Zhang Sanfeng Zhang Sanfeng was a legendary Chinese Taoist who invented Tai Chi Chuan and was reported to have achieved immortality. According to various accounts, he was born in Shaowu, Nanping, Fujian during the Southern Song dynasty and lived for over 307 years until the mid-Ming dynasty. Yang Luchan Yang Lu Chan or Yang Luchan, also known…

Tai Chi Chuan is the art of letting hardness dwell within softness and hiding a needle within cotton Yang Cheng Fu The13 basic principles of Tai Chi practice:1. Sinking the shoulders and dropping of elbows. 2. Relaxing of chest and rounding the back.3. Sinking chi down to dan tien.4. Lightly pointing up the head.5. Relaxation of…

“1.) Head upright to let the shen [spirit of vitality] rise to the top of the head. Don’t use li [external strength], or the neck will be stiff and the ch’i[vital life energy] and blood cannot flow through. It is necessary to have a natural and lively feeling. If the spirit cannot reach the headtop, it cannot raise. 2.) Sink…

Taijiquan is no different from any other exercise or martial art if it is practiced without understanding the principles and without putting the principles into the movements. Regardless of the various different Taiji styles or Taiji forms, they are all based on the same set of Taiji classical texts. They are: The Chang Sang Feng…

In the year 1932, Master Yang Cheng Fu and his disciple, Fu Zhong Wen, traveled south to the city of Guang Zhou in Guang Dong Province to teach the art of Taijiquan. One day, a martial arts teacher by the name of Liu and his disciples went to the residence of Master Yang. Upon observing…