Effect of skill level on cardiorespiratory and metabolic responses during Tai Chi training.

Nowadays, Tai chi chuan (TCC) is practiced by millions worldwide with a range of skill levels. However, the effect of skill level on physiological response to TCC performance has yet to be clarified. In this study, physiological parameters during practicing simplified 24-form TCC were investigated and compared in 10 young high-level (HL) male TCC athletes and 10 ordinary-level (OL) male TCC practitioners with similar age and body size. Significantly higher energy expenditure, heart rate, oxygen uptake and tidal volume were found in HL group than OL group during TCC performance. The respiratory frequency and exhalation time were similar between the two groups during practicing TC; however, significantly less inhalation time was found in HL group (1.02±0.2 s) than OL group (1.12±0.28 s). Our results suggested that skill level may have considerable impact on metabolic and cardiorespiratory responses to TCC performance. TCC practitioners with different skill levels may practice TCC in different ways, which was supposed to lead to distinguishable response between the two groups.