A Critical Examination of the History of Tai Chi

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Thursday, September 27th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed

One thing that needs to be taken into consideration in regards to a critical examination of the history of tai chi and this is the fact that many classical systems of martial arts are mixed with a number of myths and unique histories that are, well, made up. For whatever reason, mythical stories of the origins of these arts are somewhat more entertaining to listen to than mundane historical records of trial and error training. Plus, the notion that a system is thousands of years old has the (often inaccurate) psychological implication that the system is an excellent one because it lasted so long. (This is pseudo-logic to the extreme!) Of course, these flowery histories are still fun to listen to and enjoy provided you do not take them entirely serious.

So, to borrow a few choice words from the legendary Bruce Lee, one must never lose site of the fact martial arts systems do not come from dreams, mystical sources, etc. They come from men and if one opts to look to trace the true origin of a system it is important to avoid paying much attention to stories of fighting systems developed by observing a Praying Mantis fighting a bee and other such alliterations. So, let us examine some of the more credible origins of the history of Tai Chi instead.

The History of Tai Chi – A Primer

The history of tai chi is often traced back to the year 1820 and to a family named Yang. While the purpose of the system was self defense, it was tied in directly to Chinese medicine, wellness and health improvement as well as acting as a form of moving meditation. Tai chi quickly became popular thanks to the inroads of the Yang family and this led to students expanding upon what they learned. Also, students would eventually combine what they learned with other forms of martial arts and this would lead to other schools and training methods of tai chi. Due to the emphasis on health and wellness, tai chi became a classical version of “tae bo” and it became a wildly popular form of exercise in China.

A Brief History of Tai Chi in the United States

Eventually, the history of Tai Chi expanded into the western world in the 1960’s, but it was not until the 1980’s that the system started to become popular thanks to daytime television promoting the health benefits of the system to huge national audiences. This stimulated interest in the system to such a degree that it led to a rise of popularity setting the stage for the volume of schools that exist in great numbers today.

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