Tai Ji Quan, or more commonly known as Tai Chi, is also practiced in our group. Today, we have a group of Tai Ji students ranging from 15-89 years old, all practicing Tai Ji Quan in Hong Kong's Victoria Park.

Initially, Tai Ji was practiced as a fighting form, emphasizing strength, balance, flexibility, and speed. Through time it has evolved into a soft, slow, and gentle form of exercise which can be practiced by people of all ages.

Benefits of Learning Tai Ji Quan

The words can be literally translated as Tai - supreme, Ji - ultimate, Quan - boxing. The first noticeable benefit is usually an increase in a feeling of relaxation and well being. In the first few classes, a student will start to sense their own energy or chi. After a short period of time a student will feel this sensitivity increase and begin to improve their energy circulation. Learning to be aware of where tension is held and how to relax and soften (without becoming limp and lifeless) results in a calmer, more relaxed body and mind with an ability to do more at any moment in time.

Pushing Hands

Each posture in Tai Ji, contains many Martial applications. In the exercise called Pushing Hands, two people work (pushing hands) to better develop sensitivity and understanding, with the goal of understanding oneself and one's partner in the same moment. This is done through a series of pushing, pressing, shouldering, and thrusting, in order to get the better of one's opponent.

Founder of Tai Ji Quan

The founder of Tai Ji Quan, is said to be Chang San-Feng, a Taoist hermit who is variously reported as having lived either during the Sung (960-1279) or the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). According to legend, one day while strolling through the forests surrounding the Wu Tang mountains in China's Hubei Province, Master Chang witnessed a snake engaged in combat with a crane. Master Chang was impressed with the skillful way the snake was able to dodge and counterattack the larger, more powerful crane. That night, so the story goes, the art of Tai Ji Quan came to him in a dream.
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Under the careful guidance of Ho Xi Fu and Ho Xi Mo, the student will have better control of his or her body, develop internal strength of their body and eventually learn to abandon their fears and worries for calmness, flexibilty and good body coordination. There are many styles of Tai Ji, however we teach a style that is beautiful but unknown to most. If you would like to know more about the Ho Style Tai Chi, please click on Ho Style at the bottom.