The Rising Sun School of
T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Practitioners Corner

Expand Your Approach
Study Guide for Students
Improving Form Study
Why Yang Styles Differ
Insight through the I Ching

Our School Lineage
Master Lee Shiu Pak
The T'ai Chi Family
Rising Sun School Faculty
Certified Instructors

General Interest

Books and Reviews
Starting a Peer Group
Instructional Products
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Toronto T'ai Chi Classes at

The
Rising Sun School of T'ai Chi Ch'uan

We have no more than 8 students per instructor and you progress at your own rate. If you miss a class, you pick up where you left off the last time. We specialize in personal coaching!

Come to a free introductory class and find out about how to get one month of free classes!

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Book Sources

The Tao of Tai Chi Chuan, by Jou Tsung Hwa

Fundamentals of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, by Wen Shang Huang

T'ai Chi Classics, translated by Lo, Amacker, Foe

Thirteen Postures, by Chen Man Ching

The I Ching, Richard Wilhem translation

T'ai Chi Chuan Ta Wen, by Chen Wei Ming

Internet Source

A T'ai Chi History, by Peter Lim

You will find these books and others at the

If you have comments or suggestions email
Paul McCaughey at:

taichitoronto@rogers.com

The History of T'ai Chi Ch'uan

T'ai Chi Ch'uan, or in translation "Supreme Ultimate Fist" (Boxing, or Martial Art) can be traced back to the thirteenth century Taoist monastery on Wu Tang Mountain, China, and the legendary founder of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Chang San Feng. It was here that the martial methods or "Kung Fu" of the famous Shaolin monks combined with Taoist philosophy and inner cultivation methods, forming the Internal School of Chinese Martial Arts. All modern styles of T'ai Chi Ch'uan including Chen, Zhi Bao, Hao, Yang, Wu and Sun styles, either trace their origins from, or acknowledge the importance of the Wu Tang Taoists and Chang San Feng.

The T'ai Chi Classics, a compilation of writings on the principles and practices of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, were discovered in the mid-nineteenth century in the time of the famous teachers Yang Lu Chan and Wu Yu Hsiang. "The Classics" were embraced then by Yang and Wu as the central teachings of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, and they are still regarded as such today. Reference to "Classical Yang Style" connotes the practice of Yang family tradition according to the principles inscribed in the T'ai Chi Classics.

During the cultural revolution in China, the Chinese government instigated a revival of the Chinese martial arts. Standard Forms came to be as a result of government attempts to organize and standardize T'ai Chi Ch'uan. Currently, styles are differentiated into Traditional (including the aforementioned family styles), or Standard, which include the three government styles known as as the 24 movement Short Yang, the 48 movement Combined, and the 88 movement Yang Long Form. Recently, a 42 movement Combined Competition Form has been embraced to judge form skill in competition.

Chang San Feng

According to legend, in the thirteenth century on Wu Tang Mountain lived a Taoist monk named Chang San Feng. One day he witnessed a fight between a crane and a snake. He observed that as the crane was Yang and attacked with its beak, the snake was Yin and neutralized the attack through its capacity to coil and withdraw. Each opponent waited for the other to move and then flowed along with that movement, only returning the attack when the other's offense was exhausted. Upon observing this combat in the natural realm, Chang San Feng recognized the applicability of Yin and Yang to martial arts practice, and from this inspiration he created T'ai Chi Ch'uan.

T'ai Chi Ch'uan became known as one of three Internal Schools of Chinese martial arts, and the Shaolin martial system and its derivatives known as the External School. The central difference between these Schools is that the Internal School cultivates 'Qi' or internal energy to achieve an expression of power, and the External Schools rely upon 'Li' or external muscular strength. This is one reason why T'ai Chi Ch'uan may be practiced as an effective martial art well into one's elder years, whereas Kung Fu systems that are based in the development of muscular strength become less accessible with age.

Hsing Yi Ch'uan and Pa Kua Chang, along with T'ai Chi Ch'uan, are traditionally considered to be the three Internal Schools of Chinese martial arts, although this does not preclude the cultivation of Internal principles such as 'Qi' within the practice of external Kung Fu systems. In my experience, many teachers do cultivate Qi within their external methods and include it as an important aspect of study. However, T'ai Chi Ch'uan is distinct in it's development by Chang San Feng for the threefold purpose for which it is still taught and practiced today. Like the other internal and external styles, it is an effective martial art based on the principles of neutralization and timely return, but it is also a movement meditation of Taoist philosophical concepts, as well as a medicinal yoga geared toward the cultivation of health and longevity.

The Thirteen Postures

The development of the original Thirteen Postures, the eldest movements from which all the modern systems of T'ai Chi Ch'uan are derived, is attributed to Chang San Feng and are first described in the T'ai Chi Classics in the T'ai Chi Ch'uan Ching. Where Yin and Yang is the primary organizing principle through which Taoism describes natural phenomena and change, the Pa Kua (Eight Trigrams) and the Wu Hsing (Five Elements) can be considered equally important and are used to organize the Thirteen postures.

Based on the Pa Gua or Eight Trigrams:

• Cardinal directions: P'eng (Ward Off), Lu (Rollback), Chi (Press), An (Push)
• Diagonal directions: Ts'ai (Pull), Lieh (Split), Tsou (Elbow), K'ao (Shoulder).

• Step Forward (metal)
• Step Back (wood)
• Look Left (water)
• Look Right (fire)
• Central Equilibrium (earth)

Beyond Wu Tang Mountain, modern T'ai Chi Ch'uan finds it's origins flowing through the generational teachings of several T'ai Chi families, namely the Chen, Hao, Yang, Wu and Sun families. These family styles are the most widely known and practiced styles, with the Chen Family Style as progenerative to all others, except Zhi Bao Village Style which traces its' lineage through Jiang Fa directly to the Wu Tang tradition. In addition to these, there are other lesser known forms of T'ai Chi Ch'uan in existence that bear little resemblance to the family styles. The Thirteen Postures are to be considered as definitive of method rather than specific movement, as they represent much more than singular applications and are relevant to all styles. Through the study of the Thirteen Postures, key directions and expressions of intrinsic energy can be understood. This core method has become the wellspring from which all T'ai Chi forms have drawn their variable expression.

Yang Lu Chan learned his T'ai Chi Ch'uan from the Chen Family and was employed at the Royal Court in Beijing as a martial arts instructor to the Princes of the Court. He created a "Small Frame" form to accommodate the cumbersome robes worn by the royal family which inhibited their movement. This Yang Small Frame form was studied by the Mongolian body guard Wu Ch'uan-Yu's (Quan Yu), the progenitor of Wu Style. Wu Style is, in essence, Small Frame (less extended) Yang Style. Yang Family T'ai Chi Ch'uan was carefully passed to Lu-chan's sons Pan-Hou and Chiang-Hou. Yang Chiang-Hou's son, Yang Cheng-Fu went on to initiate remarkable reformation of the practice.

The traditional Yang family style practiced in modern times was honed by Yang Lu Chan's grandson, Yang Cheng-Fu, who defined and regulated the movements of the Long Form we recognize today. Where Chen style is still a combination of hard and soft, fast and slow principles applied to T'ai Chi postures, Yang Cheng-Fu defined all movements as soft, slow, smooth and long. The constancy, extension, lightness, and stability of his form characterizes all Yang style T'ai Chi Ch'uan to the present day.

Therefore it is Yang Cheng-Fu who must be considered the progenitor of the modern practice of traditional Yang Family T'ai Chi Ch'uan, and it is to his work that most Yang stylists owe their lineage forms. Yang Cheng-Fu taught his T'ai Chi Ch'uan to Chen Wei-Ming among others. Chen Wei-Ming brought T'ai Chi Ch'uan from Beijing in the north, to Shanghai in the south where he established the Chih Jou School in 1925. During its time, most of the notable teachers of the day taught at Chen Wei-Ming's Chih Jou School. For seven years my teacher, Lee Shiu-Pak, studied with Chen Wei-Ming, including four years of teaching classes. Later, Master Lee moved to Hong Kong and then to Montreal, where sometime in the 1960's he established the Montreal T'ai Chi Ch'uan Society.

As a Yang stylist since1975, I have applied myself to inquire into the changes in form which have occurred since the time of Yang Cheng-Fu and Chen Wei-Ming. As Yang Stylists, we have some record of the changes through drawings, photos and film. Through these records, I have seen that Master Lee's system has its differences and its similarities to the work of his predecessors. Looking at their work has increased my understanding of T'ai Chi in general and Master Lee's form in particular. The study of Tai Chi history and the evolution of the Yang Style lineage has helped me to better understand the form that I teach and practice today.

History and Various Forces of Change in T'ai Chi Ch'uan

The players and their personalities, and the values, necessities and circumstances of the time all play a role in shaping the outcome of history. If Yang Lu-Chan had not been such a renowned boxer, he would not have been asked to teach the princes of the royal court. Then the Yang Family Small Frame form, which he developed to adapt to the princes heavy and elaborate garb, would have not been learned by the Mongolian bodyguard Ch'uan Yu, nor later popularized by his son Wu Chiang Ch'uan and then later appropriated by right of practice by the Wu Family generations that followed, becoming known as Wu Style T'ai Chi Ch'uan.

Such are the forces of circumstance that have impacted on lineages of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, having nothing to do with martial efficacy or T'ai Chi principles. It is important to bear in mind that while Confucianism and the preservation of ancestral knowledge have produced potent legacies, ingenuity, necessity, and human foibles have also made their contributions to the various Forms of T'ai Chi Ch'uan.

Which School or System is better?

For the student who wonders whether schools with more forms or complex curriculums might be a training advantage, here is a word of encouragement. From a health and boxing point of view, if you work hard you will one day attain formlessness. At this level, your body will move properly and healthfully whether practicing form or doing the dishes. When boxing, you will find no two moments of movement or application exactly the same. Each movement will be unique. Your expression will be infinite in its variation and will always be based on how Yin and Yang are manifest at that time. The key to your success is your hard work and finding a teacher who can teach you. If your teacher can demonstrate efficacy of practice and also promote your understanding, then you will attain the skillfulness you are seeking. Quality, rather than quantity is the key. Bear in mind that it is more difficult to assess the quality of a single object when it sits in a room that is filled to capacity.

"What a student learns
in the first two to three months,
they will repeat
for the next two to three years....
so do a good job (teaching)."

Master Lee Shiu Pak