Tai Chi, as it is mainly practiced in the west today, can perhaps best be thought of as a moving form of meditation. There are a number of forms or patterns which consist of a sequence of movements. these movements are originally derived from the martial arts (and perhaps even more ancestrally than that, from the natural movements of animals. They are performed in Tai Chi slowly, softly and gracefully with smooth and even transitions between them.

For many practitioners the focus in doing them is not, first and foremost martial, but as a meditative exercise for relaxing the body. For others the combat aspects of Tai Chi are of considerable interest. In Chinese philosophy and medicine there exists the concept of 'chi', the vital force that animates and nourishes the body. One of the aims of Tai Chi is to promote the circulation of chi within the body, the belief being that by doing so the health and vitality of the person are enhanced. Chi circulates in meridians that are closely related to the nervous  system and  are closely connected with that of the practice of acupuncture and other oriental healing arts.

Another aim of Tai Chi is to calm the mind, Learning to do the movements correctly provides a practical avenue for learning about balance, body alignment, fine-scale motor control, rhythm of movement, the genesis of movement from the body's vital centre, and so on. Thus the practice of Tai Chi can contribute to being able to better stand, walk, move, run, to carry out everyday activities. Many practitioners notice benefits in terms of correcting poor posture, alignment or movement patterns which can contribute to tension or injury. Furthermore the meditative nature of the exercises is calming and relaxing in itself.

 Tai Chi is a martial art of the mind -body and spirit and practicing the forms which have limitless martial applications/self defence techniques and practising the two-person exercise called 'push-hands' or 'sensing hands' Tai Chi can be developed to a state where you are sensitive to and responsive of another person's 'chi' or vital energy and intention. Long-time practitioners of Tai Chi can become very adept at self defence. The emphasis in Tai Chi is on being able to channel potentially destructive energy (in the form of a kick, punch, or grab or even just ill intent etc) away from yourself in a manner that will dissipate the energy or send it in a direction where it is no longer a danger.

Tai Chi's training methods predominately focus on soft, relaxed and flowing movements, which paradoxically improve speed and strength in their martial techniques, contrary to the common belief that it has no martial prowess because it is too slow! It is only trained slow to perfect technique, and relax the muscles and iron out any unnecessary tension so that the body can flow very quickly from one technique to another unimpeded and transfer more energy over a shorter distance. Therefore it can compliment and supplement existing training and give a new perspective for practitioners from other Martial systems especially 'hard' styles like Karate and mma etc which focus primarily on the use of muscular force. Practising Tai Chi can also be of benefit for anyone involved in almost any sporting or recreational activity to help minimise gross muscle tension and to use the body as an integrated whole. Many professional sports people from rugby players to professional footballers and golfers have all used Tai Chi to incorporate its techniques to help them maximise their potential in their own sports and also to speed up and aid in recovery and rehabilitation of sporting injuries.