Qigong and Tai Chi

I'm fairly new to the whole Qi concept, however I've been doing a decent amount of reading, and pondered across an article that has made me certain of its existence. Im wondering what the benefites of Tai Chi vs Qigong are, because I am not exactly sure what Qigong is. From my understanding Qigong is learning how to use, train, etc., your qi whilst Tai Chi is more of a MA application of Qigong. It would good of you to explain the advantages/disadvantages of each because im looking to take up one or the other. Thank you for all your info

Qigong encompasses alot from what I've read. From still meditation to certain excersises, or acupressure/accupuncture. Anything that works at improvingyour chiflow i beleive is consider Qigong.

Now taichi, I would guess that it has alot of qigong intermingled into its system, and may even be a form a qigong itself, but I would wait for one of the Taichi people here to confirm that.

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"When the battle is over, tighten your chin strap." ~Old Japanese Saying
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Hung Gar/Win Chung student

This is a huge topic. Qi gong and health. Qi gong and healing. Qi gong in MA apps.

Qi is air, oxygen, and essence in everything. In TCM, Qi is theorized to flow along the channels or meridians from internal organs to the distal limbs and back.

For most people that practice Qi Gong for health and fitness, basically you help promote the flow of Qi smoothly by sitting meditation or moving Qi Gong exercise.

The most popular one is 8 brocades or Ba Duan Jing.

There are 8 postures of moves. One of them is to extend your both arms high and inhale, and bend the back and exhale. You move your hands up and back up and inhale. You extend your arms and exhale. You are clearing up all the waste gas or CO2 and taking in O2 to your 3 burners or San Jiao. Over time, your lung, internal organs are massaged and oxygenated. All of your Qi flow is unobstructed.

These are general exercises.

To do specific meridians, there is Ba Gua walk with postures of 8 animals. Such as the lion posture or Shi Xing, it is to practice hand Tai Yin lung meridian Nei Gong.

Here is a link to a good discussion.

Ba Gua and Qi Gong

Thanks for clearing things up

Chi Gung is very closely related to T'ai Chi, in fact in some ways T'ai Chi is a form of Chi gung in itself, at least in some styles. Literally Chi Gung means energy or breath work whereas T'ai Chi means 'the supreme ultimate' or union of Yin and Yang. This is usually taken to mean a form of regeneration, longevity or even immortality.

Chi Gung is to open the meridians and help with building up a store of energy in the body.
T'ai Chi also does this but is much more related to the practical application of the energy and learning about Taoist philosophy.

Many T'ai Chi practitioners concentrate on the Martial Arts aspects but in fact that is only one application of the techniques. T'ai Chi is more closely a form of meditation whereas Chi Gung is energy cultivation.

In a parallel to the Indian system Chi Gung would be closer to Yoga whereas T'ai Chi is more like Meditation and is learned later although both can be done at the same time.

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Seahorse Arts

Hello!

It is my understanding that qigong has been around for centuries, and there are countless types. These types have many uses/benefits as well. Some qigong can toughen the body, some can promote the healing of injuries, even others can make oneself more sensitive to your surroundings and banish negative feelings.
T'ai Chi's creation sprung from qigong and taoist meditation. Many of these postures came directly from taoist rituals, for example, white crane spreads its wings from the Chen and Yang styles is the decendent of the Pei-Tou Pu or "Seven Star Stance". Chang Sang-Feng's Nei Chia Chuang included the original 13 postures with qigong. The teaching method in the 12th century was somewhat different from today's, a master might only show the student a handfull of postures, letting the student work on these for years at a time before judging them as worthy of more teachings. The student were also judjed by their talent to come up with many combinations of these postures. 13 postures may seem like very little, however when you look at all of the music that has been played through the centuries with 12 notes......From Mozart to Megadeath!!!!!
About 400 years afterwards, the Chen family took the same 13 postures and added their fighting methods to the form. They grabbed the t'ai chi ball and ran with it!
By improvising, they took the art to a new place.
I hope this may have answered a question or two.
(and before the comments fly, I mean no disrespect for any Yang, Sun, or Wu Hao stylists by not including them......My 40 year old fingers just don't take a shine to typing!)
Have fun searching!

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Om Mani Pedme Hung

Taijiquan: internal martial art
Qigong: exercises designed to build, strengthen, or heal your qi (internal energy).
taijiquan is qigong, but qigong is not taijiquan. qigong as an adjunct to martial art practice (or by itself) is beneficial, when done properly. taijiquan is also good for your health when done properly (and can be quite useful for self defense as well).
which one?
if you want a more martial flavor, try taijiquan--alot of taijiquan teachers will include some qigong in their programs. if you are more non-violent, try qigong--there are thousands of teachers and styles to choose from.