The ability to increase the efficiency of the respiratory system is one of the main health benefits derived from the diligent practice of Tai Chi as a dance like art Form. This is not to say there is anything wrong with "Chuan" as this includes all of that and more. It's just that the fighting forms go a little beyond the necessary for the average westerner who, let's be honest, are not called upon to lay there lives on the line every day of the week!

Form practice concentrates upon techniques that utilise this increased capacity over the long term; Chuan adaptations can produce instantaneous bursts of energy. In the case of the latter, energy may also be 'stolen' from an opponent.