Battling the current COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to a global crisis that affects all of us, together, in every nation big and small. In this challenging time the IWUF is taking action in launching the Taiji Project, debuting a landmark series of more than 240 Taiji videos on WushuTV, with which, the IWUF hopes to help people around the globe to improve and strengthen both their health and spirit.
While the Taiji Project has been in development for several years, the IWUF feels an urgency to begin publishing this video series in such a crucial moment. This is the first time in the IWUF’s history that we have produced so large and ambitious a project, and it illustrates IWUF’s deep commitment to promoting wushu as a powerful practice that can tangibly improve people’s lives everywhere. Especially in this time of worldwide combat against the COVID-19 pandemic, IWUF wants to inspire and guide amateur and lifestyle practitioners, alongside competitive sport athletes, to improve their understanding and practice of Taijiquan.
About the Catalogue of Taijiquan and Taijijian Techniques
The Taiji Project consists of a catalogue of more than 240 videos of Taijiquan and Taijijian techniques. The Taiji Project’s current playlist consists of standardized techniques of Taijiquan (Tai Chi) and Taijijian (Tai Chi Sword) are well known from IWUF and CWA compulsory routines. All techniques are in line with the newest IWUF 2019 Wushu Taolu Competition Rules and IWUF 2019 Traditional Wushu Competition Rules. Videos cover 4 main taiji styles of Chen, Yang, Wu and Sun. The content is presented by top-level athletes, supervised by IWUF and CWA experts. The IWUF Technical Committee have been working on this for several years. With the continued joint efforts and commitment from some members of Technical Committee for the term of 2019-2023, the IWUF could publish this video series on such a crucial occasion. Thus, this material is ideal for athletes to use in their optional routines and for coaches and judges to study for technique. Amateurs and lifestyle practitioners may also incorporate this content into their practice to improve their understanding of Taijiquan. Especially in this time where millions of people globally are being asked to stay at home, most of those techniques can be practiced at home, offering everyone a great form of everyday exercise that does not need much space or special equipment.
Every technique in the catalogue is listed by its name in Chinese characters, pinyin, as well as English translation. IWUF presented several different variants (methods) of every technique, and each variant has been filmed from two or more angles, to make the presentation clear and accessible. The list will be constantly updated with standardized techniques from traditional routines.
At present, IWUF has uploaded 51 Chen Style Taijiquan videos on the IWUF’s YouTube channel WushuTV under the playlist “Catalogue of Taijiquan Techniques. ” IWUF continues to work on completing and uploading videos which will be added to IWUF’s platforms IWUF website, Tencent, and Youku, in addition to Wushu TV. IWUF will also provide an interactive catalogue of all the videos in pdf. format, with links to every video at the IWUF website at a later stage.
Taijiquan has long been practiced for health. There has certainly never been a better time in history to reap its many benefits than during this COVID-19 pandemic. Whether boosting the immune system or helping recover from illness, from calming the mind to raising the spirit, IWUF firmly believes that taiji will redefine and reinvent its role in the 21st century. The IWUF is committed to contributing to this continued development, and we hope you will join us in raising global awareness of taiji by helping IWUF spread to the world about the Taiji Project.
