Last Friday, I had the opportunity to watch the film The Professor: Tai Chi’s Journey West. Although I knew very little about Tai Chi before watching the film, I have had a bit of exposure to it. In fall semester of freshman year I had, out of curiosity, decided to sign up for a class on Tai Chi. However, I never really got the chance to participate much before I ended up with a foot infection that caused me to miss out on most of the course. Since then, I have always been curious to know what I could have learned from that class. After watching the film, I can say that my interest in Tai Chi has only increased.

While often lumped together with the other martial arts, Tai Chi is actually quite different. The film revealed how Tai Chi is more of a way of life, than just simply another martial art. It is often used as a form of meditation, and it can have benefits on a person’s health. In addition, the film showed how Tai Chi has a philosophy behind it. Perhaps most interestingly of all was how Tai Chi related to concepts like art or medicine. I found it really fascinating to learn that the Professor would incorporate painting lessons into his class on Tai Chi. It was not exactly a combination that I would have thought of, but it surprisingly seemed to fit really well.

The whole concept of Tai Chi seems really interesting. I really like the fact that it is an all-encompassing way of life. Overall, the film made me more curious to learn Tai Chi, as well as make me regret having missed out in the first place.