Originally a powerful combat art, professional instructors changed Tai Chi’s focus to a more pronounced health orientation at the beginning of the twentieth century. With the proliferation of firearms, hand-to-hand combat became less relevant than it had been in previous times. Also, instructors who depended on teaching for a living found that the upper strata of Chinese society (i.e. their new target market, since the military and security companies were no longer so highly interested) were more concerned with health and longevity than with fighting ability.

The desire of the Communist government on the mainland to do away with the old traditions led to the propagation of modern Wu Shu, which focuses mostly on gymnastic and expressive movement. Internal arts such as Tai Chi were modified in a similar manner and for the same reason. Many of the traditional teachers, both on the mainland and in Chinese communities all over the world, elected to continue teaching in the traditional way. Since the 1960’s, Tai Chi has taken root all over the world and has become a household name for people moving in a slow motion, beautiful, dance-like manner.

Competitions are held all over the world, including both the performance of traditional empty hand and weapons forms and push hands (a severely limited form of standing wrestling practice, limited in terms of self defence applicability because of the great number of restrictions imposed by the rules). The benefits of Tai Chi are well known, especially as regards stress relief, which is so crucial in our mad, modern world.

Today there are those who claim that high-level Tai Chi is dead or dying out due to the lack of dedication and the hectic pace of living in our society. It’s all a matter of perspective, I suppose. I think Tai Chi is doing very well indeed, since its popularity and proliferation have resulted in an immensely wide variety of styles and classes being available.

If you are the kind of student who prefers a traditionalist teacher who wears the authentic “tai chi uniform”, uses a lot of Chinese words and phrases in class (even if he is not Chinese and learnt the art in the West) and teaches exactly as his teacher and his teacher’s teacher are said to have taught, there are just such classes available to you.

If you are a “bean sprout and muesli” late-model hippy type who likes to do his “Tai Chi dance” before lighting up his next joint of finest quality Durban Poison ( I know, I’m having fun with my clichés and stereotypes, but then what’s the point if you don’t have fun??) there is a Tai Chi instructor dude just waiting for you, as long as you can find the tree he is chilling out in.

And if you like the non-conformist, individualist, results oriented western-style/ progressive instructor who will tell you to listen carefully, work hard but think for yourself, there are those as well…or any possible combination and permutation of the above.

I think its wonderful, so many different styles and instructors, all having something to offer and providing the prospective student with so many choices, so that it becomes relatively easy to find a teacher best suited to your needs and personality. It is for this reason that I would say that this is the “golden age” in Tai Chi history!