WILLIAM KAPLINIDIS: That's one part of the training. That's the most popular part, and that's the part that's used to help people with the health benefits of tai chi. That's one part. After you learn that slow form, then you would learn how to use in fast and how to throw people, for example. Then there are weapons that you would learn how to use, like a sword or knife or staff. So that's just the basic level of the training, that slow-motion movement. Each of those movements have several applications, but you do it slow so that you really become in touch with your body and you train the muscles to be relaxed. So when you're throwing an actual punch, if you're able to relax your muscles when you throw the punch, the punch will be a lot faster. So when you practice slow, you're able to then use it faster when you're doing it fast.
DAVID FOLK THOMAS: What are the health benefits of tai chi?
DR. BENJAMIN KLIGLER: What I have recommended it for in my practice is for people who I feel are experiencing one or another health problem because they don't have an effective way of dealing with stress in their lives. I think it's a way to learn how to relax and concentrate intensely at the same time while actually using your body. There are many people who, if I recommend that they go home and listen to a relaxing tape or do meditation, they're not going to do it. There are people who want a physical basis for the relaxation practice. I've tended to recommend it for those people in general. It could be focused around a symptom, so it could be someone who has a headache problem or a reflux problem with stomach acid or one of the many other problems that are related to a high level of stress.
DAVID FOLK THOMAS: Do you find that a lot of people, whatever their condition is, it's (a) either caused by stress or (b) at least exacerbated by stress?
