Taijiquan (Chinese Shadow-Boxing) is an exercise of harmonious body movements and footwork. It is considered very much to be, "The Chinese Way". In Cantonese, it is also known as Tai Chi Ch'uan.

The Chinese culture has always been concerned with the proper promotion of a well-functioning spirit, mind, body exercise within their own country, however, recently the number of people outside China interested in Taijiquan has steadily increased in the last 30 years. Taijiquan increases awareness of the body and is an aid for meditation. In fact, this art form has been described as "moving meditation".

Sifu Dr. Ko has been studying this Chinese martial art form since 1974. He first was taught this soft, internalize form by his first martial arts Master teacher (sifu), Chinese Master Po Chang Yee (deceased) in Columbus, Ohio. He has also studied Tai Chi Chu'an with Sifu Dr. Marshall Ho'o (now deceased) and Sifu Grace Wu-Monnat.

Sifu Dr. Ko teaches the modified short Yang-style form of 24 sequences of Taijiquan, which has also become known as the Peking form or as coined by Sifu Dr. Ho'o as the 8-minute form. This shortened version was formulated and agreed upon by many taiji masters. It was then first introduced, in 1957, by the Sports Committee of the People's Republic of China and is the most popular form throughout the world. It is graceful and appealing while being relatively easy to learn. Sifu Dr. Ko taught Taijiquan to his Wing Chun Kung Fu students during the Fall '99 and Spring 2000 semesters at Wichita State University.

Taijiquan is also the name for a number of other traditional Chinese exercises and taiji styles. Its characteristics are gentle movements that harmonize breathing with mental concentration against a particular philosophical background. Taiji, a concept in the philosophy of Taoism, refers to the condition of our Universe at the dawn of time. It is the source of heaven and earth, the Yin and the Yang. Quan means the joy of fighting with bare fists. Taijiquan as an exercise, grew out of the Chinese art of fighting, and today, its 24-movement sequence still contains: "elements of self-defense".

Much emphasis in taijiquan is focused on careful and flowing movements. The flow is gentle, harmonious, and graceful, which makes observing taijiquan an aesthetic experience. While the upper body remains nimble and loose, the lower part of the body and legs are stable and planted firmly on the ground without being stiff. Thus, taijiquan is one of the best forms of physical training. With consistent use, prevention and treatment of illness is possible.

The important principles of taijiquan include: 1) Overcome force and severity with softness, gentleness, and smoothness; 2) Move a ton with an ounce; 3) Adapt your opponent's style, and beat him at it.

As a rule, all movements are performed in an archlike, circular fashion, conforming to the Yin-Yang philosophy expressed in the Taiji symbol shown above.

The health benefits from the diligent and faithful practice of taijiquan has a long list compiled throughout its history inside of China and now throughout the entire world.

The original style of Taijiquan is the Chen style from which the Yang style and all other styles, such as the Sun, Wu, and Lee styles, emerged.

Tai Chi was created as a system of mental and physical discipline which human beings could understand and follow faithfully, and which is based on universal principles of balance and harmony. When you practice Taiji, the first basic principle that you follow is: "Once you begin to move, the entire body must move as one".

Merely moving an arm or a leg is not practicing in a Taiji manner. The body must be coordinated, relaxed, comfortable, peaceful, and mentally alert or awake. In this way you will be able to maneuver the body in any direction, at will; when the mind wishes to move, the body will instantaneously follow its command.

A mistake often made by students who are new to the art of Taiji is that of allowing the various parts of the body to move separately, in an uncoordinated manner. This is due to the fact that the parts of the body are not connected. When the hand moves, the rest of the body should respond in a totally coordinated manner. This will result in a well-controlled movement and help in the development of internal energy, which will eventually lead to the process of internal power projection.

The internal energy should be
extended, vibrated like the beat
of a drum. The spirit should be
condensed in toward the center
of your body (the Dan Tien).

The avid Taiji practitioner should then drive their internal energy outward from the center of the Dan Tien and extend it with sufficient pressure (not too much and not too little) so that the tension upon its surface is like that on the head of a drum. The Qi will then vibrate like the beat of a drum when set in motion. The most important principle in the cultivation of Qi is that you should extend your Qi to the maximum margin of allowable pressure.

Cultivating your Qi will also stimulate the power of your spirit, which should be drawn inward toward your center point and condensed into the bone marrow. Stronger Qi will help elevate the power and the amount of the spirit. Do not let your spirit extend too far outward and get lost. Rather, let it be condensed inwardly and recycled.

When performing Taiji, it
should be perfect; allow no
defect. The form should be
smooth with no unevenness,
and continuous, allowing no
interruptions.

When you consider Taiji as a discipline art and yourself as a martial artist, your attitude should be that of looking for perfection - which means that you continue to improve your study and practice until there is no defect.

The Taiji meditative movements must be very smooth and even, just as if you were trying to draw a perfect circle without the aid of an instrument. You begin with a rough draft and try to draw as evenly and smoothly as possible in every direction. Although a perfect circle may only be possible in theory, as you continue working toward this goal you will be acting in a manner that is close to the required smoothness and evenness.

The internal energy, Qi, roots
at the feet, then transfers
through the legs and is controlled
from the waist, moving eventually
through the back to the arms and fingertips.

Grandmaster Yang Chien-hou (1839-1917), son of the Great Grandmaster Yang Lu-chan, liked to remind his disciples of this principle many times during his daily Taiji instruction and practice.

After achieving some success in Qi awareness practice, the Taiji student should learn how to lower his or her Qi feeling down to the ground and then project it upward from his or her legs. Therefore, in Taiji practice, always keep your knees slightly bent to allow flexibility; never straighten your legs completely. This will allow the vibration of your internal energy to be transmitted from your feet through your knees and up to your waist. After projecting the Qi upward, your waist serves as a transmitter; it controls, guides, and distributes the direction and amount of internal energy.

In your daily practice of Taiji, it is extremely important to keep your back as well as your entire torso in a vertical position (perpendicular to the floor), to allow the vibrations to travel freely upward through your back to your shoulders. Keep your shoulders completely relaxed to allow the transmission of Qi down to your elbows and up to your fingertips. Always keep your elbows dropped and relaxed; your wrists are relaxed, but not limp.

When transferring the Qi from your
feet to your waist, your body must
operate as if all the parts were one;
this allows you to move forward and backward
freely with control of balance and position.
Failure to do this causes loss of control of
the entire body system. The only cure for
such a problem is an examination of the stance.

It is known that Qi carries tremendous amounts of vibration, requiring a high degree of coordination of the entire body. One's torso and limbs, hands and legs, must be coordinated both physically and mentally with every other part of the body. All the parts should relate to each other as one inseparable unit, especially when you transfer your Qi from the root upward. Success in this will allow you to maneuver your entire body - forward, backward, upward, downward - at will. One will be able to control any self-defense situation.

Taiji emphasizes the essence of change rather than time, and the essence of relations rather than space.

The concept of timing described here refers to pacing, anticipating, and moving ahead of your opponents motion. It indicates the overlapping of the sequence of changes.

Internal power should remain
in a state of equilibrium between
relaxed and not-yet-relaxed, extended
and not-yet-extended. Even if internal
power is interrupted, the mind should
remain in continuous action.