Vanderbilt Hosts Largest Tai Chi Chuan Integral Health Forum
Outside of China

Tai Chi Chuan Grandmasters, Researchers and Health Professionals Gather
for First United States Dialog

Nashville, Tenn. — May 29, 2009 —The Vanderbilt Center for Integrative Health and Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., will host the first International Tai Chi Chuan Symposium on Health, Education and Cultural Exchange in the United States that gathers five grandmasters of traditional Tai Chi Chuan, academic researchers and health professionals. The symposium, “Traditional Tai Chi Chuan: A View through the Lens of Science,” runs July 5-10 and is designed to focus on the role of Tai Chi Chuan in integral health (www.taichisymposium.com).

What is Tai Chi?

Tai Chi Chuan is a martial art noted for its slow movements and extraordinary power. Also practiced by tens of thousands of people for health benefits, Tai Chi Chuan is among the world’s fastest growing health fitness activities today. Once an obscure Chinese martial art, today Tai Chi Chuan is taught not only in martial art schools, but also in community centers, parks programs, senior centers and health education classes around the world. An exercise people can practice well into their eighties and nineties, Tai Chi Chuan needs no uniform, equipment or special court.

Largest Symposium outside China

As the largest integral health forum held outside of China, the symposium opens the first U.S. dialog between the wisdom of Chinese culture and clinical science. For five days, grandmasters from five traditional Chinese family styles of Tai Chi Chuan, academic researchers, physicians and Tai Chi Chuan enthusiasts will share data, exchange discoveries, discuss Tai Chi Chuan research issues and plan future research collaboration.

The international symposium features 45 academic presentations and 25 poster sessions focusing on everything from general subjects on Tai Chi Chuan to clinical investigations of its role in health. Topics covered during the symposium will include biomechanics, kinesthetics, meditation, physical and mental health benefits, therapeutic value, the nature of chi and more. Presenters are coming from institutions around the world, including Harvard Medical School, Center for Cognitive Therapy, University of Missouri, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, University of Illinois, University of California, Beijing Sports University (China) and the Mayo Clinic.

Grandmasters Meet Researchers

Grandmasters of the five traditional Tai Chi Chuan styles — Chen (Chen Zhenglei), Yang (Yang Zhenduo), Wu/Hao (Wu Wenhan), Wu (Ma Hailong), Sun (Sun Yongtian),  — will teach daily workshops on their styles. To open greater information exchange about Tai Chi Chuan, the symposium will host several panel sessions between the five grandmasters and some of the most highly respected scholars in the country.

About the Symposium

The first of its kind in the United States, the International Tai Chi Chuan Symposium on Health, Education and Cultural Exchange is a forum that offers attendees the opportunity to network with others seeking a deeper understanding of how the practice of Tai Chi Chuan can enhance health, wellness and quality of life. For more information visit www.taichisymposium.com.

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Media contact:

Dave Barrett, Director of Communications

International Tai Chi Chuan Symposium

Forest Grove, Or.

503 349 5184 (cell)

503 357 8917 (home)

davebarrett@ipns.com