I thought this was pretty cool so I figured that I would share it with everyone. To get a better understanding of Tai Chi martial applications, I took up Shotokan Karate for several months. Many of the applications (punches, kicks, blocks) in Shotokan are very similar to the forms in Tai Chi. Anyway, I started reading a book called Moving Zen – One Man’s Journey to the Heart of Karate by CW Nicol. There is a passage in his book where he awoke from a deep sleep. The building that he was staying in Japan was shuddering, screens were rattling, and the floor beneath him was moving. At first he thought it was an earthquake. He got out of bed, and went downstairs and a bunch of Karatekas (including Donn Draegar, a famous Karateka) were watching a teacher of tai chi chuan punch the pillars of the house, his fist only moving a few inches at a time. All of them could not believe the deceptive power coming from this tai chi master (Mr. Wong). Mr. Wong could also withstand any blows to his body (except to the face). Mr. Wong was about 250 pounds and fifty years old. Several Karateka tried punching Mr. Wong’s stomach only to hurt their wrist. He also sent flying with a single push several Karateka all lined up in a row (all together weighed about 800 pounds). Nicole asked his chief karate instructor sensei Nakayama (a very famous Karate teacher) if he thought karate was the best martial art. Nakayama studied several martial arts and also studied in China for several years. He said yes. But Nicole when Nicole asked about tai chi chuan, Nakayama said “For human beings Karate is the best way. But there are some men who are superhuman, and perhaps there are a few Tai Chi sensei are just that.”