Martial Arts Of The World - Webs

628 Taijiquan (Tai Chi Ch’uan)
mon sight for visitors to China, and one that is slowly becoming more common
in the West, and not just in Chinatowns.
The strikingly odd yet calming images of slow-moving groups in perfect
synchrony have permeated the Western consciousness as well. Senior
citizen centers, martial arts schools, and health clubs throughout North
America are developing taijiquan programs. Even Madison Avenue advertising
firms have recognized the power of taijiquan. Using images of taijiquan
players in the background to attract our eye, they pitch their products
in the foreground, even during the halftime of the heavily watched Superbowl.
Yet, though we are exposed more and more, there is much confusion
here in the West, and sometimes as much in the East. As taijiquan gains
popularity as exercise, self-defense, and healing art, researchers in both the
East and West are delving into the origins of the art, its healing nature, its
martial nature, and the effects of practice.
Bill Adams
John Starr, M.D.
See also Boxing, Chinese; External vs. Internal Chinese Martial Arts; Ki/Qi;
Medicine, Traditional Chinese; Meditation; Religion and Spiritual
Development: China
References
Adams, Bill, and John Starr. 1996. “Potential Health Benefits of T’ai Chi.”
T’ai Chi Magazine 20, no. 1: 14–17.
Chen Wei-Ming. 1985. T’ai Chi Ch’uan Ta Wen: Questions and Answers on
T’ai Chi Ch’uan. Translated by Benjamin Pang Jeng Lo and Robert W.
Smith. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books.
Cheng Man-ching. 1982. Master Cheng’s Thirteen Chapters on T’ai Chi
Ch’uan. Brooklyn: Sweet Chi Press.
Draeger, Donn F., and Robert W. Smith. 1981. Comprehensive Asian
Fighting Arts. Tokyo: Kodansha International.
Gilman, Michael. 108 Insights into Tai Chi Ch’uan: A String of Pearls.
Jamaica Plain, MA: YMAA Publication Center.
Jou Tsung Hwa. 1991. The Tao of Tai-Chi Chuan: Way to Rejuvenation.
Warwick, NY: Tai Chi Foundation.
Li Tianji and Du Xilian. 1991. A Guide to Chinese Martial Arts. Beijing:
Foreign Languages Press.
Liang T. T. 1977. T’ai Chi Ch’uan: For Health and Self-Defense. New York:
Vintage Books.
Liao Waysun. 1995. The Essence of T’ai Chi. Boston: Shambhala Publications.
Lowenthal, Wolfe. 1994. Gateway to the Miraculous: Further Explorations
in the Tao of Cheng Man-Ch’ing. Berkeley: Frog.
———. 1991. There Are No Secrets: Professor Cheng Man-Ch’ing and His
Tai Chi Chuan. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books.
Olson, Stuart Alve. 1995. The Intrinsic Energies of T’ai Chi Ch’uan.
Dragon Door Publications.
Wile, Douglas. 1996. Lost T’ai-Chi Classics from the Late Ch’ing Dynasty.
Albany: State University of New York Press.