By KELLY BOWSER,
PHOTOS BY THOMAS R. CORDOVA
WHETHER spelled "chi" or "qi," it's all energy. And is still pronounced "chee."
The long-practiced forms of tai chi and qi gong are becoming a staple at American gyms and senior centers as people — especially baby boomers and their parents — search for ways to reduce stress and increase balance.
Both arts embrace the idea that chi is everywhere and in everything.
"It's a very natural approach," said Joseph Bojanek, a Claremont-based instructor. "Through focusing the mind, we can also bring in the energy. Using our tools, we can bring in more energy. That's what separates us from hitting the gym." To the untrained eye, they look the same. But those in the know can feel the difference between a qi gong posture and a tai chi form.
Qi gong, sometimes called Chinese yoga, came first and focuses more on health by directing energy to specific organs in the body.
Jonathan Snowiss, who teaches both arts in the Inland Empire, started his training when he was 10. Snowiss is now next in line to be the master of Wei-Tou Qi Gong, which was developed in a 17th-century Shaolin temple.
"Traditionally, most students of qi gong start at an early age so it develops with you," said Snowiss, 30.
He saw a lecture by the current master at Pitzer College and was "blown away by the philosophy, the understanding, and the simple powers it can create in a person." He also teaches other martial arts like kung fu, but all students are expected to practice their qi gong.
Those postures evolved into the tai chi forms that bring to mind large groups of people slowly moving in unison in a San Francisco park. Each of those forms, however, has a combat application.
"I teach tai chi pretty much for the balance," Snowiss said.
The number of forms depend on the style of tai chi. Each style has roots in different historical Chinese families.
Wu style, which Bojanek studies, has 108 forms that, when strung together, take 15 minutes to perform.
Sometimes the traditional forms of tai chi are reduced to an "easy 12 steps." Other times, classes mix qi gong and tai chi.
"Basically, everything has to change with time," Snowiss said. "It's more important to get people to learn the balance than to be rigid in the tradition of how it was taught.
"I have a class that's for seniors, and then I have a regular tai chi class, so they can learn more the traditional way." Elana Barach and her friends turned to qi gong recently.
"We were all doing yoga at one time, I saw qi gong on public television one morning and thought it was for us," said Barach, 72, of Pomona.
Her friend Nancy Gamer, 71, decided to give it a try because she has arthritis and wants to work on developing balance and flexibility.
"It's a sensation I certainly didn't get from yoga," she said after a brief qi gong warm-up led by Bojanek.
Where to begin
Tai chi instruction locations:
Wei Tou Foundation, 4650 Arrow Highway, Suite G-10, Montclair, (909) 762-4495, www.weituoqigong.org
Tai Chi Energy in Claremont, (909) 621-3637, www.taichienergy.com
Loma Linda University Drayson Center, (909) 558-4975
TaiJiat in Ontario, (909) 210-7815
Zimmerman Wellness Center in Diamond Bar, (909) 861-2611
