A light ringing of Chinese music played distant in the background as a solitary figure moved in slow motion through the dim light of the Kensington loft. The seven consecutive kicks in the next sequence of the form increased his breathing and he positioned himself carefully to anchor his balance. Along currents of breath, his moving meditation centered the old man and he focused on the very feeling of life: he knew he'd need to spend his remaining days gaining strength in his realm, this circle of calm energy.
Wind: Slant Flying. Single Whip. Wave Arms Like Cloud.

He was a fluid pendulum. Breathing deeply and keeping the pace of his motions moving in harmony, he directed his body and his awareness of spirit through a pattern refined over the centuries. Only by bringing his energy and intention into another manifestation of particles could he breeze into his planned port of call through the gales and waves that would try to force him under. Water: Needle at Sea Bottom. Separate Hands like Fan. Press Forward.

Life brings youth, and then does its best to reclaim it, but his body showed none of the rigid decline brought by age; his relaxed form pushed through the air as he brought his yin foot forward with a flexing tilt of the pelvis and hands up high leading through the centerline. He straightened his back and rooted his weight-bearing foot. Earth: Brush Knee and Push. Play Guitar. Carry Tiger to the Mountain.

Elusive in the shadows, peace was approaching. His hands felt hot with chi and a pinpoint of white light appeared in his mind's eye and he breathed through the ancient route that ignored the pain of time. He felt ageless and relaxed, envisioning streams of energy as ripples in the tide heading for the permanent shore. Step back Seven Stars.

The man returned to his starting point and arranged himself in a horse stance. He felt completely tranquil and loose, and then he coaxed his system to relax even more. He stood, right hand over left in front of his abdomen, controlling an even rhythm of breath. He stood with closed eyes in the twilight. Conscious thought was stilled, chaos became peace and he was free to experience the core of existence.

These lines appear in The Golden Blues, a novel about the reincarnation of the famous pioneer of Blues and Folk music Leadbelly. The reincarnated character develops from crudeness in his young bar fighting days of the nineteen-sixties to enlightenment in the first three decades of the twenty-first century as he studies Taoist thought and practices Tai Chi and Chinese Buddhist meditation to strengthen his awareness of the universe and discover a way to understand and influence existence.

Tai Chi is the most modest of the martial arts and is one of the branches of Kung Fu, which is a general grouping of empty hand fighting systems. Others are more commonly thought of as Kung Fu styles: Wushu, Shaolin, Wing-Chun, White Crane, and hundreds of others. As with other Chinese arts, tradition was passed down in families, and often those families would split apart in disputes over correct ways to interpret the applications. Five major styles emerged over the centuries: Yang, Wu, Chen, Sun, and Taoist.

The beginnings of Tai Chi are attributed to changes in converging fighting systems in ancient China. The rulers recruited elite palace guards who began refining the Kung Fu techniques into a mode of fighting that would accommodate the elaborate ceremonial robes that the guards were required to wear. They took the energy that was normally used for external power fighting and they brought it in close. The combat activity would be internal rather than external, circular instead of linear.

The major principles are based as much on breathing and mindfulness as they are on geometry and physics. Centering your mind, rooting yourself to the ground, and having confidence in your intention are the factors that add to the strength of your concentration. Balance and relaxation are critical. When training, the body never stops moving, there's always a motion of the hips, the rotating of a joint or a tilting of the pelvis to be stored in the memory by repetition, so that everything happens automatically. The elusive energy known as Chi is generated when weight is transferred from full weight on one foot to the emptiness of the other, whereby the full-weighted foot is then the empty one. Storing and directing this energy correctly will fulfill the three main goals of Tai Chi.

The most attractive lure to the art is the promise of greater longevity and maintenance of good health. The training, especially the long form, is designed to massage the inner organs and keep the body's position in the best possible alignment to circulate blood and energy. The Chinese reckon by experience that the body constantly in motion tends to remain in motion, a thought validated by Newtonian laws of physics. Not only do you stand a chance of a considerably longer life, you will be able to live those days in the springtime of youth. The workouts charge the body with an effervescent energy that stays for days; it prevents exhaustion and causes one to require less sleep. Digestion, respiration, and the immune system benefit greatly.

The next desirable effect is the ability to provide a defense system in which relaxation is maintained, restraint is possible by controlling the secretion of adrenalin that produces the "fight or flight" reaction, the incoming energy can be deflected, repulsed, redirected toward the attacker, or locked up - all without mutilating the opponent if unwarranted.

Thirdly, Tai Chi contains a parallel effect on spiritual certainty. Discovering the growing consciousness of knowing of your inner self extends to an understanding of the vastness of the universe and the nature of existence. Students are taken through breathing techniques and standing meditations as the Sifu guides them to this heightened awareness of their potential. Chi has a far wider meaning from the philosophical standpoint. The Confucian stage of Chinese thought advanced greatly by the writings of Lao Tzu in the Tao Te Ching, a much-translated series of over sixty verses that explained the concept of Yin and Yang, the idea that opposite phenomena complement each other, nor can they exist without each other. Yin and Yang is an area of subject matter that is too wide to cover here, and will be the subject a following article, part two of Tai Chi.