What is Tai Chi Ch'uan?

The literal translation for the term Tai Chi Ch'uan is "supreme ultimate boxing".  It is a Taoist system of health maintenance and self defense that can be accurately traced to the Chen village in the Ho-nan province of China.  Written records of this kind of boxing date back to the 17th century A.D. in the Chen village, but there is speculation that the roots grow much deeper. 

There are myths and legends of  a Taoist monk, Chang San Feng (1279-1368), who reputedly formed this system of boxing after seeing a snake and a crane in mortal combat.  Some part of the legend depicts Chang as a master of  Shaolin boxing, others deny any link to the Shaolin systems.  If there was any link to the Shaolin temple, there is little now.  The softness and relaxation of Tai Chi Chuan is the antithesis of hard Shaolin schools.

What Style do we teach?

We teach the Yang style symmetrical system, created by Tchoung Ta-Tchen, who lives and teaches in Vancouver B.C.  This system of Tai Chi Ch'uan is descended from the Yang Shr-Hou lineage.  Grandmaster Tchoung studied Tai Chi Ch'uan from Shi Tiao-Mei, Chi Kung from the abbot Hui Kung of the O'Mei Shan monetary, and Nature School boxing from Hsiung Chien-Yuan. 

The Corona class is an offshoot of Tchoung's Northwest Tai Chi Chuan Association,  headed in the southern California area by Harvey Kurland.  The Corona class instructor is Scott Mullen, who has studied with Sifu Kurland since 1989.  Scott has been certified as an instructor by the NWTCCA and has over twenty years of experience in both internal and external martial arts systems.