T'ai Chi Ch'uan - Attire

Attire

In practice, traditionally there is no specific uniform required in the practice of t'ai chi ch'uan. Modern day practitioners usually wear comfortable, loose t-shirts and trousers made from breathable natural fabrics, that allow for free movement during practice. Despite this, t'ai chi ch'uan has become synonymous with "t'ai chi uniforms" or "kung fu uniforms" that usually comprise of loose-fitting traditional Chinese styled trousers and a long or short-sleeved shirt, with a Mandarin collar and buttoned with Chinese frog buttons. The long-sleeved variants are referred to as Northern-style uniforms, whilst the short-sleeved, Southern-style uniforms. The colour of this clothing is usually, all white, all black, black & white, or any other colour, mostly being either all a single solid colour or a combination of 2 colours: one colour being the actual clothing and the binding being a contrasting colour. They are normally made from natural fabrics such as cotton or silk. These uniforms are not a requirement, but rather are usually worn by masters & professional practitioners during demonstrations, tournaments and other public exhibitions.

Belt ranking is atypical to t'ai chi ch'uan, as there is no standardised ranking system in this martial art. Some t'ai chi ch'uan schools may present students with belts that depict an arbitrary rank, similar to dans in Japanese martial arts, however, this is merely for the sake of the students' psychology, providing a sense of accomplishment as they progress in their practice and understanding of t'ai chi ch'uan. Even during wushu tournaments, where masters and grandmasters tend to wear "kung fu uniforms," it is unusual to see them wearing belts, especially belts signifying any rank.