Taiji magic?

Unlike magic, taijiquan skills are real. But akin to magic, unless you are adept at the art yourself, you have no way of knowing how they performed the feat. This is no different to being an acrobat.
How many people can backflip? Play a Mozart piece, build a mobile phone or dive to the bottom of the ocean?

There's no magic involved. There's no trick. You're not being fooled. But there is certainly skill.

Appearances are deceptive

The skills of taijiquan sometimes appear to be impossible. They are unusual feats. 
But is it magic?

No. Not at all...

The Art of War

In The Art of War, Sun Tzu points out that All warfare is based on deception. He strongly encourages indirect, circuitous strategies, misdirection, deceit and cunning. Standing toe-to-toe is not advised.

His book contains 13 chapters dedicated to being dishonest concerning one's intentions.

Hong Kong cinema

In Chinese history and folklore the ancient Taoist sages were imbued with magical powers and abilities. This was transferred to the martial arts. Qi energy lightning bolts, flying and so on...

Martial arts movies continued this trend; often focusing upon fantasy/the impossible - rather than real world skills.

Magic deals with some of the most fundamental psychological and philosophical questions. What do you believe to be possible? What is consciousness? How much control do you have over your thoughts and your actions? Magic relies on powerful psychological illusions and magicians create their tricks by exploiting gaps and errors in our conscious experience. For example, magicians use misdirection to manipulate what you attend to and this allows them to control what you see – and what you miss. However, as I enrolled on my degree course, I was surprised to learn scientists were not particularly interested in magic.

(Gustav Kuhn)

Teaching Assistant meal @ Amaysia, Newcastle

  I have been involved in the world of martial arts since I was 8 continuing until the birth of my son. My son is now 6 so decided I wanted to return to training now I've turned 40.
 I have been interested in the internal arts, specifically Taiji and Bagua for many years but realised how hard it is to find someone teaching the authentic art.
 With Sifu Waller I finally found what I was looking for!

 Sifu's understanding and knowledge is outstanding. The syllabus is both deep and broad allowing a structured development of each student as they progress.
 Sifu Waller teaches the full art not just the commonly seen "health tai chi". This is a martial art that is subtle and effective, using body structure and biodynamics to achieve success.
 I can highly recommend this class for anyone with the passion and dedication to learn a true martial art.

 (Chris)