The mental outlook when performing either of those arts is similar: a quiet, focused mind is essential to gain the maximum benefit. T'ai Chi practice usually involves performing a series of movements one after the other until the entire series is complete. Qigong practice involves repeating a specific movement several times before moving on to a different movement.
Perhaps the biggest difference in T'ai Chi and Qigong is that T'ai Chi is fundamentally a martial art. It is true that we usually see T'ai Chi practiced in slow motion for the same benefits that Qigong is practiced. However, T'ai Chi movements may be speeded up to become a superior martial art, which was it's original purpose.
Legend tells us that in the 4th Century B.C., a Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma came to China from India. He found the monks of the Shaolin Temple in a wretched physical and spiritual condition. He taught them Buddhism and he taught them a series of exercises that we have come to know as Qigong.
This new healing practice evolved through the centuries until in the 14th Century A.D. a Taoist priest named Chang San-Feng was wakened from an afternoon nap by loud screeching. The noise was coming from a crane that was in mortal combat with a snake.
Legend tells us that in the 4th Century B.C., a Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma came to China from India. He found the monks of the Shaolin Temple in a wretched physical and spiritual condition. He taught them Buddhism and he taught them a series of exercises that we have come to know as Qigong.
This new healing practice evolved through the centuries until in the 14th Century A.D. a Taoist priest named Chang San-Feng was wakened from an afternoon nap by loud screeching. The noise was coming from a crane that was in mortal combat with a snake.
The snake could coil and uncoil in smooth, fluid movements and strike at the crane with speed too quick to follow with the eye. Each strike was brushed aside by the crane with a deft brush of it's wing. The crane would then strike at the snake with it's beak but the snake nimbly avoided each strike from the crane.
Eventually the two combatants gave up and ended their struggle but Chang, who had been locked in rapt attention, decided to develop a fighting style based on the movements of the animals. T'ai Chi was born.
Eventually the two combatants gave up and ended their struggle but Chang, who had been locked in rapt attention, decided to develop a fighting style based on the movements of the animals. T'ai Chi was born.
(There are many different versions of this story.)
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