Martial Arts in the World

Tai Chi Chuan, meaning Grand Ultimate Fist, is one of the highest levels of martial art and health practice. Founded in China over fifteen hundred years ago, Tai Chi Chuan is one of the oldest documented forms of martial art. The history of Tai Chi can be summed up as part legend and part historical record. Legend would have Tai Chi being started by inspired sage or Taoist immortal in the Wu Dang Mountains. History would dictate that Tai Chi was started by men who dedicated themselves to the painstaking process of self-cultivation through martial art.

Tracing back to the Liang Period (AD 502-557) of China's Northern and Southern Dynasty, Tai Chi was first documented by military general by the name of Cheng Ling-Xi. Although not believed to be the founder of Tai Chi, Cheng was the first to write about the success of Tai Chi used in military combat. Later, during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), a martial artist name Xu Xin-Ping recorded his Tai Chi knowledge. Referred to as Tai Chi Chi Kung, Xu Xin-Ping's version also became known as the 37 form. With no beginning or ending and pauses between postures, Xu's version has many movements that resemble the Tai Chi practiced today. It is because of these similarities that we can verify the age of our own Tai Chi.

Tai Chi Today

The Tai Chi of today can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271-1368) to a Taoist scholar by the name of Zhang San-Feng. Zhang, who gave up his job as a government official to become a recluse and study longevity, would later be credited for adding Taoist principles to the art. Already an old man before beginning his Tai Chi training, Zhang added theory and concept that would allow him to defeat younger and stronger opponents. It is his theories that would shape the evolution of Tai Chi for the next several hundred years.

Several generations later, a man named Jiang Fa brought Tai Chi to the village of Chen-Jia Gou. The inhabitants of Chen Village were known for practicing a Shaolin-like martial art that was passed down from the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644) called Pow-Chui, or cannon fist. After observing the stiff and tense movements of Pow-Chui, Jiang Fa could not help but laugh out loud and wonder why the practitioners used such brute force. His laughter was seen as an insult and soon he was challenged by one of villagers by the name of Chen Chang-Xing. Chen was dumbfounded at the ease by which Jiang Fa shrugged off his attack, and realizing Jiang's superiority, begged him to take him as a student. This would begin the legacy of Chen Family Tai Chi.