Not a fighting app, an app for iPhone or iPod.

Apple News | Sun Moon Foot Tai Chi HR Released
Monday, 21st December 2009, 06:12 am

Happy, Healthy, New Year. D1Bru has announced Sun Moon Foot Tai Chi HR, the Healing Round, an update to their very popular mind-body exercise application for iPhone and iPod touch devices. Dynamic mind-body exercises improve wellness at all ages. Make a New Year's resolution to take a personal interest in sustainable healthcare reform.

Tai Chi effectively develops the balance and motor mechanisms in the body, however it is different from most mind-body exercises (like yoga) because it adds bodies in motion. Watching demonstrations of this art form are instructive but, often biomechanical requirements are difficult to discern. Even in slow motion, it can be challenging to identify key transitions in movement.

SMF Tai Chi HR helps solve the problem by pinpointing the orientational relationship between key body parts in a format that is easy to follow. Users will immediately understand balance by watching how to position and strengthen key anatomical elements. Designed specifically to take advantage of the iPhone's unique capabilities and touch interface, Sun Moon Foot Tai Chi reveals how to maximize the body's stability while in motion and presents a unique visual perspective that makes practice more productive.

Stability, power, speed and finesse are attained by controlling the momentum generated by the body's center of gravity as it moves through space. And like many sports, Tai Chi uses the core muscles to power and direct the limbs. Sun Moon Foot Tai Chi's animations illustrate this technique of propulsion by showing how the movement of the hips affect the weighting of the legs and positioning of the feet.

Each movement is broken-down into sequential segments with the waypoints of stability clearly identified. The 3D figures emphasize the anatomical alignment of the skeleton for each waypoint. The 2D aerial view highlights the flow of momentum and force from the body's center to the feet. Sun Moon Foot provides both a static and dynamic choreology of Tai Chi to help develop a new pattern for movement that is both agile and robust.

Feature Highlights:
* Comfortable and simple User Interface
* 76 animated transitions
* 17 positions
* 146 movement of the hips and feet

"I started using Tai Chi about 15 years ago to rebuild and nourish my body. I grew up in the shadow of Mt Hood running and playing in the Cascades," said Don Brubaker, founder of Florida based D1Bru. "I have always loved to race but it started taking a toll on my body during my senior seasons in college. Since settling in Florida, I found my racing fix in Triathlons. It is a thrill to exit the ocean in one piece. I believe Tai Chi improves my mental racing skills and helps me recover from the physical punishment of competition. Over the past several years my time racing has been decreasing and my involvement teaching Tai Chi increasing. Both activities allow me to clear my mind and have fun with good people."

"I am a software architect by trade. Back in 2002 I tried putting together a Tai Chi piece on an early smartphone, but no go. There just was not enough juice in the device." Don continues. "Time marched on and my 2002 sketchbook collected dust on the shelf. Shortly after starting D1Bru Vision Brewery, the iPhone opened up to developers. I decided to change my firm's course and enter the iPhone market. I wanted to add an in-house product, so I pulled down the 2002 sketchbook; this time it worked."

SMF Tai Chi's choreology illustrates proper control of the body's center of gravity. Sun Moon Foot derives its exercises from the Yang Short Form adapted by Grandmaster Cheng Man-ch'ing in the middle third of the last century. Perceive and move well to be in good stead for any situation.

Pricing and Availability:
SMF Tai Chi HR 1.0.1477 is $4.99 (USD) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Healthcare & Fitness category. Review copies are available upon request.