What is the Northwest T’ai Chi Ch’uan Association (NWTCCA)?
By Sifu Harvey Kurland
The Northwest T’ai Chi Ch’uan Association (NWTCCA) was formed in the early 1970s in Seattle, WA, as a nonprofit organization by senior students of Grandmaster Tchoung Ta-tchen. Originally, the group was called the Chinese T’ai Chi Ch’uan Association and was based in Chinatown at what is now the site of an Asian Health Center. Later, the kwoon was moved to the University District as part of the Chinese Cultural Education Center. The official name of CTCCA was later changed to NWTCCA by Tchoung’s senior students. At that time, CTCCA was considered the only place in Seattle to learn the real art of t’ai chi ch’uan.
While there were other teachers in the area, it was clear to those “in the know” that Tchoung Ta-tchen was the only real T’ai Chi Grandmaster or Master in the area—his “eyes were high.”
Seattle’s other well-respected kung fu masters all addressed Tchoung as “Sifu,” paying respect to his deep knowledge of the art. In the early 1970s, Tchoung was the embodiment of real t’ai chi in the Pacific Northwest. In Canada, advanced t’ai chi students flocked to him to learn the higher levels of the art that other teachers either did not know or were reluctant to teach. There was some talk at this time that Chinese masters in Vancouver, B.C., were unwilling to teach anything more than superficial t’ai chi forms to non-Chinese Canadians. Many serious t’ai chi martial arts students of those masters moved to Tchoung’s Chinese Tai Chi Chuan Association for this reason. As a result, serious students flocked to Tchoung’s kwoon in Chinatown, Vancouver, and Seattle. It was rumored that he upset other Chinese kung fu masters, who claimed he was showing too much to his non-Chinese students. His philosophy was to teach everything to all his students so that the level of t’ai chi ch’uan would grow higher. Though many serious Chinese students also studied with Tchoung because they found he was the only one really teaching the whole art, most of his students were Chinese.
Tchoung was concerned about the decline in skills among t’ai chi ch’uan masters over the years and feared that t’ai chi would become only a calisthenics exercise if the trend continued. So he pushed his students along. Later, he took several intermediate-level students to China and Taiwan, where they won silver medals in open competition. In playful pushing hands, few Chinese masters could stand against them. Several Chinese masters also studied with Tchoung to update their skills in China as well as in Vancouver and Seattle.
The NWTCCA is a branch of the Chinese Tai Chi Chuan Association (Canada), which is related to the Chinese T’ai Chi Ch’uan Association of Taiwan. Tchoung was a representative of the CTCCA of Taiwan, and his student became an official of that organization in 1977. The Taiwan CTCCA organization sent him as their representative to teach the president of Gabon. CTCCA is the official t’ai chi ch’uan organization in Taiwan, with many different masters as members. Grandmaster Tchoung was a delegate from that organization. The CTCCA is now based in Vancouver, B.C.
Tchoung preferred to use the term “Sifu” or “Sehfu” (Cantonese and Hunan Mandarin transliteration) instead of “Shrfu” (Beijing Mandarin, harder “R” transliteration). He named several students to call themselves Sifu. “Sifu” is a term for a certified instructor who is a professional teacher, a teacher of teachers, and also a “father-teacher.” In the United States, only Harvey Kurland, Master Andy Dale, Master David Harris, Dr. Carey Brooks, and Dr. Don Scott were directly taught and certified by Grandmaster Tchoung Ta-tchen and the Chinese Tai Chi Chuan Association as competent to teach the system and to be called Sifu. There are several related schools in Canada, Taiwan, South Africa, Germany, and Japan. Canada has the largest membership, with over 3,000 past and present members of CTCCA.
Master Andy Dale and Sifu Harvey Kurland are the only Chief Instructors currently teaching this complete system in the United States (NWTCCA). Dale and Kurland were given the complete authority to certify teachers by Tchoung.
There is a specific curriculum taught by the NWTCCA and CTCCA based on the Old Form of Yang Family Style as taught by Grandmaster Tchoung Ta-tchen. Official instructors have completed various levels of the curriculum and passed appropriate level tests. Chief instructors (Sifus) have passed all tests and were taught and certified directly by Grandmaster Tchoung Ta-tchen.
When Sifu Kurland went to Taiwan in 1977, he met with some of the officials of the Chinese T’ai Chi Ch’uan Association of Taiwan. One official was Sifu Fei Pei Liu, who turned out to be Grandmaster Tchoung’s student and Kurland’s older t’ai chi brother. CTCCA-T is separate from the ROC Kuoshu Organization, which is the Shaolin Ch’uan kung fu (Kuoshu) organization. The Koushu Organization sponsors tournaments every year in Taiwan. Kurland also met t’ai chi masters in Taiwan who were students of Grandmaster Tchoung and were teaching in Taipei, including Kan-sheng Hsiao-chou. Sifu Fei later moved to California and retired.