"To become strong,one must be weak.To become fast one must be slow.This is the nature of life."

Tai Ch'i Ch'uan

This style,whose name means "supreme ultimate fist" or "Yin-Yang boxing",is the most advanced of the Chinese internal fighting arts.Millions of people all over the world practice it as a form of therapeutic,meditative exercise,little realizing that a true fighting art lies beneath their artistic and seemingly harmless movements.

According to legend a Taoist monk created Tai Ch'i Ch'uan after observing a snake and a hawk fighting.Inspired by the way that they could be simultaneously loose and free-moving while hard and fast,he created a fighting art whose maneuvers are patterned after natural movements.The style is based on the Thirteen Postures(8 actions,5 directions),and typically involves blocking an incoming attack and then grabbing and/or striking the opponent.Cycles of movement and the rythem and harmony of combat are important;a Tai Ch'i master reacts "weakly" when his opponent attacks with strenght and "strongly" when he uses a "weak" assault.The names of the maneuvers are perhaps the most beautiful of any in the martial arts-Night Bird returns to the forest,Celestial horse walks in the sky,Meteor chasing the moon,Lion shakes his head.

Over the past several centuries,a number of different substyles of Tai Ch'i Ch'uan have developed.Some are more a form of exercise than a fighting art,while others(suchs as Chen and Sun) emphasize combat applications.

In addition to their fighting skills,Tai Ch'i Ch'uan masters have such a great control over their own Ch'i that they live extremly long lives and are said to possess wondrous powers,such as the ability to use their martial arts on ghosts and demons,the "iron shirt" and Dim Mak abilities of the Kung Fu masters and Fa-ch'ing,the abilty to project their Ch'i into a foe,causing lethal injuries.

Schools:Most "Tai Ch'i" schools teach the excerise forms of the art,not the combat forms.Finding a combat-oriented master is extremly difficult,especially outside of China.

Members:Many who are first drawn to Tai Ch'i Ch'uan as a form of meditative exercise or dance eventually become interested in it's combat applications.The Nature of the art is such that anyone-young,old,male,female,tall,short-can study and suceed.