Origins

In the 17th century, according to legend, the Taoist monk Zhang Sanfeng created Tai Chi after witnessing a fight between a crane and a snake. He observed how the animals used softness to counter strength, inspiring the principles of yielding and flowing with one’s opponent’s energy.

AI offers a drier story: “However, modern historians often credit Chen Wangting (1580–1660) from the Chen family village in Henan province as the true originator of what we recognize as Tai Chi Chuan today. Chen Wangting was a retired military officer who developed a style incorporating both martial techniques and internal exercises, drawing from Taoist philosophy, breathing techniques, and traditional Chinese medicine.”

In any case, the tai chi chuan form is a precisely choreographed exercise designed to cultivate leg strength, balance, coordination, flexibility, and general health. The form simulates a slow motion martial encounter with imagined assailants. Each movement has a martial purpose informing its execution, and motivating our internal rising and falling intensity. Combined, the movements constitute a moving meditation focused on what Great Grandmaster William CC Chen called “Body Mechanics”.

Great Grandmaster William CC Chen

Master Chen’s latest thinking has produced a new book called “Brain Aerobics”. Here is the cover, copyright 2023 William CC Chen.

Master Chen emphasizes relaxation and enjoyment above all, adopting a taller stance that is easier to maintain, and a more natural posture. Perform happily, he says. We keep the precision of Cheng’s “37 Postures” but reduce the physical stress, increasing our meditative awareness.

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Contact us

Ken, the founder of Empty Step Tai Chi Chuan, can be reached at ken@emptystep.net.