History of Tai Chi Chuan

There are several different stories on how Tai Chi Chuan was created. Chang, San - Feng is one person that is credited for creating Tai Chi. He was a great Tai Chi teacher, but Tai Chi goes back a lot farther. During the Tang Dynasty ( 618 - 905 AD ), a Taoist named Hsa created a style of Tai Chi Chuan called: San Hsi Chi. Hsa's form consist of 37 moves, which is similar to Zhao Family ( Tai Tzu ) soft fist form. Also, Hsa taught the Five Elements and Eight Postures created from his understanding of the I Ching. Another Taoist named Li Tao Tze created his version of Tai Chi called Hsien - Tien Chuan, which means " the stage before the universe is created fist". In the Liang Dynasty, Hen Kon Yu created his version of Tai Chi Chuan calling it Nine Little Heaven. This set had only fourteen moves to it.
Zhao, Kuang Yin, the founder of the Sung Dynasty studied Shaolin, but also he was a student of a Taoist priest called Chen Po. Zhao created his famous 32 move Tai Tzu form during this time. From this 32 move form, the 37 move soft fist form was created. The Internal system was based on the Five Elements and the Eight

Back Next