Those that have discovered the art and science of Tai Chi practice for health, meditation, and fitness may be surprised to discover that there is such a thing as a Tai Chi sword. Many forms are performed with a Tai Chi sword and this adds a unique and novel spin to the performance of Tai Chi practice.
Some may wonder how something such as a sword could find its way into Tai Chi. Actually, the sword was not adopted into a pre-existing concept of Tai Chi exercise. A great deal of Tai Chi is derived from sword movements. If you look at many of the Tai Chi movements, you will notice a constant repetition of the lunge. This is a fencing lunge that has been tweaked to reflect the pulling and pushing movements common to Tai Chi workouts.
So, it is not all that tough to mix working with the Tai Chi sword into your practice sessions. The sword easily complements the way the exercises are intended to be worked out in the first place. You generally will not need to learn anything that will be a major departure from what you might already know about Tai Chi practice.
Please note: a Tai Chi sword is very distinct in its design. You do not want a replica samurai sword or fencing saber. They are not designed for the performance of Tai Chi. As such, you will need to invest in an actual Tai Chi sword.
Oh, and you will not be working with a real sword! This is a common misconception people may have about practicing with a Tai Chi sword. Practicing with a real sword would be extremely dangerous which is why practice swords are employed. These practice swords are either unsharpened metal swords or they are wooden replica swords. And let the truth be told: those unsharpened metal swords are extremely impressive looking! The one problem here is that such swords can be more than a bit costly. The wooden variant of the Tai Chi sword will be a lot cheaper to purchase. It can also be effectively employed in the performance of your exercises in the same manner the lightweight unsharpened metal sword would.
Some might wonder what would be the added benefit of performing Tai Chi with moves with the sword. There are quite a few reasons why using this sword can be considered a huge plus. At the most basic of levels, using the swords adds more than a bit of variety to the sessions. When you tweak your regular Tai Chi practice sessions by adding the component of using a Tai Chi sword you make a nice variation on your traditional practice.
The added weight of a Tai Chi sword has the additional benefit of providing further resistance to the workout session. The sword – like any other weighted item – will experience the pull of gravity. The result of this will yield the helpful impact on the muscles that any other weighted item is known to possess. In other words, your will experience your muscles becoming better toned and stronger thanks to integrating the sword into the Tai Chi exercises.
Are all the benefits of using a Tai Chi sword in the performance of the moves strictly physical? No, the inclusion of the sword in your workout also adds to the other holistic and meditational components of the exercises.
In order to perform the exercises with the swords, you need to pay attention to the precision of your movements. That aids in effectively developing the sharpness of focus to effectively swing and sway the sword. Such effective focus certainly will have great impact on mental performance which aids in developing the meditational facet to the art.
Tai Chi has much versatility to its training concepts. The inclusion of the Tai Chi sword into forms practice is certainly evidence of this. Incorporating the use of the sword is highly recommended.