Hi, my name is victor and I have been studying tai chi chuan for over twenty years. I was watching fit nation today when I heard a so called "master" of tai chi say that it cannot be used for self defense. This is totally absurd. Tai Chi is first and foremost a martial art and if it is not taught from that perspective the full health benefits cannot be realized. Every movement in the tai chi form has a martial application. It is the intention of the movement which causes the chi or internal energy to flow. It is unfortunate that this eroneous message has gone out over the airways. I hope there is some way to rectifiy this. Maybe in the future more research can be done before putting something on the air. If you are interested in the self defense application of the tai chi form feel free to contact me or any real master of the art.