It does not mean that the martial aspects have to be ignored, and neither does it mean that if someone does ignore the martial aspects then they are not teaching Tai Chi.

Personally I find that the martial aspects of Tai Chi are useful, not because I specifically teach Tai Chi as a martial art, but because when I am teaching, it provides a mechanism that helps explain the positions, the movement, the body dynamics, and the underlying ethos.

For example:- One of the precepts of Tai Chi is mindfulness, paying attention to everything that you are doing and 'being in the moment'. This is a necessity in a martial art, as to ignore the moment lays you open to attack. However if a teacher can teach 'mindfulness' without recourse to explanations of a martial nature, then that is fine by me!

Yes there are Tai Chi teachers who do not understand and do not teach proper body dynamics, however even they are (generally) doing no harm, because if the students at (what I call) a 'wave hands like spaghetti' class are enjoying themselves then they will be happy and relaxed, and that is a valid end in itself!

There are however two categories of Tai Chi that I would class as misguided and dangerous. The first (which I sadly have seen once or twice) are classes where the instructor has NO knowledge of proper body alignment and because of this the exercises taught can actually cause both short and long term injury to the students. The second category are those classes where the instructor indoctrinates his students with a mumbo jumbo belief set that disempowers and weakens them.

Tai Chi should improve your fitness and make you feel well, if you want to learn it as a martial art, then that is fine, but make sure you find a teacher who can genuinely teach the martial aspects of the art.

If you are not sure, then you should contact either the British Council for Chinese Martial Arts (of which I am a member) or the Tai Chi Union for Great Britain (with whom I am registered as a Full Instructor of Advanced level).

However not all good teachers are registered with one or other of these organisations, and the fact that someone is a member of one of these organisations does not mean that they will be a good teacher (although they will probably know 'real' Tai Chi). The problem is that knowing a martial art, and being able to teach, are NOT the same thing.

There is no magic way to find a good teacher, ask questions, visit classes (any good teacher will let you watch - or probably join in - a class or two), ask lots of questions, talk to other students. See if training is enjoyable, if it's not, then don't waste your time!