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The International Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the teaching, promotion and propagation of the Traditional Yang-style tai chi. It was founded on October 29, 1998 by Grandmaster Yang Zhenduo and his grandson Master Yang Jun. The association is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States.
In 1995, during an exhibition of Yang-style tai chi promoted by the Shanxi Tai Chi Chuan Association in Taiyuan, China, a meeting was held with the participation of Masters Yang Zhenduo and Yang Jun and many other instructors of tai chi from all over the world, whom they had met during their many travels. During the meeting it was decided to create the Yang Chengfu Tai Chi Chuan Centers and subsequently, three offices were opened in the United States in Texas, Michigan and New York, with directors Horacio Lopez, Han Hoong Wang and Bill Walsh, respectively. Yang Zhenduo opened these centers in honor of his father, Yang Chengfu, who was responsible for the widespread popularity of Yang-style tai chi. In 1996 fourth center was added in New Jersey, United States, with director Andy Lee.
For years the Masters Yang Zhenduo and Yang Jun had visited the Yang Chengfu Tai Chi Chuan Centers, so the time was ripe for the creation of an International Organization which combined the centers and schools in each country into a cohesive structure. To attract more students, however, it was decided that an Association provided the best structure. So, on October 29, 1998 the International Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan Association was founded in Seattle, Washington, United States. Then in August of the following year, Yang Jun, moved to Seattle with his wife Fang Hong and in September opened the Seattle center. Its website first opened on April 24, 1999.
Currently, the association has 28 centers in 12 countries with more than 2000 members worldwide. [1]
Several martial arts magazines have published articles on the International Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan Association. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
The purpose of the association is the promotion of Yang-style tai chi throughout the world. The following are the charters of the association:
Tai chi is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for self-defense and health. Known for its slow, intentional movements, tai chi has practitioners worldwide and is particularly popular as a form of gentle exercise and moving meditation, with benefits to mental and physical health.
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Yang Chengfu (1883–1936) was one of the best known teachers of Yang-style tai chi. He helped develop the art into its modern form. His students would go on to found successful martial arts schools of their own and helped spread Yang-style tai chi around the world.
Yang-style tai chi is one of the five primary families of tai chi. Including its variations, it is the most popular and widely practised style of tai chi in the world today. It is second in terms of seniority, after Chen-style tai chi.
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Yang Jianhou (1839–1917), or Yang Chien-hou, was the younger son of the founder of Yang-style tai chi, Yang Luchan, and a well known teacher of the soft style martial art of tai chi. Yang's older brother, Yang Banhou, was the senior of Jianhou's generation, and also an important instructor of tai chi. Yang Jianhou's sons Yang Chengfu and Yang Shaohou were also famous teachers of tai chi.
Tchoung Ta-tchen or Zhong Dazhen was a martial arts teacher who developed his own version of Yang-style tai chi. He died on February 22, 2000.
Yang Shaohou was a Chinese martial arts master who, along with Yang Chengfu, represents the third generation of Yang-style tai chi. Grandmaster of his generation and known for his compact "small frame" techniques, he was a ferocious fighter and a demanding teacher.
Yang Shouzhong, born Yang Zhenming, (1910–1985) was the eldest son of Yang Chengfu. He is also known by the Cantonese pronunciation of his name, Yeung Sau Chung, or Yang Sau Chung.
Scott M. Rodell is a martial artist, author, and teacher of Yang-style taijiquan. He is the founding director of Great River Taoist Center, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C.
Jiang Yukun was a tai chi master. He was a student of Yang Chengfu, and specialized in Yang-style tai chi.
The tai chi classics are a collection of over 100 articles on the Chinese martial art of tai chi written by the art's master practitioners over the centuries. They cover everything from the underlying Taiji philosophical principles, to methods of practice and application. Previously passed down in secret from generation to generation in whole or in parts through various lineages, they achieved classical status as they became public starting in the mid-1930s. Together they now serve as the single authoritative guide for the development and usage of tai chi skills. Written mostly in classical Chinese, they are used today mostly by the serious martial art practitioners of modern 6 Lineages that all trace their lineages to the ancient style taught by the Chen family and Yang family starting in the mid-19th century.
Guang Ping Yang tai chi is a tai chi style descended from Yang-style tai chi. It claims to combine all the positive aspects of Yang-style with qualities that added strength and versatility. It's stances are lower and wider than Yang-style, but not as pronounced as Chen-style. Guang Ping is also distinguished by as little as a 51%/49% weight difference between leading and trailing foot in certain moves. A stronger, more balanced foundation gives the student more power and greater flexibility. Guang Ping Yang tai chi also combines Xingyiquan and Baguazhang energies, which can be seen in Guang Ping's spiral force energy and projecting force energy theories. It has become known as the "lost" Yang-style tai chi form.
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Yang Zhenduo, a native of Yongnian, Hebei, was born in Beijing, China, into the famous Yang family of martial artists. A son of Yang Chengfu and a great-grandson of Yang Luchan, Yang Zhenduo was a fourth-generation descendant of the Yang Family of tai chi, and was the fourth lineage-holder of the style.
Yang Jun is a Wushu master who was born in Taiyuan, Shanxi, China in 1968 into the famous Yang family of martial artists. A son of Yang Daofang and a grandson of Yang Zhenduo, he is a direct descendant of Yang Chengfu and of Yang Luchan, the creator of Yang-style tai chi. Yang Jun is a sixth-generation descendant of the Yang Family of tai chi, and is the fifth lineage-holder of the style.
Doc-Fai Wong is a master of tai chi and the Hung Sing branch of Choy Li Fut kung fu. He was born in 1948 in the Guangdong province of China, specifically, the Wangshan village in the Doumen District of Zhuhai. In April 1960, he and his mother immigrated to San Francisco, California to be reunited with his father. He arrived as a third-generation citizen of the United States of America since both his grandfather and father were already citizens. He sought out his first kung fu teacher - Lau Bun (劉彬), the founder of the first Hung Sing Kwoon of Choy Li Fut in America, after encountering taunting and bullying due to language and ethnic difficulties after his arrival. When Lau Bun died in 1967, he started teaching and opened his first school when he was 19 years old.
Dong Yingjie was a leading master of taijiquan, and a top disciple of Yang Chengfu. Born in Ren County, Hebei, China, his given name was Wenke (文科). Famous in his time for defeating a foreign boxer in a public challenge match, he dedicated his life to the martial arts, training intensively in multiple styles, serving as chief assistant instructor for Yang Chengfu, and going on to found his own thriving taijiquan legacy.
Yang Luchan, also known as Yang Fukui (1799–1872), was an influential Chinese practitioner and teacher of the internal style tai chi. He is known as the founder of Yang-style tai chi, the most popular and widely practised tai chi style in the world today.
Xie Bingcan or Xie Bingshan was a notable expert and teacher of Qigong, Tuina, and tai chi.