Tai Chi Movements - Cheng Man-Ch'ing (Zheng Manqing) Tai Chi 37 Form

By , on August 24th, 2012

Zheng Manqing (Cheng Man-Ch’ing or 郑曼青) was a renowned & controversial taijiquan master. His multifaceted skills were widely acclaimed both in China and the West. Few disputed his abilities & character; Cheng Man Ching was master of the “Five Excellences”: Chinese medicine, tai chi chuan, calligraphy, painting, and poetry (not to mention flower arranging and a host of other impressive feats).

Cheng Man Ch'ing SmileCheng Manqing - Deep Thinking

However, as stated, Cheng’s legacy is also quite controversial. From being one of the primary exponents of openly teaching taijiquan to Westerners (a feat which gained him plenty of ill will in certain traditionalist Chinese tai chi circles), to drastically modifying the tai chi movements …

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August 24th, 2012 | Category: Cheng Man Ching (Zheng Manqing), Cheng Man Ching (Zheng Manqing) Style Tai Chi, Tai Chi Movements (Taiji Movements), Tai Chi Principles, Tai Chi Styles, Taijiquan Masters of the Past | Leave a comment

Tensegrity and Taijiquan (Tai Chi Ch'uan)

By , on May 2nd, 2012

No matter what school, style, or lineage of taijiquan you may encounter, it is likely that over the course of studying this internal martial art … you will at some point be forced to totally reconsider the way you think your body works.

Tensegrity Structure AnimatedTensegrity Structure :: Human Body

The above spinning image (left) is an example of a structure being held together by the force of tensegrity or tensional integrity. In other words, the rigid green “beams” are never touching, but are suspended in their shape by the interconnected flexible red “strings.” The structure in the black and white image (right) is a symbolically simplified model of our skeleton & muscles to display that the …

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May 2nd, 2012 | Category: Chen Zhonghua, Sam Tam, Tai Chi Applications (Taiji Yongfa), Tai Chi Fa Chin (Taiji Fajin), Tai Chi Lectures, Tai Chi Movements (Taiji Movements), Tai Chi Principles, Taijiquan Masters Alive Today, Tensegrity in Taijiquan | 16 comments

Tai Chi Movements: Fu Zhongwen's Traditional Yang Style Taijiquan

By , on December 5th, 2011

Fu Zhongwen (1903-1994) is one of the most renowned, accomplished, and important figures for today’s Yang style taijiquan (and for the world tai chi community in general).

Fu ZhongwenFu Zhongwen Yang Style Taijiquan

Zhongwen was born in the village of Guanfu in Yong Nian County, Hebei Province … the birthplace of Yang Lu Chan & the cradle of Yang style taijiquan. Grandmaster Fu was apprenticed to Yang Lu Chan’s most famous grandson, Yang Chengfu, at the tender age of 9 (in 1913). It was with Great Grandmaster Yang Chengfu that Zhongwen travelled around china, to Hong Kong, Tianjing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Beijing, and more. During these travels, Yang Chengfu would teach & Fu Zhongwen would demonstrate. Fu Zhongwen would also …

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December 5th, 2011 | Category: Fu Zhongwen, Tai Chi Movements (Taiji Movements), Tai Chi Styles, Taijiquan Masters of the Past, Yang Style Tai Chi | One comment

Tai Chi Movements - Wu Style Long Form Tai Chi Video

By , on February 12th, 2010

This is the Wu Style tai chi form as practiced and taught by master Wu Yinghua (as seen in the 1st-3rd videos). This is the Wu style that was also taught by Ma Yueh Liang, who we will continue to add more and more videos from. Masters Wu Yinghua and Ma Yueh Liang were two of the taiji legends of modern Chinese martial arts. Not only did they author several classic and many now out of print texts such as: Wu Style Taichichuan : Forms, Concepts and Application of the Original Style and Wu Style Taichichuan They also brought this Wu Style to a huge number of people all over the world. I am learning this form right now in Southern California. …

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February 12th, 2010 | Category: Tai Chi Movements (Taiji Movements), Tai Chi Styles, Taijiquan Masters of the Past, Wu Style Tai Chi, Wu Yinghua | 4 comments

Tai Chi Movements - Wudang Taiji 13

By , on February 11th, 2010

This is a very interesting form indeed. Supposedly created by the somewhat mythological figure, Zhang Sanfeng (Chang San Feng), the Wudang Taiji 13 Posture Form is the form practiced at the Wudang mountain (and several other Taoist monasteries). The first two videos are of master Yuan Xiu Gang, who you can schedule a trip to study with at his website:

Wu Dang Gong Fu. He has many foreign students, and seems very friendly.

The third video is master Zhong Yun Long.

The final video is master Chen Shixing.

You can actually study this Wudang taiji in Los Angeles if you are so inclined. If anyone does, we’d love to hear about your experiences.

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February 11th, 2010 | Category: Tai Chi Movements (Taiji Movements), Tai Chi Styles, Wudang (Wu Tang) Style Tai Chi | 2 comments