Wudang Zhaobao Tai Chi is an ancient and excellent boxing style in my country. It is a Tai Chi culture that integrates traditional Chinese health preservation and martial arts. Wudang Zhaobao Tai Chi was created by Zhang Sanfeng, a Taoist priest who practiced Taoism in Wudang Mountain. It contains rich Taoist health preservation culture. Its boxing posture is small and high. It does not require clumsy force when practicing boxing. The movements are round and beautiful. It is suitable for Tai Chi enthusiasts of all ages and all walks of life. With the improvement of modern people’s living standards, they pay more attention to health, and Tai Chi health preservation culture has entered the vision of more people. In fact, there are many ancient health preservation cultures and modern fitness exercises, such as the ancient “Five Animals Play”, “Eight Section Brocade”, “Zhou Tian Gong”, “Quiet Gong”, etc., and modern aerobics, aerobics, body shaping dance, etc. are too numerous to mention, and there are many external martial arts routines, etc. Compared with these exercises and aerobics, what are the differences between Tai Chi and these exercises in terms of health preservation and fitness? I personally think that the health preservation of Wudang Zhaobao Tai Chi is mainly manifested in the following aspects:
1, The body and mind are cultivated together, that is, the dual cultivation of sex and life.
Most external martial arts focus on developing muscles and strengthening tendons and bones. Some static exercises focus on thoughts, spirit, breath, etc. Wudang Zhaobao Tai Chi emphasizes the balanced development of spirit, spirit and body when practicing boxing and walking. It is believed that spirit, spirit and body are interdependent and complementary, and yin and yang are balanced, and finally return to one. When practicing Wudang Zhaobao Tai Chi, it is carried out from both body and mind at the same time. “Use the mind to move the qi, and use the qi to move the body”. All movements during boxing require the combination of inside and outside, and the unity of mind, intention and body, so as to achieve the cultivation of body and mind.
2, Gentle movements, nourishing without consumption.
Traditional health science has always had two concepts: nourishing and consuming. Nourishing is to cultivate the essence, qi, spirit, body and mind through aerobic exercise, and consuming is to consume the body and mind through anaerobic intense exercise. The movements of Wudang Zhaobao Tai Chi are mainly soft, slow, light, flat, smooth and even. Although the movements are not big and open, they can stretch the muscles and bones, move the limbs, and harmonize the qi and blood and cultivate the spirit. People can feel the physical and mental pleasure after each practice, and will not feel physically and mentally exhausted due to excessive exercise.
3, The posture is smooth and the movements follow nature.
Wudang Zhaobao Tai Chi training requires standing upright and comfortable, and the movements should be neither too much nor too little. It requires “three straights” and “four smooths” (three straights: vertical calves, vertical coccyx, and upright cervical spine, and four smooths: smooth body, smooth legs, smooth hands, and smooth feet). The knees must not exceed the ankles, the neck cannot collapse, and the cervical spine cannot extend forward, so that the body will not be injured due to excessive force on a certain part during exercise. The movement trajectory and moves are also reasonably designed and arranged based on the physiological structure of the body, so that there will be no discomfort when moving the boxing, and it can relax the body and mind.
4, Cure and prevent diseases, cultivate temperament.
It is well known that Tai Chi has the effect of curing diseases, and Wudang Zhaobao Tai Chi is no exception, because its soothing movements can adapt to psychological and physiological changes, so it can supplement qi and blood and achieve “internal strength”. The postures when practicing Tai Chi are required to be in line with the physiological structure, and the meridians and tendons can be cultivated through soothing movements. Tai Chi movements are soft and even, and are mainly based on emptiness and tranquility. When practicing, it can make people calm and relaxed. Over time, people can subtly change the roughness, impatience, stagnation, dullness and other drawbacks in their temperament, develop elegant habits, and eliminate violent breath.
5, Tai Chi can increase interest in exercise.
Tai Chi is a very mature form of exercise. It is suitable for one person to practice, and can be practiced by two people or multiple people. It makes people who like quietness not feel bored when practicing alone. When practicing and communicating, the rules of pushing hands are well-organized, which makes people not feel noisy. It is also profound, so people can always gain some insights when practicing. This makes the practitioners interested and will not interrupt because of boredom. Wudang Zhaobao Tai Chi is based on “Yi Li” (theory of Zhouyi) for changes, “Yi Li” (theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine) for strengthening the body and unblocking the meridians, and “Mathematics” (traditional mathematical operation theory, such as lever labor saving theory, circle theory, etc.) for force and attack. Modern people’s research on the “three principles” of Tai Chi is far less than that of the ancients, so the original Wudang Zhaobao Tai Chi is more in line with fitness and health preservation than the simplified Tai Chi adapted for popularization. There are also some so-called Tai Chi masters who adapt or even fabricate Tai Chi for fame and fortune, and they just blindly pursue beauty, stretch, and strength. Because they do not conform to the “three principles” of Tai Chi and violate the physiological structure of the human body, they not only fail to achieve the effects of relaxing muscles and promoting blood circulation, and strengthening the body, but they are also destructive to the body. In the short term, they will make people sweat and produce the pleasure after exercise, but in the long run, they will cause more harm.