Styles | T'ai Chi for Life

T’ai Chi Ch’uan Styles Practiced at AYC

T’ai Chi Ch’uan has been known in China for centuries to be effective for both physical and spiritual health, and is the most famous Chinese martial art of the internal style. Internal styles place emphasis on breathing (Qigong) and the mental/spiritual component of their training. The execution of the martial art movements are generally softer, in contrast to external styles that tend to be hard or harsh (for example, Japanese Karate or Korean Tae Kwon Do).

We teach both Sun and Yang styles at AYC. Yang style is probably the most popular style worldwide, and is usually found to be graceful and quite beautiful. However, we've found Sun to be well received by seniors and others, because it is a "smaller" style, and less ornate -- perfect for beginners and those who want to have a more "upright" form.

Sun Style

Sun Lu-t’ang, a master of the martial arts of bagua and hsingi, was 50 when he began learning a derivative of the Li (Hou) style. Sun developed his own version, characterized by small circular movements and high stances. These train practitioners to apply T’ai Chi in their normal walking position, rather than lowering the stance, as in a self-defense situation. Because one performs the postures in a normal walking position, the difficulty of getting into a lower stance is eliminated.

For this reason, many consider this the gentlest style, which makes it immediately accessible to the beginners, the elderly and those who have difficulty moving. At AYC, we teach a shortened 12-move version of Sun Style, developed by Dr. Paul Lam as “T’ai Chi for Arthritis”, as well as the Sun 73, also known as the Sun Long Form.

孫祿堂
Sun Lu-t'ang

郑曼青
Cheng Man-Ch'ing

Yang Style

Yang style is considered by most to be the world’s most popular T’ai Chi style. It is not named form an individual, but is a family name (not to be confused with the Chinese concept of polarities, yin-yang), named after the family that formalized this style. There is more than one version of this form: the Long Form (also called the Big Form) has more than 100 postures and takes significantly longer to perform than many styles (usually about thirty minutes, at normal speed). Beginners usually opt for a shorter form, such as the shortened form developed by Cheng Man-Ch’ing, or the Yang 24, developed by the Chinese government. Cheng Man-Ch’ing, who was instrumental in bringing T’ai Chi to the West, condensed and softened the Yang Long Form. It is especially suited to Western enthusiasts as it strongly emphasizes softness and relaxation – making it an especially graceful style, though no less effective as a martial art. All three forms are taught at AYC.

Yang 24

Yang 108

Yang Photos

Ch'i Kung (Qigong) Styles Practiced at AYC

In 2001, the State Sport General Administration of China founded the Chinese Health Chi Kung Association to popularize, spread, and research ch'i kung in cooperation with Peking Sport University. In 2003, the Chinese government recognized ch'i kung as one of the four main exercises to promote health, as well as promote Chinese national culture.

We teach the Eight Pieces of Brocade as well as Flying Phoenix Ch'i Kung at AYC. However, we follow a more traditional style, rather than the standardized, government-sanitized form that has been sponsored by the Chinese Health Chi Kung Association and the Chinese government. The differences are primarily stylistic, and the descriptions and diagrams depicted here reflect that more-traditional approach.