According to the U.S. Army's Special Forces Martial Arts Handbook [#STsomething], ALL Chinese Martial Arts originated with the Shao-Lin Monks, and _Their_ Martial Arts originated in a visit from a single Indian Buddhist Yogi (Understand this all comes from Oral Tradition; a story passed down from generation to generation)...
...As most people are aware, Sithartha Gotama (aka _The_ "Buddha"), was an Indian Prince who attained "Enlightenment" by being the most famous "Passive Resistance" Spiritual person in History. i.e. he did _nothing_, at all, until he got Results. Nice. His "Enlightenment" involved the understanding that /ALL HUMAN LIFE/ is defined by Suffering, that all Suffering has a root cause, and more specifics about what _Anyone_ can do to Relieve Said Suffering.
Essentially his answer was:_YOGA_.
Currently, us "Modern-day" Westerners are positively _Infested_ with drastically Incorrect Misconceptions About _What_ "Yoga" Really Is!! This is not all our fault. Simply visiting the crapulent number of "Yoga Studios" in any Major U.S. city will give one the idea that this "Yoga" is something akin to /Aerobics/ & is basically about exercise. Indeed this is, very SADLY for us all, terribly WRONG! In brief, what we are seeing is a Corrupted form of "Hatha Yoga," the 1 (out of 7 Major/Popular Yoga Disciplines!) form of Yogic Discipline concerned primarily with _PHYSICAL ACTIVITY_...
...What our "Western Aerobic Yoga" is /LACKING/, that True Traditional Indian Yoga Is _BASED ON_ is a concern for "Prana," or "Energy," which in Chinese Tai-Chi Traditions is referred to as "Chi," & Jedi's refer to as "The Force."
Indeed the Entire Purpose of the Practice of Hatha Yoga is the Balancing & Mastery of one's Internal Energy System, including "Chakra's" & such, SO THAT ONE MAY BE BETTER PREPARED BODILY TO MEDITATE, thus attaining a greater chance at "attaining enlightenment." How this relates to Tai-Chi will soon become clear...
So, to get back to our story of the Ancient Shao-Lin & The Visiting Indian Buddhist Yogi, now that we have a better understanding of just what this Yogi was concerned with, what did he find when he came to see what these new "Chinese Buddhists" were up to? He found a bunch of chubby, out of shape monks, much like the Fatty Buddha Statue so many are familiar with. Because the original (& to some extent still Modern Day) Asian Buddhists were primarily concerned with _SITTING MEDITATION_ (called in India "Raja/Anya/various other names YOGA". A rather natural mistake, given that this is the famous method Prince Gotama used to achieve _his_ "Nirvana."
But our Yogi /SCOLDED/ these out-of-shape Shao-Lin Monks, telling them:"You will NEVER ACHIEVE ENLIGHTENMENT in such a physical shape! Your body must be of optimal health for your mind to be!" - Which is the entire Point of "Hatha Yoga" in the first place! Thus our Yogi designed a series of exercises designed to get these Monks in shape ASAP & was sadly disappointed to find how out of shape they were! We can safely guess that these monks were _NOT_ having much success at "Enlightenment" before our Yogi's visit- Why Else would they submit to such difficult Training?
...Time passed and these Shao-Lin soon became the most physically fit (& 'Enlightened') Monks in China, but they were constantly harried by Robbers & such, so they turned their Yogic Discipline into a MARTIAL ART, the likes of which are famous to this day. They trained others, who trained others, etc, different schools formed, with different names & variations, etc. But all seem to agree, to this very day, that it ALL STARTED WITH ONE INDIAN YOGI!
Anyone familiar with Traditional Chinese Medicine (like "Acupuncture" for example) already knows that their system revolves entirely around this "Chi," which Indian Yoga Practitioners call "Prana," & exactly how this Chi flows through the human body.
Though we have not yet seen any writings comparing these two systems, Yoga & Tai-Chi, the similarities are so Complete & Obvious that there simply must be some in existence. For example, both systems agree that this Energy/Chi/Prana is/can be controlled entirely by our _Breathing_. In Yoga the discipline of /Controlling One's Breath/ (& thus one's EMOTIONS) is called "Pranayama." We have not yet discovered Tai-Chi's name for it, but it must exist. Both systems agree that, for Optimal Energy Flow in the Human Body, One's /Tongue Should Be Placed Against the Roof of One's Mouth, Touching the Front Teeth/. Also that eyes focused about 30degrees downward, focused towards the floor in front of one, is Optimal for Relaxation.
Both Tai-Chi & Hatha Yoga utilize a System of very specific Bodily Postures, in Yoga each one is called an "Asana." We could be under-informed on this next point (or "Westernly Ignorant") , but we were taught that, in Hatha Yoga, once many "Asana's" (or Postures) are mastered; One may create one's own "Yoga Routine" composed of whichever "Asana's" one deems most important for one's own body. Whereas in Tai-Chi the exact order of Postures is /VITAL/, as each position generates/utilizes Chi in a very specific manner & the next posture defines _how_ that Chi is Used/funnelled.
Anyways, as a along-time Yogi & Meditator who has recently discoved Tai-Chi; I could not be more excited!!! Tai-Chi utilizes ALL the skills & disciplines I have mastered over the years through m,y Yogic Practices, but seems to take them to the next level! I highly reccommend it! =D