Chi Gung & Tai Chi, How they relate -- Late Spring 2008

An interesting trend is happening at BTC. For the first time, we have almost as many chi gung as tai chi students. The tai chi program has from the beginning been Brookline Tai Chi’s backbone—hence our name. This rebalancing stems from the major shift in our chi gung program starting last September, when we opened Gods chi gung classes to all comers at the entry level instead of teaching it only as the culmination of all chi gung sets.

Students always ask whether to start with chi gung or tai chi, and there’s no set answer. Both practices very much inform each other. Chi gung is easier to learn initially than the multiple spins, kicks, and squats in a tai chi form. Its energy development practices are usually done repetitively and standing in place, with fewer movements than tai chi. Gods has only six movements while tai chi Short or Long Form have 16 and 108 respectively. The simplicity of movement and limited focus help you feel into your body more—and awareness is the key to releasing, stretching, pulsing, twisting, and all other internal principles you eventually find through tai chi practice. Tai chi itself can be considered a form of chi gung. Longtime tai chi students tell us they benefit from putting more chi gung into their tai chi, gaining insight into the foundation of the practice. The chi gung increases stamina to sustain internal awareness for the duration of a tai chi form. Wherever you start or end, the two approaches make excellent energy cross-training.