Frequently Asked

Yes — it improves balance, strength (in the legs) and mobility, and has beneficial cardiovascular effects. But those are side effects, not its function.

If you are looking for pure cardiovascular exercise, three minutes of High-Intensity Interval Training is the way to go. Tàijí wasn’t invented as exercise in the modern sense. It is far deeper than that, and with discipline it will not only restructure the sinews of the body but change how the mind relates to changing conditions.

Not if you don’t want to. But I want you to want to. In class you can receive corrections and find partners to push, but neither of those are easy to find at home. Daily solitary practice is what settles into the body and spirit.

There is no minimum, but then again there is no maximum either. Just remember it is better to practise a little — literally as little as two minutes — and often, than to train intensively every not-very-often. No one can buy 功夫 gōngfu (achievement through effort) — progress comes directly from practice.

Yes and no. At InsideTaiji you will train push hands almost from the beginning — the ritual contact practice that exists precisely so your practice doesn’t drift into dance. In origin and in structure, Tàijí’s postures and mechanics encode numerous combat applications, which will often be explained.

Numerous contemporary teachers demonstrate that without the martial aspect the art degrades into empty decorative movement. We may not train for the cage or the street, but without the martial context the metaphor becomes meaningless.

Qì is a word. Belief and doubt are both equally irrelevant and important. Qì describes sensations in the body that become apparent through practice, not through argument. Scepticism need not be a barrier, but cynicism would be.

Emphatically no. That is the beauty of the Taoist arts. You are always where you are, even when there is somewhere else you imagine you would prefer to be. If you needed to be fit to get fit, life would be even more difficult.

Tàijí begins by refining the movement you already have. If you are injured there is no requirement to gain new range of motion. Be sure to tell me about any injury because postures can always be adapted without abandoning the principle behind them.

There are no uniforms or special belts. You can come as you are, dress in a suit, wear sports clothing, or whatever you like. I personally prefer loose clothing when practising or training, you may develop a different preference over time.

Push hands is what most often forces a wardrobe choice because cloths can get in the way — short sleeves, tight sleeves or rolled-up sleeves; you decide what you prefer.

Probably not. I have joined so many classes that I know what those first few steps through the door feel like. Just rest assured that, if you like the classes, before long you will be the one smiling in greeting and welcoming new people to the school.

If you are asking, probably longer than you’d like. Although most people report some shift in body awareness and flexibility within a few months, results depend on practice. Before you have learned the first form you will almost certainly have a sense of standing differently, of attending differently, and of improved strength and coordination.

As for the deeper claims of the internal arts — qì sensation and structural change — such things are normally measured in years. If you require instant results without effort then, although you need it more than anyone, tàijí will probably frustrate you. If on the other hand you are — or want to become — the kind of person who achieves profound results through cumulative effort, Tàijí is for you.