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The objective of this study was to compare cardiorespiratory responses to exercise among older Qigong participants, Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) practitioners and normal sedentary controls during cycle ergometry. Thirty-six community-dwelling men with a mean age of 59.1±6.6 years participated in this study. Each group (Qigong, TCC and control) included 12 subjects with matched age and body size. The Qigong group practiced Qigong regularly for 2.3±1.5 years; the TCC group practiced Yang TCC for 4.7±2.3 years. Heart rate (HR) responses were measured during the practice of Qigong and TCC. Additionally, breath-by-breath measurement of cardiorespiratory function was performed during the incremental exercise of leg cycling. The mean HR during Qigong and TCC practice was 91±5 bpm and 129±7 bpm, respectively. At the peak exercise and the ventilatory threshold (VeT), TCC group displayed highest oxygen uptake , O₂ pulse and work rate among the three groups. The Qigong group also showed higher oxygen uptake and O₂ pulse than the control group. At the same relative exercise intensity, the Qigong group had the highest tidal volume among the three groups. In conclusion, Qigong and TCC show a beneficial effect to aerobic capacity in older individuals, but TCC displays a better training effect than Qigong due to its higher exercise intensity. However, Qigong can enhance breathing efficiency during exercise due to the training effect of diaphragmatic breathing.

This study aims to determine the relative exercise intensity of classical Yang Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) in different ages and gender. One hundred TCC practitioners (54 men and 46 women) aged 25 to 80 years participated in this investigation. Men and women were separated into three groups: young (25–44 y/o), middle-aged (45–64 y/o) and elderly (65–80 y/o). Heart rate (HR) responses during TCC practice were measured by using electrocardiographic telemetry. An exercise test with breath-by-breath measurements of cardiorespiratory function was also performed for each subject during the incremental exercise of leg cycling. Measurements obtained during the TCC practice and exercise testing were compared to determine the exercise intensity of TCC. While performing TCC, the mean HR of men was 141±12 bpm, 132±9 bpm and 120±10 bpm in the young, middle-aged and elderly groups, respectively. Men practiced TCC with mean HR corresponding to 57.8±3.7%, 56.6±3.4% and 55.1±3.1% of heart rate reserve (HRR) in the three groups. Meanwhile, the mean HR of women was 136±10 bpm, 126±11 bpm and 115±12 bpm in the young, middle-aged and elderly groups, respectively. Women practiced TCC with mean HR corresponding to 52.7±2.8%, 51.5±2.6% and 50.3±2.9% of HRR in the three age groups. The results demonstrate that classical Yang TCC is an exercise with moderate intensity, and its exercise intensity is similar across different ages in each gender. In conclusion, TCC is an aerobic exercise and suitable for participants of different ages and gender to improve their functional capacity.

The health of the middle-aged and elderly people is a major concern given the rapid aging population and rising costs of medical care. Low-impact exercise on a regular basis is ideal for maintaining the well-being of an aging population. Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) is the most well-known and most widely practiced form of low-impact martial arts therapy and has been shown to have positive health effects. A lesser-known form of martial arts therapy is Wai Tan Kung (WTK), which our previous study found to have positive health effects as well. The present study compares the effects of TCC and WTK on autonomic nervous system modulation and on hemodynamics in adults among non-exercising control (30), TCC practitioners (30) and WTK practitioners (30). Our study found that in a short-term, WTK and TCC exercises enhanced the vagal modulation, lowered the sympathetic modulation and lowered arterial blood pressures in the practitioners. It was also observed that the forced vital capacity of TCC practitioners was significantly higher than that of WTK practitioners before exercise. There were no significant differences in the percentage changes in HRV measures and hemodynamics between WTK and TCC practitioners 30 and 60 min after exercise, indicating that the effects of WTK and TCC were similar in magnitude. In conclusion, TCC and WTK are comparable to each other in terms of their effects on autonomic nervous system modulation and hemodynamics, thus suggesting that WTK can be just as beneficial as TCC as a form of low-impact exercise for elderly adults.

The goal of this study was to investigate the movement coordination among the hip, knee, and ankle joints during solo performance of the Tai Chi (TC) basic movements in order to understand its dynamic postural control. Nine male community-dwelling adults with experienced TC pushing hands participated in this cross-sectional study. The Eagle^® motion analysis system with eight cameras was used to collect the trajectories of all reflective markers at sampling rate 100 Hz while the subject performed the ward-off, rollback, press, and push movements. Motion among the hip, knee, and ankle joints was highly coupled. Coupled joint motion, hip flexion-knee flexion-ankle dorsiflexion or reverse, existed in ward-off, rollback, and press phases for the front leg. However, in the push phase, the hip joint angle was kept almost constant with coupled knee and ankle motions. For the rear leg, coupled motion existed between the hip and the knee joints only. The ankle joint motion differed between the front and the rear legs during the basic movements of TC (p < 0.05). Basic characteristics were documented such as the forward knee never extending further than forward toe and both legs maintaining flexion during the full exercise cycle with hip and knee of front and rear legs having synchronized movements in opposite directions. The forward and backward shifts of TC basic movements have considerable contributions to the posture control in terms of the fine coordination of three lower extremity joints. This information could improve training protocol design for TC Chuan teaching and help beginners make an efficient and less damaging movement.

The present study investigated the adequacy of the interaction between the center of mass (COM) and the center of pressure (COP) for maintaining dynamic stability during Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) Push Hands movements in a fixed stance. The COM of the whole body and COP were calculated. Four TCC experts, with 10.3 ± 1.7 years' experience in the Push Hands technique, and 4 TCC beginners, with 2.5 ± 1.3 years' Push Hands experience, were recruited. An Expert Vision Eagle motion analysis system collected kinematic data and 4 Kistler force plates collected the ground reaction force data. The expert group of TCC practitioners showed a significantly more vertical (P = 0.001) direction in the neutralizing circle, and significantly larger values for anterior–posterior (A–P) (P = 0.006) and vertical (P = 0.0004) displacement in the enticing circle, than the beginner group. Compared with the beginner group, the expert group demonstrated significantly greater velocity A–P (P = 0.001) and vertical (P = 0.001) COM displacements in the enticing circle. A significant extent main effect (P = 0.0028) was observed for the COP_A–P excursion between the expert and beginner groups during Push Hands movements. The greater A–P force generated by both groups during the initiation of the Push Hands cycle probably reflects the more rapid and forward-oriented nature of this movement. The TCC beginners might have difficulties with movement transfers because of disruptions in the temporal sequencing of the forces. Overall, results indicated that the initial experience-related differences in COM transfers are reflected in the Push Hands movement cycle.

The goal of this study was to investigate the differences in ground reaction force during a Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) pushing movement between those with and without TCC experience through a detailed 3D dynamic analysis of the lower extremities. Seven TCC practitioners who had practiced the TCC push-hands movement for 6.0 ± 4.8 years and eight males without any TCC experience were recruited in this study. An eight-camera Expert Vision Eagle motion analysis system and two Kistler force plates were used to collect kinematic data (100 Hz) and the ground reaction force (1000 Hz). About 34 retro-reflective markers were placed on anatomical significant locations that determine embedded axes for segments. Results showed that the angular motions of the knee joint were different between the two groups, both in pattern and magnitude. Compared with the TCC group, the non-TCC group had significantly smaller peak abduction angles at the ankle joint (p < 0.05). The magnitude of the vertical force of the TCC group was greater, whereas the medial and posterior shear forces were smaller. The significant difference in vertical force (p < 0.05) and fraction opponent force of vertical force were found significantly different (p < 0.05) between the two groups. The patterns of the anteroposterior component of the ground reaction force during pushing were different, but those for the other two components were similar. Different lower-limb kinematics and kinetics were found between those with and those without TCC experience during TCC pushing movement and it was also found that the TCC practitioners could generate more effective force transfer than the group with no prior TCC experience. It was further concluded that vertical force plays an important role in a pushing movement, and posterior force exerted from the opponent was absorbed and transformed into anterior force to help the TCC practitioners remain stable.