is Charles Atlas; not only did he stay in shape until the day he died, unlike Arnold, but in his prime and without steroids he was stronger than him too, and not nearly as massive. I am personally more impressed with all the "Superman" types of the world, than with the "Hulk" types. In the world of strength training, you are either the "Hulk," or you are "Superman." Those are the two breeds of strong men, the "Superman" type is becoming increasingly rare. A "Superman" bodybuilder is exactly as the nicname implies; someone who is disproportionately strong for their size, just like the famous comic book superhero. A "Hulk" type bodybuilder is someone who is strong because they are so freakin' huge. In modern day comics, Hulk is in fact stronger than Superman, at least the standard version, BUT, even at only his golden age of comics level of strength, Superman can still hit the Hulk hard enough to cause pain. If you do strength training you need to decide what manner of shape you want to be in; do you want to be "Superman," or do you want to "Hulk" out? You can't have both; its biologically impossible. In classical bodybuilding, the "Superman" bodybuilder was considered the greater achievement of fitness. Back to the "5 a.m." point, Atlas woke up every morning at 5 a.m. and if you were an early bird yourself, if you lived in or near Conney Island New York when Atlas was alive, people could see him working out on the beach. Residents of Conney Island who stayed near the area said "you can set your watch by that man." Just letting you know, Tai Chi Chuan is one of those things that requires a similar level of commitment; if you want a truly skilled and competent instructor, you will have to train yourself to wake up that early. When Arnold calmed down as he got older, the language he used in his Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding was "I can tell who is serious, and who will quit, by how early they get up to work out." Again, that pattern of thought is not unique to Tai Chi; all endeavors requiring high discipline, men who follow said endeavors, have the same mentality. Those who wake up early and last at least a month, will stick with it, those who don't will quit within a month. Famous Karate instructor Hidetaka Nishiyama awarded black belts faster, to people who trained with him in the early morning sessions; Nishiyama's Karate school in Los Angeles, I believe had 5 a.m. sessions. If you attended those, you could earn your black belt faster because Nishiyama sensei would "know you're serious." Even going to bed on time, even getting your 8 hours, being well rested, and heck, even having a girlfried or wife who gave you a good @$#%# the night before and you are REALLY well rested, etc, etc, even with all those benefits, one of the biggest hardships a human being can endure, is waking up at 5 a.m. Waking up at 5 a.m. is a difficult thing to do even if you are emotionally stable, well balanced, and healthy. Because it is a hardship in a way, many top people, Bodybuilders, Martial Artists, Yogis, people known for outstanding skill, they feel that a personw willing to endure THAT hardship, the hardship of waking up early, will endure ANY hardship to succeed at whatever discipline they choose. If you just up and quit, when all that is asked of you is that you get up early, then you won't have success. A famous Scottish merchant, I believe it was the man who wrote the treatise on free market capitalism of all people, once famously said "I can tell the size of a man's income, by how early he wakes up." Pointing to the fact that only men who learn to consistently wake up at 5 a.m. will see a large income, those who don't, won't. I know it was an overly long answer but, food for thought. Myself I am trying to train myself to wake up at 4:30 a.m., mostly without success. Haven't given up though; I think I have tried well over 1,500 times, each time ending in miserable failure. However I'm not giving up.

Yes, Tai Chi Chuan is a Chinese Martial Art.

Not one that has any references that I've seen. I have a library of over 100 martial arts books and never seen that listed.