T'ai Chi Chuan is more commonly known as Tai Chi and is a Chinese martial art that means "supreme ultimate fist." Based on the system taught by the Chen family to the Yang family beginning in 1820, Tai Chi is historically a martial art but is often used as a form of therapy used for health and stress management.

A soft martial art, Tai Chi is based around a series of slow-motion routines designed to teach awareness of balance and appreciation of the ability to moderate extremes. The slow, repetitive work helps increase and open up internal circulation and improves coordination and is used to focus students, increasing their health, meditation abilities and martial art skills.

The core training of Tai Chi involves first taking students through a range of movements that emphasize a straight spine, relaxed breathing and a range of motion over their center of gravity. The second part of the training takes the student through motions in concert with a partner, teaching leverage, timing, coordination and positioning in response to another.

In Tai Chi, the belief is that brute force met with brute force causes injury to both - instead, practitioners of Tai Chi meet brute force with softness, redirecting the energy of the attack until it is exhausted. The martial aspect of Tai Chi relies on capturing the opponent's center of gravity. Students are first taught defensive and neutralizing skills before offensive skills are taught, and most schools have a strong emphasis on mercy and kind-heartedness.