Tai Chi Chuan is an internal Chinese martial art. Tai chi is typically practiced for a variety of reason: its soft martial techniques, demonstration competitions, health and longevity. The Mandarin term "tai chi chuan" literally translates as "supreme ultimate fist" or "boundless fist," with an emphasis on finding balance between two great extremes. The concept of the "supreme ultimate" is the symbol of the Taijitu meant to show the principles of Yin and Yang of Taoist philosophy. In Chinese the two poles of cosmic energy are yang (positive) and yin (negative). Thus, tai chi theory and practice evolved in agreement with many of the principles of Chinese philosophy and Taoism in particular. 

The ability to use Tai Chi as a form of self-defense in combat is said to be the most effective proof of a student's understanding of the art's principles. The study of Tai Chi Chuan martially is the study of appropriate change in response to outside forces; the study of yielding and blending with outside force rather than attempting to meet it with opposing force.

The philosophy of the style is that if one uses hardness to resist violent force, then both sides are certain to be injured at least to some degree. Such injury, according to Tai Chi theory, is a natural consequence of meeting brute force with brute force. The collision of two like forces, yang with yang, is known as "double-weighted" in Tai Chi terminology. Instead, students are taught not to directly fight or resist an incoming force, but to meet it in softness and "stick" to it, following its motion while remaining in physical contact until the incoming force of attack exhausts itself or can be safely redirected, the result of meeting yang with yin. Done correctly, achieving this yin/yang or yang/yin balance in combat (and, by extension, other areas of one's life) is known as being "single-weighted" and is a primary goal of Tai Chi Chuan training. Lao Tzu provided the archetype for this in the Tao Te Ching when he wrote, "The soft and the pliable will defeat the hard and strong."

Tai Chi's martial aspect relies on sensitivity to the opponent's movements and center of gravity dictating appropriate responses. Effectively affecting or "capturing" the opponent's center of gravity immediately upon contact is trained as the primary goal of the martial Tai Chi student. The sensitivity needed to capture the center is acquired over thousands of hours of first yin slow, repetitive, meditative, low impact) and then later adding yang ("realistic," active, fast, high impact) martial training; forms, pushing hands and sparring. Researchers have found that long-term Tai Chi practice shows some favorable but statically significant effects on the promotion of balance control, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness and reduced the risk of falls in elderly patients. The studies also show some reduced pain, stress and anxiety in healthy subjects. Other studies have indicated improved cardiovascular and respiratory function in healthy subjects as well as those who had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery. Patients that suffer from heart failure, high blood pressure, heart attacks, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's may also benefit from Tai Chi.

Qigong or Chi Kung is an aspect of traditional Chinese medicine, some forms of which involve the coordination of different breathing patterns with various physical postures and motions of the body. Qigong is mostly taught for health maintenance purposes, but there are also some who teach it as a therapeutic intervention or practice it as a medical profession. The training of inner power involves considerable (often tedious) physical, mental, and dietetic training over many years. Qi or Ch'i, is universally present (like muscle), and it takes a combined practice to promote discipline, mental and physical training, and diet. It also may take years to develop a significant increase in ch'i control abilities.

Qigong relies on the traditional Chinese belief that the body has something that might be described as an "energy field" generated and maintained by the natural respiration of the body, known as Qi.  Qi means breath or gas in Chinese, and, by extension, the energy produced by breathing that keeps us alive; gong means work applied to a discipline or the resultant level of technique. Qigong is then "breath work" or the art of managing one's breathing in order to achieve and maintain good health, and (especially in the martial arts) to enhance the energy mobilization and stamina of the body in coordination with the physical process of respiration.

Qi or Ch'i can be conceptualized a little like electricity. Several concepts are fundamental to Shaolin Ch'i Kung training, including knowledge of vibrations, their special manifestations, and exercises. These exercises will focus on centering energy in the body's ch'i center known as the tan t'ien. The tan t'ien is known as the source of inner energies, but is actually more like an antenna to receive energy and distribute it throughout your body. The tan t'ien lies about two inches below the navel (about three finger-widths below the navel, and about three finger-widths back from the surface), and beneath this is the cauldron, which contains uncirculating, or stored, chi.