The name, Tai Chi Chuan, means something like “The Absolute Best Martial Art.” And in the past, Tai Chi lived up to its boastful title, producing fearsome warriors. Today, however, most people who perform “tai chi” are doing nothing at all of martial value. Drawn to Tai Chi Chuan as a gentle, low-impact exercise – and its usual association with meditation and peaceful pursuits – modern practitioners are oblivious to the fact that it is really a devastating and sometimes brutal form of self-protection.

In reality, the iconic slow movements are not for the sake of gentle exercise, but are intended to allow the practitioner to clearly picture the precise use of each action, and especially the exact manner in which pressure points are attacked. In this way, the mind is trained as the most important weapon (Tai Chi is the thinking person’s style). But, oblivious to the actual meaning of Tai Chi Chuan, modern players wave their arms in a dancelike parody of this great fighting style.

In contrast, the Tai Chi practitioners of the KJK treat Tai Chi Chuan as a martial art, plumbing the depths of practice for insights into the style as it was originally intended. Ironically, this emphasis on the original combative and defensive nature of the art, actually enhances its value as a form of beneficial exercise.