The Tai Chi Chuan form has been handed down for
generations through different families, since its
creation by the legendary Taoist master Chang San-Feng
during the Sung Dynasty (960-1279
C.E.). There are many different accounts of the origin of the
form, or kung chia. The most common
of which is that he once spied a snake and crane fighting and
copied the soft,
coiling motion of their
movements. The form he developed consisted of only thirteen postures,
corresponding with the eight
trigrams of the
I Ching
(Book of Changes) and the five elements. The lineage after Master
Chang is not precisely clear, but it does lead to a
man named Chiang Fah. Chiang taught his form to
a man named Chen Wang-Ting, who is recorded as practicing Tai
Chi prior to 1644. His
descendants still practice the form their family developed, which is
characterized by its emphasis on
silk-reeling techniques (Chan-Ssu Chin), low stances, and
periodically fast movements. The Chen
family's Tai Chi remained a secret for five generations, not
to be taught to anyone outside of the
family.
Later on,
during the 1800's, Chen Chang-Hsin (1771-1853) broke this tradition and
taught his family's style and
secrets to an earnest student named Yang Lu-Chan (1799-1872). The Yang
style, as we know it today, was standardized by Yang
Lu-Chan's grandson, Yang Cheng-Fu
(1883-1936). It consists, at its longest account, of 128
postures and is characterized by large
leaning movements, "peng" or "ward-off" energy, and the slow,
even pace most people associate
with Tai Chi.
The Yang family masters had a famous lineage of students
who created the other major
styles of Tai Chi Chuan, which include the styles of Wu, Hao, and Sun.
Although each style has its own
particular "flavor" and they appear different in their external performance,
they all keep to the principles
laid out centuries ago by Chang San-Feng.
Yang Cheng-Fu had one student by the name of Cheng Man-Ch'ing
(1901-1975) who became the
greatest master of his time. With his master's permission, he shortened the
form to 37 postures and made it
the most popular of all the forms practiced today. Cheng came to the United
States to 
teach
and took on students of all
backgrounds, which is one of the reasons his particular form is so popular
today. Most people know it as
the Yang Style Short form, but it has even earned its own name in some
circles as Cheng's Tai Chi Chuan. His form is
characterized by its upright spine, "lu" or "roll-back"
energy, and the its powerful softness. It is Pofessor
Cheng's style of form and push hands which are
taught and practiced by the Patience T'ai-Chi Association.
Design
The kung chia has a specific construction. It is designed with a
few purposes in mind. First and
foremost, Tai Chi is a martial art and therefore the postures are linked in
an order that simulates combat.
In Professor Cheng's
New
Method of Self-Study for T'ai-Chi Ch'uan he describes each
movement of the form as a response to an imaginary
opponent. He also adds, that true mastery
cannot be accomplished without imagining such an opponent.
The structure of each posture is
such that it stimulates the flow of ch'i throughout the body, and sometimes
to specific limbs. Additionally,
the postures balance yin and yang in the body. Lastly, and the most
important thing to remember, is
that the form is designed to be performed slowly and rhythmically, with the
knees bent. This puts minimum
strain on the joints, increases the efficiency of each movement, and
increases the overall strength of the entire body.
