BIOMECHANICS ANALYSIS OF “BRUSH KNEE AND TWIST STEPS” MOVEMENT IN TAI CHI

Dewei Mao^1,2, Youlian Hong¹, Jing Xian Li¹, Dongqing Xu¹, Dongli Wang^3.

¹Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, ²Shandong Institute of Sports, ³Shandong Arts & Crafts College, China

The purpose of this study was to analyze the biomechanical characteristics of a typical Tai Chi (TC) movement - "brush knee and twist steps". A 3-Dimensional fixed video filming method was used for data collection. Three elite professional athletes of TC performed this movement three times and the best one was selected for analysis. The kinematics data included the distance of hands and feet, the angle between the feet, the joint angles of wrist, elbow and knee, the 3-dimensional displacement, velocity and acceleration of CG. The analysis showed that TC exercise could enhance the lower extremity muscular strength movement coordination, and the neuromuscular control for posture and balance.