Tai-fit

  Tai-Fit is a system developed to help with focus, fitness and relation with the foundations of Tai chi. Tai chi is a Chinese martial art that is primarily practiced for its health benefits, including a means for dealing with tension and stress. Among the martial arts, there are two basic types: the hard martial arts and the soft martial arts. The latter are also called internal arts.

Tai fit is best in:

• Relaxation by reducing anxiety

• Exercise which is gentle

• Utilizes the diaphragm to improve lung function

• Calms the nervous system

• Enhances the function of internal organs

• Build internal strength through proper breathing

• Strengthens the immune systems

 

  Tai fit emphasizes complete relaxation, and is essentially a form of meditation, or what has been called "meditation in motion. “Unlike the hard martial arts, Tai-Fit is characterized by soft, slow, flowing movements that emphasize force, rather than brute strength. Though it is soft, slow, and flowing, the movements are executed precisely.

Another aim of Tai Fit is to foster a calm and tranquil mind, focused on the precise execution of these exercises. Learning to do them correctly provides a practical avenue for learning about such things as balance, alignment, fine-scale motor control, rhythm of movement, the genesis of movement from the bodies vital center, and so on. Thus the practice of Tai-Fit  can in some measure contribute to being able to better stand, walk, move, run, etc. in other spheres of life as well. Many practitioners notice benefits in terms of correcting poor postural, alignment or movement patterns which can contribute to tension or injury. Furthermore the meditative nature of the exercises is calming and relaxing in and of itself.

  Because the Tai Fit movements have their origins in the martial arts, practicing them does have some martial applications. In a two-person exercise called 'push-hands' Tai-Fit principles are developed in terms of being sensitive to and responsive of another person's 'chi' or vital energy. It is also an opportunity to employ some of the martial aspects of Tai-Fit in a kind of slow-tempo combat. The emphasis in Tai-Fit is on being able to channel potentially destructive energy (in the form of a kick or a punch) away from one in a manner that will dissipate the energy or send it in a direction where it is no longer a danger.

 

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