Japanese Association Singapore | Mental and physical self-care (news from the lecture) (Mar issue 2022)

Mental and physical self-care (news from the lecture) (Mar issue 2022)

24 Feb 2022

It’s said that Taiji is originated from a martial art in the era of Qing dinasty, or rather earlier. Having known its health benefits, it has been inherited into small groups of martial arts only since the ancient taichi was too difficult to acquire for ordinary people. Over time, different schools are derived, and modified with the emphasis on defense training, health benefits, and meditation so that taiji has become a popular exercise for everyone. In 1956, 24 steps of taiji was developed by China to make this beneficial exercise familiar to public, which is later on introduced to Japan in 1972.

Even here in Singapore, before the Covid-19 epidemic, you may have seen groups of people doing Taiji near gymnasiums or in free spaces such as parks and housing complexes.

In Singapore, an estimated one million people are familiar with Taiji.

Currently, there are five types of Taiji in Singapore: Chen, Yang, Sun, Wu, and Goh.

Yang style is the most popular because it is easy to learn and is suitable for all ages and genders.

Taiji Quan consists of a balance of yin and yang, which means "soft" and "hard" techniques.

At first glance, the slow movements seem very easy, but if you actually try it, you will find that moving your arms and legs at the same time is difficult until you get used to it.

It's a great way to exercise your mind as well as your body.

In addition, if you want to master it, you need to control your body and mind properly and circulate your Qi throughout your body, so it is a very deep practice.

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The Benefit of Taiji Quan

1. Destress mind and body.

A moderate and continuous set of movements, which takes from 3 minutes up to 20 minutes, is a cardio exercise you can do at home. Those movements will make you refreshed and relaxed, as well as improving your blood circulation.

2. Disseminate energy to the body.

If you get used to these movements and become able to perform diligently in detail, you will feel warm. It will also improve your metabolism.This results in treating cold intolerance, which is caused by a bad blood circulation.

In addition,you can manipulate Qi in a more controlled way.

3. Improvement in balancing body and strengthening leg muscles.

Taichi requires to harmonise every parts of our body and shift weight smoothly. Our ability of body balancing and leg muscle are improved and maintained if we play taichi continually.

We must strenghthen our foot to carry our weight.Our feet connect to the ground hence the force and movement starts from the feet.It is align to the roots of a tree.

4. Maintain body and mind in harmony.

Healthy mind comes from a healthy body. By resetting your mind during the Taiji Quan, you will be refreshed which is very good for your mental health.

5. Self Defense

Since Taiji Quan was originated from the martial arts, there are quite a lot of movements which are meant to protect yourself from enemies. You will learn how to defend yourself from enemies with the skill of kicking, clenching your fist, and dodging attacks, which might be useful in case of emergency. Learning those movements also strengthens your lower body.

In the next article, I would like to explain about Taiji Quan’s principles in more detail.

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