Thus, today there are three main schools of tai chi, Ch'en, Yang, and Wu. A health-promoting activity Originally created as a martial art, tai chi is now taught primarily as a health promoting activity. Chinese concepts of health and illness differ from our western ideas. The Chinese believe in a universal energy called chi. Chi energy surrounds us and is found in all living things.
Chinese medicine teaches that illness is an imbalance in the body's chi circulation.
Chi circulates in the body through several channels or meridians. Along these meridians are points that can be used to influence chi flow and alter the balance. Chi energy can be thought of as similar to electromagnetic energy. Just as electricity has positive and negative energies, chi consists of opposite energies called yin and yang. There are many ways to influence yin-yang balance.