Many practitioners choose to practise Taiji Quan as the soft, relaxing exercise is well known for its health benefits and healing effects. There are patients who suffered from many kind of disease approached me because their doctors advised them to exercise and recommended Taiji Quan. I would make it clear to them that Taiji Quan is not a Panadol that can relief pain and can work miracle in healing. If one decided to commit oneself to Taiji Quan,, determination, patience, perseverance to practise daily to lay a solid foundation is essential and cannot expect to reap the health benefits of having radiant physical, emotional and mental health that characterized accomplished martial artists if one only practises flowery Taiji Quan once a week.
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The route to learning Taiji Quan
Laying a strong foundation is very important for a Taiji quan practitioner to have a lasting structure and progress towards the mastery of the art. Shifu (Master Chong) doesn't concentrate on teaching many different forms. He places importance on the foundation, skills and essence of the art. When one understands and master it (this will need lots of practice, patience, perseverance and passion), one can incorporate it into practice of any forms or weapons and also into daily life to become a better person.
The correct and good attitude in learning Taiji quan is very important. Many people have the misconception that learning the form fast and able to learn different sets of forms is the main aim of learning Taiji quan. In actual fact, learning the forms are easy, the real challenge is to master the skills and essence and that might require a lifetime to master that.
Jaleen Ho
Apart from its martial
applications, Taijiquan has been widely
used for diseases prevention, longevity and self-defence. It
also has an important role in the comprehensive therapy for
chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, gastric ulcer,
and neurasthenia.
A group of visitors from Europe who were in Singapore for an official trip were interested to know more about Taiji Quan.
They have requested Shifu for training at Botanic garden. In that 1 hr, we instilled practice of Rooting, Balancing,
Breathing exercises etc and hope to further arouse their interest in Taiji Quan, which is one of the most essential
parts of traditional Chinese culture. See more photos here
Practitioners will feel that the ball practice is good for relaxation and enhancing flexibility.. Most people in the modern world are full of tension and have weak, problematic spine.. When one understands the correct way of movement, the backward bending of the spine will be a great therapy, it effectively counteracts the damage due to hours spent on forward bending. Read more...
Manesh L. Balani, one of the participants: "The session was very different from our understanding of Taichi, it was really engaging and humorous at the same time, which brings the best in learning. Simple yet effective movements were thought helping us to keep in health."
I had bilateral sacral ala insufficiency fractures. Due to these fractures, my leg and back muscles had to work extra hard to support my upper body. After 2 years of medical intervention, lifestyle change and Taiji exercise my osteoporosis condition has improved...
I have been recovering from knee injuries due to sports. It has been troubling me for quite sometime and resulted in stiffness and pain after prolonged walking. After consulting with Master Chong, he could actually figure out the weakness in my knees and trained and guided me restore the strength in my legs. Not only has my confidence been restored, but my level of fitness has become more balanced.
When I first began, I was skeptical about the benefits of Tai Chi, partly because I had great difficulty remembering the movements and sequences. But as time passes, with the help of a very patient Master, I am getting there and have noticed that my sense of balance and flexibility have improved noticeably. Read more...
Rennie Chong: 76 years old, but still solid. A street poster for 50th Anniversary of Singapore.
The Taiji night is to gather together from all the various centers of RCTTC. This year we met at Thomson CC more...
Tai Chi and Well-Being
Tai Chi camp at the National Community Leadership Institute, July 2015
During the talk, Master Chong explained how practice of Taiji according to Taiji principles can cultivate and improve
the person's inner character and nurture one's mental health. Read more...
Brigitte Lichtenberger, Master Chong's student, June 2014:
From a physiotherapist perspective the positions of the joints in each movement
are very economical for the body and biomechanical optimal to prevent any damages. For me as a physiotherapist
it's very interesting to analyse the different movements and finding a lot of similarities of exercises we teach
in the clinic.
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