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Tai ChiTai Chi Chu'an, T'ai Chi Ch'üan or Taijiquan''-The Supreme Ultimate Fist ''  The symbol of Yin (receptive) and Yang (active). * More commonly known as Tai Chi or Taiji, this soft martial art was taught by the Chen family to the Yang family in 1820. * Unlike other martial arts, Tai Chi Chu'an is based on health and some even call it a form of moving meditation. * Some recognizable practitioners of Tai Chi Chu'an are Jet Li and Donnie Yen. * Tai Chi Chu'an had been found to promote balance control, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, and reduce the risk of falls in elders.
HistorySince Tai Chi Chu'an is over 1,500 years old, making it one of the oldest documented forms of martial arts, the history of it is seperated into five major periods: Prehistory, Chan Village, Yang Family, Other Styles, and the Modern Period-the Synthetic Styles. Most people recognize Chang San Feng as the founder of Tai Chi Chu'an. He created a new set of exercises based on: use of calm against action, use of soft against hard, use of slow against fast, and single against a group, however over the years two different versions of Tai Chi Chu'an have formed. The Chen Village (Chenjiagou) is recognized by all practitioners to be where Tai Chi Chu'an originated and is located in a gully not far from Yellow River. The type of Tai Chi Chu'an that is practiced here is known as the Chen Style, and although it is not practiced much elsewhere, it is still recognized as the original version of Tai Chi Chu'an. The Yang Family however, formed their own version of Tai Chi Chu'an when the Chen family shared their advancement with them around the 19th Century. The Yang Style is practiced more throughout the world because of it's ease with which it can be practiced, its great beauty of movement, and compact form. There are many other styles of Tai Chi Chu'an including the Wu Style, and the Li Style.
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