BeginnerGuide

   Yes, Tai Chi can be trained as a martial art, but simply practicing slow forms does not automatically make someone able to fight. If a practitioner wants real self-defense ability, the training has to include partner work, applications, timing, distance, balance, conditioning, and eventually some form of realistic resistance.  This is where the question becomes more complicated than a simple yes or no. Today, many people practice Tai Chi mainly for health, mobility, balance, relaxation, or enjoyment. There is nothing wrong with that. But health-oriented Tai Chi and martial training do not have exactly the same goals, even when they use the same form.  After spending most of my life around traditional Chinese martial arts, I have seen this difference many times. A person can perform a beautiful slow form and still have very little understanding of distance, timing, contact, or what happens when another person does not cooperate. On the other hand, someone who trains the form together with push hands, applications, partner drills, and resistance starts developing a very different skill set.