Modern tai chi

Tai chi has become very popular in the last twenty years or so, as the baby boomers age and the art's reputation for ameliorating the effects of aging becomes more well-known. Some hospitals, clinics, community and senior centers host classes in communities around the world. As a result of this popularity, there has been some divergence between those who say they practice tai chi primarily for self-defense, those who practice it for its aesthetic appeal (see wushu below), and those who are more interested in its benefits to physical and mental health. The wushu aspect is primarily for show; the forms taught for those purposes are designed to earn points in competition and are mostly unconcerned with either health maintenance or martial ability. More traditional stylists believe the two aspects of health and martial arts are equally necessary: the yin and yang of tai chi chuan. The tai chi "family" schools therefore still present their teachings in a martial art context whatever the intention of their students in studying the art. Along with Yoga, tai chi is one of the fastest growing fitness and health maintenance activities in the U.S. Because there is no universal certification process, practically anyone can call themself a teacher. This is especially prevalent in the New Age community. Few of these teachers are aware of the martial applications to the tai chi forms and do not teach martially. If they do teach self-defense, it is often a mixture of motions which the teachers think look like tai chi chuan with some other system. While this phenomenon may have made some external aspects of tai chi available for a wider audience, the traditional tai chi schools see the martial focus as a fundamental part of their training, both for health and self-defense purposes. The traditional schools claim that while the students may not need to practice martial applications to derive a benefit from tai chi training, they assert that tai chi teachers at least should know the martial applications to teach correct and safe movements. Also, the ability to protect oneself from physical attack is considered part of "health maintenance." For these reasons traditional schools claim that a syllabus lacking the martial aspects is not teaching the art, and is less likely to reproduce the full health benefits of tai chi.