Uniform, Costume Or Clothing For T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Even though you might think otherwise from the heading above, you do not actually need a special uniform or specific clothing if you want to practice T'ai chi ch'uan. The familiar, Chinese jackets that we often see in exhibitions, tournaments or in different photographs are often seen. These are basically modern-day versions of the jacket that the Chinese might wear in formal situations back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It simply became commonplace to use those jackets in a sign of respect to the old masters of that time. In fact, the loose fitting jacket and baggy pants turn out to be ideal for what we're trying to achieve here. After all, you should always be comfortable and clothing should not be too tightly fitting if you want to be successful at T'ai chi ch'uan. Just think of something that you might wear if you were pottering around the garden, for example.

Those who study modern martial arts, also known as Wu Shu, may not choose to wear those particular jackets however and many who train in colleges and academies will often be seen wearing simple T-shirts and tracksuit bottoms. Normally, their instructors will wear a full tracksuit. Once again, flexibility and comfort are indicated here, so that movement will not be restricted in any way.

The most important part of a taichi uniform is your footwear. Now, you need to be able to flex your feet and as such the sole has to be soft and with as much flex as possible. You need to feel as if you are "connected" to the ground beneath you. The soft area which is beneath the ball of the feet is known in Chinese as the Y'ung chuan point. Why don't you feel your foot as you are reading this and you will notice that the ball of the foot nearest to the toes is hard, but the area immediately below is soft. Now, the middle of that specific area is this Y'ung chuan point. In Chinese it translates to "bubbling well" and this is the place that the life force, known as the ch'I (qi), the necessary energy form, bubbles up and permeates your body. Additional sources of ch'I are said to be both the food and drink that you consume and the breath that you take in; all essential factors of life itself. So, we must not impede the flow of ch'I at all and the footwear must be chosen carefully. You will not be able to connect to the ground properly if you have hard sole shoes on. When everything is right, you feel as if you are sinking into the floor itself. Why not consider training barefoot if you can? If you have a good clean surface such as grass or sand on the beach, try this out and you will be able to feel different.

Looking at the taichi uniform itself, I think that my favourite choice would be a Starfleet officer's uniform. If you remember the time when Cmdr. Worf was practicing traditional Klingon warrior martial arts in an old Star Trek episode, I think they called it moQ'bara if my memory serves me correctly; he was in fact practicing in strict T'ai chi ch'uan form. After all, as the principal of T'ai chi is great polarity, this means that it is present throughout the universe and should be available to the Klingons just as well.


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Dr Stewart McFarlane is a well-known teacher of Chinese Martial Arts and has served in the close personal security team protecting His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his UK visits. If you liked this article on the taichi uniform, get his free report 'The Many Benefits of T'ai Chi Ch'uan' from his website now: http://www.taichi-exercises.com