2. Hu Yuen Chou teaching the 108 Step Tai Chi form at a White Dragon seminar in 1989.
3. Grandmaster Doc-Fai Wong performs a Tai Chi movement called "Snake Creeps Down".
4. Nathan Fisher, Founder of White Dragon Schools with his teacher, Grandmaster Doc-Fai Wong, in Fut San, China.
The History of Tai Chi
Tai Chi Chuan, translating to "Grand Ultimate Fist", is thought by many to be one of the most balanced forms of martial arts ever devised. Founded in China over fifteen hundred years ago, Tai Chi Chuan is one of the oldest documented forms of martial art in the world. Popularized in Beijing during the late 1800s by the Yang family Tai Chi grandmaster Yang Lu Chan, Yang style Tai Chi became the most widely practiced form of Tai Chi in China.
Grandmaster Yang's system became well known for it's slow relaxed training that stressed the cultivation of "chi", or life force. The intention was to maintain and strengthen the circulation of internal energy in order to fortify the immune system and improve longevity. Meditative practices were designed to relieve stress, bring mental calm and impart a sense of well-being. These practices enabled people of all ages and levels of ability to benefit from Tai Chi training.
Yang Cheng Fu, the founder's grandson, is often credited with spreading Tai Chi throughout China in the early 1900s by demonstrating the art's effectiveness in fighting competitions. He was able to show that when the principles of Tai Chi where properly applied the result was not only superior health benefits, but also unmatched self-defense abilities. Master Yang taught that by avoiding the use of force against force one could control larger or stronger opponents with very little effort.
The heart of master Yang's training was to teach his students to fight by feel. By maintaining contact with an attacker, one could sense the opponent's intention directly. This enabled the student to neutralize an opponent's attack before it could be fully launched. In addition, he taught students to use leverage against an opponent's weak points, and to stay relaxed while practicing the system's fighting techniques. This enabled the student to react to opponents with perfect timing and to deliver lightning fast strikes with maximum effect.
White Dragon's Connection to the Yang Family
White Dragon is one of the few schools in the country that teach the authentic Yang family Tai Chi system. One of Yang Cheng Fu's last closed door disciples, the late Great Grandmaster Hu Yuen Chou, was instrumental in passing on the Yang system to the American public through Grandmaster Doc-Fai Wong, who went on to become a second generation grandmaster after his teacher's death in 1997. Master Nathan Fisher, the founder of White Dragon Schools, has been one of Grandmaster Wong's top students since 1980, and continues to advance the teachings of the Yang family on an institutional scale.
White Dragon Martial Arts – Train Hard, Live Better!