Tai Chi is often thought to be an "exercise for old people." But does that mean kids can't learn it?

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An anonymous reader writes:
"Can children learn/study Tai Chi? Because I only see old people doing this"

Children can learn Tai Chi and on occasion we have taught them. If they have the patience, and that is a very individual matter, they can learn the postures of a slow Tai Chi routine. From there they may graduate to, if interested, enjoy the vigorousness play of push hands and sword dueling.

You usually see older people practicing Tai Chi because it is a gentle exercise, and senior citizens can do it, long beyond when they can continue to do most exercises which are more vigorous, such as running or lifting weights.

Also it is a surprisingly healthy thing to do, as modern research tells us. There is a current article in a popular magazine or a medical research journal listing the newly discovered benefits of Tai Chi several times every year.

However the push hands is a more vigorous exercise and chances are only those who learned as children, or young adults, will excel at this. They may even, perhaps, go on to become tournament champions. Older people on the other hand, will gain a facility for getting out of the way, or neutralizing, which will be of help in life. They will generally not become push hands champions.

The reason that children are not generally practicing Tai Chi is that they tend to like faster movements, like Kung Fu, Judo, gymnastics or maybe baseball or soccer. They generally do not have the patience for slower movements. When a child does desire to learn Tai Chi, that impediment is removed.

There is no reason that I am aware of, either in law or in practice that prevents children from learning Tai Chi.

In Tai Chi,
Bill

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William C. Phillips began his study of the martial arts in 1965. He currently holds a 7th degree black belt in Karate, and a 5th degree black belt in Ju Jitsu. He began his studies of Tai Chi in l967, studying with Prof. Cheng Man-Ch'ing from '70-'75. He became the most junior student ever to become a teacher in Cheng Man Ch'ing's New York school, the Shr Jung. Sifu Phillips became interested in the field of holistic health in the early 1970's, when a lifelong allergy problem was alleviated with Chinese herbal medicine. Since then, he has studied widely in that field as well. Sifu Phillips is available for seminars, lectures and demonstrations. He has produced two very successful Tai Chi DVDs, and is currently working on a book on Tai Chi form and a third DVD.For more information...

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