There are five major styles of Tai Chi Ch’uan: Chen, Yang, Wu, Sun, and Hao. In addition, there are traditional versions of these styles as well as contemporary, or simplified, forms of these styles.
We teach the Dual Symmetrical Yang Style Tai Chi system that was brought to North America by Grandmaster Tchoung Ta-Tchen (鍾大振). This is a traditional Yang style Tai Chi Ch’uan (楊氏太極拳) system that preserves the martial arts applications of the forms, unlike the simplified or contemporary Wushu forms of Tai Chi.
We are related to the Northwest Tai Chi Ch’uan Association and are currently the only representatives of this system offering instruction in Orange County.
Small Frame, Old Yang Style
Grandmaster Tchoung Ta Tchen began learning “Nature Boxing” (Ziranquan) with Abbot Hui Kong at Emei Mountain Monastery in 1942, where he also learned Qigong and Tai Chi.
He studied the “Old Yang Style” form with Shi Diaomei in 1959. This old style form, from the Yang Jianhou and Yang Shouhou lineage, emphasizes faster kicks and waist movements, distinct from the standard Yang Chengfu form. (Yang Chengfu was the son of Yang Jianhou and the younger brother of Yang Shouhou. Yang Chengfu is renowned for refining the vigorous training he inherited into a “large frame” style with expansive, smooth, and evenly paced movements, which has shaped the public perception of Tai Chi overall. Many of his students, including Chen Weiming, Fu Zhongwen, and Cheng Man Ching, went on to become notable masters themselves.)
Influenced by Cheng Man Ching, Grandmaster Tchoung’s Dual Symmetrical Tai Chi Ch’uan system integrates Baguazhang and Xingyiquan, the other two of three “internal martial arts” along with Tai Chi Ch’uan. “Internal” refers to the three martial arts that originated inside China, unlike other styles of kung fu, which originated in India.