Tai chi is an alternative medicine that is a form of martial arts. It was founded by the Wu Tang monk Chang San Feng. The legend of how Chang San Feng created tai chi was, by watching a snake and crane fight, he was then inspired by how the snake won by it's graceful and controlled movements. Chang San Feng called the movements the thirteen postures. The name of the thirteen postures include ward off, rollback, press, push, pull, split, elbow strike, shoulder strike, the advance, retreat, look left, gaze right, and the central equilibrium. Chang San Feng theories and practices were then adopted by Wang Chung-Yueh, who then combined the thirteen postures into a continuos sequence called the form.
             The Chinese philosophy of tai chi is, "that there is an eternal power that moves through the universe and that ultimate power is called tai chi". The goal of practicing tai chi is to progress to the unlimited power of chi. The Chinese translation of chi is that it can mean either air, power, motion, energy, or life.
             When practicing tai chi the most important things to remember are postural balance, controlled breathing, and calming the mind. To achieve the correct postural balance, you must keep your spine straight, have your knees bent, head erect, and have your arms relaxed. To have controlled breathing you must breathe in through the nose and breathe out through the mouth. You must also have to breathe your chi into the lower abdomen. It is important to have controlled breathing, because it makes the practitioner feel healthier, have more energy, and it allows the negative chi to escape the body and the positive chi to enter. To have a controlled mind the practitioner must always remain alert and fully concentrated on the form. It is important to have a calm mind, because it helps the practitioner become more aware of him or herself and to become more able to recognize the emotional, mental, and physical factors influence...