Tom S

Taiji (tai chi) as a practice, meaning "grand ultimate" or "grand extreme", first appeared in Yi Jing (Scripture of Changes); quan, meaning "fist", is a word used as a suffix in the Chinese language to denote a certain martial art system. Traditional Chen Taijiquan is widely acknowledged as the oldest ancestor of all other Taijiquan styles. It was created by Chen Wangting, 9th generation ancestor of the Chen Family. He created taiji as a family art with the intention of [...]

One of the best web pages I have seen that discusses the complex "History of Tai Chi Chuan" is that provided by Tai Chi Wizard which you can read in full here. Of course much of the early origins is shrouded in mystery and much of the story is guess work. I am sure there are scholars who would argue with the details fo the timeline in Tai Chi Wizards historical review. However for the purposes of most students having [...]

Tai chi has many myths about its origins. One of those myths says that one day the Taoist monk Chang San-feng was disturbed by the sounds of a snake and a crane fighting in his courtyard. Each time the crane's rapierlike beak stabbed, the flexible snake twisted out of reach. And the crane's wings, like shields, protected its long neck from the snake's striking head. According to the myth, from observing this battle, Chang San-feng developed the art of tai [...]