The impact of Tai Chi on the world
The significance of Tai Chi to contemporary mankind
Editor's note: The author of this article, Qiu Pixiang, is a professor and doctoral supervisor in the Wushu Department of Shanghai Institute of Physical Education, a ninth-level Chinese Wushu master, and one of the top ten famous professors of Chinese Wushu. , a member of the Shanghai Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference, an international martial arts referee, and a famous contemporary martial arts expert in China. His treatises are close to reality, life, and the masses, and are very inspiring to martial arts practitioners, as follows.
The development of science and technology and the prosperity of business in today's world have brought a lot of convenience to mankind, but they have also brought a lot of troubles. Environmental pollution, war disputes, and energy crises threaten mankind. Even in a peaceful environment, we still face many survival problems, such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, which are known as the number one killer, and depression, which is the number two killer, as well as quality of life issues in an aging society.
Although the Chinese Tai Chi movement is not a "prescription" that can cure diseases, if you persist in it, it is exactly the "magic prescription" that can effectively solve or alleviate the above three major social symptoms. , which has positive significance for human survival and life.
Research on the impact of Tai Chi on human health has been conducted since the 1950s, involving the skeletal system, cardiovascular system, respiratory system, endocrine system, nervous system and immune function. , research and analysis on elderly frailty, etc. In particular, the Wushu Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has made outstanding contributions to its many years of research and comparative analysis of the exercise effects of Tai Chi in aspects such as EEG, ECG, blood lipids, and microcirculation. Recently, one of my doctoral students, together with sports medicine expert and ***, explored the endocrine regulatory effect of "Insulin Growth Factor-1" and demonstrated that Tai Chi exercise is beneficial to the operation of the endocrine and immune systems, which has caused a lot of discussion in the sports medicine community. Big attention.
I will not go into details of all these research results here. I would like to discuss Tai Chi’s effect on the heart from the perspectives of anthropology, biology and sociology. Cerebrovascular diseases, talk about mental and psychological diseases and the life and health of the elderly.
An article said that humans stood up and walked on two feet, achieving this qualitative leap. Although it created a splendid history of civilization, it was not conducive to the exercise of blood vessels throughout the body, resulting in high-level ischemia and lack of blood vessels. Oxygen-induced cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases have become a major threat to human life.
16 million people worldwide die from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases every year, accounting for more than 50% of the total mortality. There are approximately 100 million people suffering from hypertension in China, with more than 1 million new cases every year; more than 5 million encephalopathy patients, 1.5 million new cases every year, and 10 million coronary heart disease patients. The number of deaths from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular patients in China reaches 2.6 million, with an average of 5 deaths per minute!
Tai Chi emphasizes relaxing the muscles, "moving without moving", "moving Qi with the heart" and "moving the body with Qi" "Qi reaching the four tips" is beneficial to enhancing the elasticity of blood vessel walls and blood circulation, and is also beneficial to exercising microvessels and promoting microcirculation. An old professor at the Shanghai Institute of Physical Education led his graduate students to explore human microcirculation. Studies have shown that the abnormality rate of tubes and excess blood congestion rate of people who regularly engage in Tai Chi exercises are significantly lower than those of the control group, which plays a role in regulating blood supply. Some people call it the "second heart." In addition, many studies have shown that practicing Tai Chi has good effects on lowering blood lipids, increasing lung capacity, enhancing myocardial nutrition, and preventing and delaying heart and brain diseases.
I will not list the relevant experimental reports here. I sincerely hope that medical workers and martial arts workers will further strengthen cooperation to fight against humanity’s number one killer and make new contributions to human health.
Experiments have proven that people’s mental health has a great relationship with people’s physical health and quality of life. A person's mental state, emotion, personality, psychological ability to cope with various events, attitude towards life, concept of life, etc., will directly affect the human body.
The pace of modern people’s work and life is accelerating, and material desires and money stimulate people. Busyness and competition bring impetuousness, tension, worry, and depression to people, which has greatly increased the incidence of depression, schizophrenia, and insomnia. . According to an article written by Mr. Cao Yimin, 340 million people in the world suffer from depression, making it the second largest disease in mankind.
I believe that Tai Chi, which is characterized by "relaxation, tranquility and nature" and "soothing ease", is extremely beneficial to people's psychological adjustment and self-cultivation.
Let’s talk about it in three aspects:
First, Tai Chi embodies a philosophical view of harmony between man and nature.
Tai Chi "Tao follows nature". The human body is a "little Tai Chi" and nature is a "big Tai Chi". After you have finished practicing a set of Tai Chi, go outdoors, in the wilderness, in the woods, or on the grass, and feel free and "unrestricted in your whole body", "move and still, just let nature happen", breathe naturally, and open your mind to "follow the changes of nature." , and have no intention of pursuing how high the kicking is, how low the posture is, how standardized the posture is, and how to perform boxing movements in accordance with nature and the concept of interconnection between man and nature, quietly communicating and blending with nature, and integrating oneself into nature. In it, heaven and man are one, with infinite vitality, and the love for nature and life arises spontaneously. Forget your worries and enter a peaceful and natural state. You will have a good mood and a sense of tranquility outside of tension and worries. Will this be beneficial to your health?
Secondly, Tai Chi embodies the human spirit An ethics of harmony with others.
The fierce competition in modern people’s work and business has made relationships between people tense and even heated, leading to jealousy, annoyance, and hatred; modern technology has also created an environment for online chatting. , reducing contact and communication between people.
People gather together to practice Tai Chi, creating a brand new environment. They can move their fists along with the music, or push their hands in pairs to "stretch according to the music" and "sacrifice themselves and follow others". , it has become an activity to harmonize feelings and exchange emotions endlessly. As mentioned in the book "Big Trends", "Whenever a new technology is introduced into society, humans must have a balanced response, that is, a high emotion." Tai Chi is a form of exercise that calms the mind and nourishes the mind and seeks tranquility while moving. As a highly emotional activity, it is very desirable. Especially in foreign countries, the elderly and women are usually lonely. There is an opportunity for them to practice boxing, communicate, laugh, respect each other, and have fun together. Tai Chi, with its gentle and gentle movement style, is particularly easy to increase the concept of harmonious coexistence between people. In many developed countries, people who are interested in practicing Tai Chi gather together and go back and forth calmly without any desire or contention. It can be regarded as a "magic wand" that condenses people's emotions.
Third, Tai Chi is a lifelong pursuit of harmony.
Tai Chi, like other martial arts, pursues harmony in the practice, up and down, body steps, hands and eyes, inside and outside, everything is harmonious. It can be a "lifelong art", which is what people say "Lifelong sports" are very beneficial to the elderly. You can get rid of loneliness and loneliness, practice every day, and have new feelings every day.
Tai Chi is different from other types of boxing in that it pays more attention to inner nourishment. "Use a weak heart to nourish the strong Qi." "Qi" is regarded by the Chinese as the source of life. Keeping healthy depends on nourishing qi. To nourish qi, you must cultivate your heart, and to cultivate your heart, you must cultivate virtue. Only when people are not burdened by things and do not seek benefits can they be calm and at ease and nourish their energy. Tai Chi can calm his mind. Make the essence peaceful.
In summary, the fitness of Tai Chi is to connect and interact with a person’s physical health, mental health, and philosophy of life in slow and continuous movements; it can balance the mentality, prolong life, and enhance the interest in life. Melt into one, get the best of both worlds. Only then will the special effects of Tai Chi on human beings be fully revealed.
As Hauser, a well-known international nutrition expert, said in his book "The Art of Relaxation": "Unless you can relax, all the vitamins and minerals in the world will not help you. ”
Relax your body and mind. The best thing about Tai Chi lies in this. I hope more people will practice Tai Chi, and I hope Tai Chi will make greater contributions to human survival.
(Original: "Chinese Martial Arts")