Taijiquan (simplified Chinese: 太极拳; traditional Chinese: 太極拳; pinyin: tàijíquán; Wade–Giles: t’ai4 chi2 ch’üan2; literally “Supreme Ultimate Fist”) is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for both its defense training and its health benefits. It is also typically practiced for a variety of other personal reasons: its hard and soft martial art technique, demonstration competitions, and longevity. As a consequence, a multitude of training forms exist, both traditional and modern, which correspond to those aims. Some of Taijiquan’s training forms are especially known for being practiced at what most people categorize as slow movement.

Today, Taijiquan has spread worldwide. Most modern styles of Taijiquan trace their development to at least one of the five traditional schools: Chen, Yang, Wu/Hao, Wu, and Sun.

(Source-Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T’ai_chi_ch’uan).