Under bright neon lights in the Ora L. Wildermuth Center in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, the T'ai Chi Ch'uan club comes into session. Varying in body types and ages, students cluster together in groups of three or four to practice different levels of T'ai Chi. Brenna Dwyer, president of the T'ai Chi club, leads one of the clusters into their first moving meditation -- a sequence of 64 slow but distinctive movements.\nLike fighting in slow motion, T'ai Chi consists of deliberate and mindful movements -- such as concentrating on the movement of the left pinkie finger or the positioning of the right big toe. \n"It provides balance for me. I feel out of place if I don't do it everyday; I don't feel complete," said Ross Durrer, IU alumna and T'ai Chi club instructor.
What is T'ai Chi?\nAlthough it originated in China, T'ai Chi has generated a big following in the West, especially in the last 20 years, and is continuing to grow in popularity. T'ai Chi, or T'ai Chi Ch'uan, is a Chinese "soft style" martial art that emphasizes balance and coordination. Unique to other martial arts, such as Karate or Tae Kwon Do, the main focus of T'ai Chi is concentrated slow movements -- not physical body strength. For that reason, people with all body types can participate.\n"I always had interest (in martial arts) but I didn't think I had the physical ability; I felt like T'ai Chi was kind of like cheating," Dwyer said. \nBecause of the anti-aging hype, baby boomers have especially taken a liking to T'ai Chi. Many hospitals and community centers developed T'ai Chi classes because of its popularity among senior citizens in Western culture. According to www.wikipedia.org, an online encyclopedia, T'ai Chi -- and Yoga -- are one of the fastest growing fitness activities in 2004. \n \nT'ai Chi as meditation \nCoined as a "moving meditation," T'ai Chi emphasizes the body/mind connection, which is known to help develop higher levels of concentration and balance. For that reason, T'ai Chi can increase a student's academic performance. \n"My stress levels went down and my focus level went up when I started practicing T'ai Chi during my college years at IU," Durrer said. \nEven during stressful times, students find it very beneficial to keep up with T'ai Chi. \n"Finals week I still go to T'ai Chi -- it's the one thing I look forward to in a messy week," Dwyer said. "When I focus on T'ai Chi I'm able to get all the mess out of my head. You have all that other stuff in life to focus on and when you focus on T'ai Chi, you are able to prioritize. You don't focus on everything at once, but just on one thing." \nConsistent practice of T'ai Chi relaxes and deepens breathing while recirculating the previous effects of stress on the body and mind, according to Wikipedia. The energy concentrated previously on stress can be refocused into more productive areas -- such as academics, sports or other activities. \n"T'ai Chi is a way for me to relax and practice patience. I feel like we're bombarded with stuff all the time, it takes effort to not have external stimulation especially as a student," said senior Jen Wangerin, vice president of the T'ai Chi club. "It's just really beneficial to have quiet time."
T'ai Chi as Self Defense\nThe Mandarin term for T'ai Chi Ch'uan translates to "Supreme Ultimate Boxing" or "Boundless Fist." As a unique approach to self defense, T'ai Chi focuses on concentrating on the center of gravity and momentum of the opponent rather than the opponent's physical strength. Every move in T'ai Chi concentrates on circles, which is the shape of the T'ai Chi symbol. \n"For example, if a person pushes me, the harder they push, the more momentum I can absorb by yielding to this force," Durrer said. "I am able to use that momentum and push back into them, thus completing that circle and following yin and yang principles." \nThe T'ai Chi student emits an "alert calmness" which aids in response to an unprepared attack. An underlying premise of T'ai Chi is to show mercy and kindness to one's opponent.\n"T'ai Chi is one of the most effective of the martial arts in terms of self defense." Dwyer said. \nThe concepts of yin and yang also guide T'ai Chi. Yin is coined as the "receptive" principle and yang the "active" principle. When you put yin and yang together, there is a perfect balance. \nThe activity's goal is to achieve a yin yang balance in combat, which should be applied to other areas of life that are unbalanced.\n"T'ai Chi is a soft style, internal martial art," Dwyer said. "When you are doing other martial arts, the power comes from external sources but T'ai Chi is connected back internally to the core."
History of T'ai Chi\nT'ai Chi dates back for many centuries in China in many different forms. For example there is the Ch'en style, Sun style and Wu Tang style. Dwyer said the most popular style practiced at IU is called the Yang style, which contains many variations as well.\nAccording to Wikipedia, the Yang family started practicing T'ai Chi in the early 1800s. The founder of the Yang style was Yang Lu-ch'an who studied under Ch'en Chang-hsing in 1820. The style was then passed on from generation to generation, going through many revisions until it is said that Cheng Man-ch'ing (1901-1975) shortened the form to make it accessible to the West. He is known to have been the first to teach T'ai Chi in the West.
Joining IU's T'ai Chi Club\n"Everybody should be involved, the whole point of college is to be involved in different cultures and different exposures -- T'ai Chi is a pretty damn good example," said Brent Hatfield, a member of the T'ai Chi club.\nThere are several options for practicing T'ai Chi at IU. You can take one of the five T'ai Chi classes offered at IU. E148 is Introduction to T'ai Chi Ch'uan. T'ai Chi is also an area of concentration for the IU Martial Arts Certificate Program, so you can get a concentration and enjoy T'ai Chi at the same time. Log on to the T'ai Chi Web site at www.indiana.edu/~iutaichi or e-mail the club at iutaichi@indiana.edu. \n-- Contact staff writer Laura Beranek at lberanek@indiana.edu.
