Tai Chi isn't just for your grandparents

 

Tai Chi: It's Not Just for Old People

When you picture someone practicing Tai Chi, what comes to mind? For many, it's the image of an older adult in a park, slowly moving through graceful, meditative motions. And while Tai Chi is indeed a favorite among seniors—and for good reason—it’s time to bust the myth: Tai Chi is not just for old people. 

When I was younger, I believed Tai Chi was an activity that only older people did when they couldn't move as easily anymore.

In reality, Tai Chi is a dynamic, adaptable, and deeply powerful martial art and wellness practice that can benefit everyone, regardless of age, athletic ability, or experience level. Let's explore why.

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What Is Tai Chi, Really?

Tai Chi (or Taijiquan) is an ancient Chinese internal martial art that combines slow, deliberate movements, breathing techniques, and mental focus. Originally developed for self-defense, it evolved into a practice known for promoting balance, flexibility, and inner calm.

Tai Chi literally means “Supreme Ultimate,” and its philosophy is rooted in Taoism and the balance of yin and yang. It’s not just movement—it’s moving meditation, and when practiced with intention, it can be physically challenging, mentally enriching, and spiritually grounding.

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Benefits of Tai Chi—for All Ages

1. Improves Balance and Coordination

Tai Chi trains your proprioception—your body’s sense of position in space—making it ideal for athletes, dancers, and anyone looking to move more efficiently.

2. Enhances Flexibility and Strength

Don't be fooled by the slow pace—holding stances and moving mindfully strengthens muscles, increases joint mobility, and promotes better posture.

3. Reduces Stress and Increases Focus

Tai Chi emphasizes relaxed breathing, mindful awareness, and flowing movement. That makes it a perfect counterbalance to the high-stress, screen-heavy lifestyle of modern students and working professionals.

4. Boosts Cardiovascular and Respiratory Health

Regular practice increases stamina and oxygen intake. Some forms of Tai Chi even elevate the heart rate to moderate aerobic levels.

5. Sharpened Mental Clarity

The cognitive challenge of remembering sequences, coordinating limbs, and aligning the body with breath builds focus and mental discipline.

6. Martial Application and Self-Defense

Yes—Tai Chi is a martial art. Its techniques are based on physics, leverage, and energy redirection. Practiced with intent, it's highly effective for self-defense.

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Some Styles of Tai Chi

There are many styles, some considered "major Family" styles, and others as smaller branch or lesser known family styles. Here are just a few:

• Chen Style: The original form, with low stances, coiled energy, and bursts of explosive power (fa jin). Great for martial training.

• Yang Style: The most widely practiced, known for its large, open movements and smooth, flowing rhythm. Excellent for beginners and general wellness.

• Wu Style: A more compact frame with subtle internal focus, ideal for practitioners who enjoy internal energy work.

• Sun Style: Incorporates elements of Xingyi and Bagua, featuring agile steps and a slightly upright posture. Popular for its gentle transitions and ease on the joints.

• Wu/Hao Style: Less commonly seen, this style is characterized by small, precise movements and a deep emphasis on internal alignment.

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Getting Started: Practice Points for Any Age

1. Start Slow, Stay Consistent
   You don’t need to master all 108 moves of a long form on day one. Even 10 minutes of daily practice can yield noticeable benefits.

2. Find the Right Instructor
   Look for someone certified and experienced in working with your age group and goals—whether fitness, meditation, or martial development.

3. Dress Comfortably and Focus on Posture
   Soft-soled shoes and loose clothing help movement flow naturally. Pay attention to spinal alignment and relaxation.

4. Practice Outdoors or in a Quiet Space
   Fresh air and peaceful surroundings enhance the meditative quality of Tai Chi. Bonus: You’ll start to feel more grounded and present.

5. Breathe Naturally
   Coordinating breath with movement calms the nervous system and deepens the practice.

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Tai Chi Is for Everyone

From kids needing focus and calm, to teens exploring martial movement or their self awareness, to adults looking for holistic fitness, and yes—even seniors managing mobility—Tai Chi delivers. It's not about age. It's about balance, strength, awareness, and energy. It took me until my early 30's to appreciate the practice, but as they say, better late than never.  :)  I credit Tai Chi practice in helping me recover from a back injury that resulted in bad peripheral neuropathy. Tai Chi helped me become very aware of my limbs, especially in walking, to help prevent my feet from tripping myself, as I couldn't feel my feet very well. And, if I did feel my feet, the sensation of pins and needles was so painful. The practice helped calm my feelings of "being useless" and quell the frustration of not being able to do the things I was doing before the injury. 

So the next time someone says Tai Chi is just for old people, remind them:

Tai Chi is for warriors of every age.

  

Communication & Understanding

 

Many misunderstandings happen when you think something should be a certain way and you assume that others should think the same. Or, misunderstandings arise when you don't communicate yet believe that it has. 

No one is a mind reader. Have the courage to communicate. You might find that misunderstandings, disagreements, squabbles, attitudes of separateness, and yes even discrimination, will turn up less and less.

Training with a purpose

 

One of the questions on the intake/preregistration form of my classes is "What do you hope to gain in the class(es) you chose?". It is a multiple choice list that potential students can choose from, including "self discipline", "weight loss", "recreation", among others.  

The premise behind the question on the intake form, is to jump start a goal-oriented mindset with the potential student. Many people join for something to do or for a hobby, while others join to improve their health, or learn self protection, etc. But what really floats your boat?

 Since parents normally fill out the form for their child, the parent tends to choose what they'd like to see their child gain. Then, during the interview after their 3 intro lessons, I ask the child directly "What do YOU want to improve on? What do you want to learn?"

With kids, the kids don't initially think about "controlling my mind" or "Honor" or even "Respect". It may be hard for parents to find that out, but for the most part, kids want something specific to them.

After his trial lessons, one young boy answered not too long ago, "I wanna move good so other kids at school don't laugh at me". He was so honest....that's what he wanted. It wasn't about "I want a black belt", or "I want to improve my mental clarity" or anything like that. His reason was specific to him.

Quote of the week

 

What's in a name? "Sisuk" (part 4 of a series)

This is part 4 of a series regarding martial arts titles. I started the series with the titles used in my classes. Although the titles may have different context from school to school, I hope this series clarifies things for my own students; in terms of the actual meaning of the title and its context at Seattle Wushu Center's Kajukenbo classes.

In the context of Chinese martial arts (kung fu), "sisuk" (师叔) refers to a junior kung fu uncle. It's a title of respect used for a fellow student or teacher who is of a lower status or ranking than one's teacher.

Traditionally, the title would refer to your teacher's lower ranking classmate (from their own
Sifu's school) and you would call your teacher's younger classmate as "Sisuk". However in
some schools, the title can also sometimes refer to a student of the Sifu that is lower rank than the Sifu.

However, at our school, the title is given by the Sifu (me) and not an automatic form of address.
The title is given to those of purple to green belt who have expressed interest in becoming an assistant,
a coach or a future teacher. The Sisuk may assist students (with Sifu's supervision) up to their own rank.


Those that want to assist but haven't the time to attend other classes to assist, are called "Jo Lei" (assistant), but that's for another blog post!)

Spring is here, Summer approaching,...its martial arts scam season!

 

I forgot that I had this post in drafts, so I'm publishing it late.
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Had a funny thing happen today. I received another potential scam email. 😆

What made my red-flag ears go up, is the randomness of the message. Normally, when prospective clients first contacts me, they do so by filling out the contact form on my website. Most don't contact me directly at my email address unless they get the email address from a friend who already attends my school, or from a parent of a child that attends my school. I get these types of emails a lot mainly during the summer.....many of them chargeback scams.  Funny that my teacher-colleague, Kathy Long, got the same message the same day, asking about tennis lessons, then the scammer just cut and pasted the text into an email to me. 😂

The scammers usually have 3 or more kids, they want private lessons, and the "parent" cannot speak on the phone or meet on video call due to being deaf, being in the hospital, etc etc. They offer to prepay for the lessons plus 300 to 500 extra, but then just before the transaction clears, they ask that when the children arrive at the stated first appointment (usually "driven to the venue by a hired driver") that they 

be given the cash that was included in the "extra" money that was charged to the card. So, that means you would have given the kids cash (for their "daily expenses") but the card is either bogus or stolen and the charge never goes through. You're out a bunch of cash and the kids never show up. 

Luckily, I was warned about this type of scam well before I started getting the scam emails. Sadly though, some martial arts school have fallen victim to this scam.

Watch out for these scams!

A quote, a brief redirect from the "martial arts titles" series

 

Defeat Yesterday's Understanding

I saw this quote some days ago, and decided to add this blog post in the middle of the "martial arts titles" series. 

Each week, i've been posting my thoughts on martial art titles....what they mean, their uses, etc. I've been posting primarily so my own new students can get an idea of the uses of certain titles that we use at our Kwoon, Seattle Wushu Center (Inner Concepts Method). This is through my own lineage.  

Sifu Kathy Long, our other instructor who has her own method called "Beyond Limits Martial Arts", (based on her many years of experience in Kung Fu San Soo, Kickboxing and a plethora of other training) has titles that she and her own students use in their method.

This week, I'd like to post this quote:

"The purpose of today's training 

is to defeat yesterday's understanding"

I've mentioned to students many times, that one of the goals in training is to try to improve and bet a little bit better than the previous class they attended. 

But "defeat yesterday's understanding"?  I presented this quote to one of my juniors kids classes, and one of the younger students asked "Does that mean we have to throw away what we learned last week?"

To many, it might have sounded like a silly question, but this kid was serious. He wanted to understand.

So, I explained that we shouldn't forget....on the contrary we must remember, so that we can compare our progress today, to last week, and the week before, and so on. I chose to compare the concept to something the kids all knew about.....video games!

I said: "It's like when you picked up a new video game. Sure, you've heard about the game from your friends, but you finally get it and your first game is feeling it out and trying to remember how the controls work in the game. You figure out the purpose of the game and slowly learn to play the game. Each time you play, you make mistakes, but then you remember your mistakes and try different approaches and strategies, and you get better at the game. Each time you make a mistake you learn from it and improve your gameplay. It's the same here at the Kwoon. If you don't remember the mistakes your won't have the means to improve, and you stay right where you are, not progressing. Does that make sense everyone?"

"Yes Sifu!!"

Then of course a bunch of hands raise up and the kids shared stories of their favorite games and how much better they got by just keeping at it even though they got frustrated. It took around 10 minutes of stories, but I found that it was important for the kids to share how they learned in their games and how frustrated they got but didn't quit. I found it was important that they learn from other kids what "attaining goals' was like in each other's perspectives. I was thrilled that the kids learned that Kung Fu is much more than just what strikes, kicks and forms they knew.....they were learning about the actual WORK.

During their discussion, one of the girls said (in an almost "authoritative" tone of voice):  "I like Mario Golf Super Rush", and you have to get your shots just right. It takes practice, but what you thought would work yesterday, probably doesn't work today so ya gotta work to get your timing right. You use part of what you learned yesterday to figure out how to play today."

"That's it, Jaime!" I remarked. "That's how we defeat yesterday's understanding. We make the understanding more complex, we don't throw it away, its a stepping stone."

If we just take what happened yesterday and merely move on without a 2nd thought, we lose some of the education we can glean from it. Yes, it is learning from mistakes, but while many understand the literal sense of it, it is the mind/body aspect and the practical application of it that fosters the real learning.

What's in a name? Part 3: "Sigung"

 

In this post we explore the title "Sigung"(Cantonese), which is used in many Kung Fu schools to refer to a "Teacher's teacher". In the familial hierarchy, the title Sigung would be like saying "grandfather". Traditionally, the term is for male teachers, however females use this title in some kung fu schools.

Keep in mind, that the title is based on a student's direct relationship with the teacher. If you are the student of a Sifu, you call them "Sifu", regardless of any other title that teacher might hold. If you are a black belt and have students, your students would refer to your teacher as "Sigung",....."grandparent". 

In my school's Kajukenbo lineage, the title "Sigung" is bestowed on black belts of 6 and 7th degree. However, it is considered a category of rank.

The Sifu with the title would never refer to themselves as "Sigung", nor should the teacher's students call them that. Sometimes, the public will address the teacher with the title to acknowledge the teacher's experience and position.

I've heard the general public (as with young student's parents) refer to me as "Sigung" (because that was the last known title they remember), or even sometimes "Professor", as it is my current rank category. I've told Parents that "Sifu" is fine when addressing me when their kids are around, to set a good example for the kids, or that they can just refer to me as "Lo-Si"...."teacher".

That being said, a more appropriate term that the public could use for a teacher (regardless of martial arts title) is "Lo-Si" (Laoshi in Mandarin), which means simply "Teacher".  It is a term primarily used for academic instructors or instructors of any subject, but is sometimes used by the public to address a teacher in a polite way. Students of a Sifu should not refer to their own teacher as "Lo-Si", as the term is considered "generic" and moves away from the family relationship within a martial arts school. But, that's for another blog post!

Proper etiquette dicates that a teacher never refers to themselves as any title in the general public, but only when speaking with students or their students. Signature lines in emails often have just a teacher's name, or "Lo-Si" in front of their name (or more traditionally, behind their name). This is to refer to themselves as simply "Teacher John Smith".

Titles are meant as a means for the students and public to address a teacher, or to recognize a teacher's experience. To introduce oneself as "Master John Smith" or "Grandmaster Smith" would make someone appear pretentious or pompous.

As always, ask your teacher about the use of titles if your art uses them.