History
The founder of Taijiquan
The semi-legendary founder of Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) was Zhang San Feng (Chang San Feng) who was born at midnight 9th April 1247. His journey began at the Shaolin temple where he stayed for ten years and mastered the art of Shaolin Gongfu (Kung Fu). Next he decided to wander, still looking for his wise man, eventually settling in the San Feng (three peaks) mountains in the Wudang mountain range. There he added the philosophy of the Yi Jing (I Ching) and Daoist (Taoist) thinking and health exercises to his Shaolin Gongfu, thus creating the concept of internal martial arts, where mind and intention are more important than muscular strength. Zhang San Feng wished to pass on the gifts of health and longevity to everyone.
Styles of Tai Chi Chuan
There are 5 traditional family styles:
Chen, Yang, Wu, Hao, Sun - and many variations on these. All styles follow the same principles and are characterised by slow, graceful, circular movements linked together in a beautiful flowing sequence.
The style I teach is called Wudang Tai Chi Chuan and from the old Wu Style from Wu Jianquan (1870-1942) and his father Wu Quanyou (1834-1902).
Further information and history of Tai Chi Chuan is available from the main website of the Wudang Style.
Chang San Feng - Founder of Taijiquan