Is Tai Chi good for your health,and does it make you fitter?

i take tai chi chuan and its really helped me to tone up and it helped my balance too. just about every move in my form has a practical application.

yes and yes
Yes, especially if eaten with boiled rice.
Well it works for the Chinese! I got up early to watch them when I was in China on holiday and some of them looked really old as if they were 80 odds and they were as fit as fiddles!! It nearly killed me getting up at 5.30am just to watch them out of the window, so what did that say about me?!!
Japanese don't do that crap and they have the longest lifespans among asians.

Green tea, well balanced diet, no smoking and healthy strolls.
Tai Chi is very good for your health. It teaches you control, balance, and while the movement are obviously a bit more smooth than something like Tiger Fist: It will help you become fit.
I'm about to say something that I think is correct, but I honestly haven't taken Tai Chi to know if this is true. Correct me if I am wrong:
If I am not mistaken, Tai Chi is the slow, flowing martial art practice. Tai Chi Chuan, if I am correct, is an actual martial art where you learn applications of the techniques in Tai Chi, in a form that is more aligned to fighting. Not that that Tai Chi doesn't get you ready, but it takes a good 25 years to master it.
I sparred against someone that told me he practiced. I was impressed with his skills, and while I did beat him in the end, he gave me some trouble with his endless leg movements (Isn't continuation of movement one of the concepts of Tai Chi? :P).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=den7vhzch...
105 year-old practitoner here.
Yup, most people don't know this, but Tai Chi is actually an exercise for your internal organs and not just for your external muscles. The movements are supposed to stimulate circulation of blood and chi throughout your organs like the liver, heart and kidneys, as well as exercise your lungs thru controlled breathing, thereby making them stronger. Most people neglect these organs as they only tend to exercise the external muscles like biceps, abs, back, pecs and legs. This is why Tai Chi practitioners look youthful, because their internal organs are in good working order, thereby ensuring good digestion, circulation and respiration.