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Sifu Tchoung Ta-tchen - Tai Chi Chuan's Interests
General
Promoting the authentic Old Form of Yang Style T'ai-Chi Ch'uan.
Traditional Arts.
chi kung - qigong
Meditation
Calligraphy
The Tchoung-Yang T'ai-chi ch'uan (Taijiquan) System includes:
O'mei Ch'i kung,
Long form (220),
Short form (120),
Partner San Shou form,
Fast Tai chi chuan form,
Pushing hands,
Da lu,
Standing meditation,
Sword,
Broadsword,
Walking stick,
Spear/staff,
Double sword
Bagua zhang
Hsin-I chuan
Chin-na
Chi Ch'uan and O'mei Ch'i Kung
"Tai Chi Chuan is an exercise that combines the cosmos and nature as one body.
It has ying and yang, and in it's resilience there is strength.
In it's movements it is completely in rhythm with the natural course of the universe." - Tchoung Ta-tchen
Tchoung Ta-tchen, (1911-2000)
Grandmaster of the Old form of Yang Style T'ai-chi ch'uan - Taiji quan and O'mei ch'i kung - Emei qigong.
Sifu TT Tchoung is one of the last generation of authentic t'ai-chi ch'uan grandmasters. His peers, practice partners and friends were like a who's who of Internal Martial Arts and included: Cheng Man-ch'ing, Wu Tu Nan, Wang Shu-chin, Kuo Lien Ying, Liang Tsung Tsai, and Yuan Tao.
But, besides being a t'ai-chi ch'uan teacher he was first a Warrior. He fought the Japanese during WW II in jungle warfare. While he taught t'ai-chi to help benefit the health of the population but never forgot his roots. He believed in fighting evil. He was not a pacifist. He was not a "New Ager" or Wushu Dancer. He taught the older method of Yang Style t'ai-chi ch'uan as a Traditional Art form.
He certified a few students to carry on his art, Currently there are Two teaching in the United States, Masters Andrew Dale and Harvey Kurland. There are several in Taiwain and Canada as well, see below.
Movies
Drunken Tai Chi Master
Symmetrical Yang Style T'ai-chi ch'uan
Books
Annotated Theoretical And Practical Tai Chi Chuan by Tchoung Ta-tchen,
Asian Mind-Body Techniques Revealed by Harvey Kurland
ISBN 978-1-4303-1221-5
Occupational Forces Tokyo, US Allied Occupational Forces Represented Taiwan as part of the Allied Forces
Post World War II
T'ai Chi Ch'uan Health and Defense Institute of Taipei Taipei, TW Head Master Taught Old form of Yang Style tai chi chuan, San Shou and O'mei Chi Kung
Chinese Tai Chi Chuan Association Satellite Schools Johanesburg, South Africa ZA Master Instructor Taught for Three Clubs, one underground for Africans, other for Chinese and Others
until 1970
Sifu Tchoung Ta-tchen - Tai Chi Chuan is in your extended network
Author of the book: Annotated Theoretical and Practical Tai Chi Chuan, 1995.
His history is listed in the book: Asian Mind-Body Techniques Revealed, by Kurland
more at www.wuji.com The Offical NWTCCA Site in Seattle WA, the most complete taiji school in Seattle. Teaching Chen, Yang and Sun styles of taiji as well as Four styles of Baguazhang and Qigong.
and www.dotaichi.com the Official NWTCCA Site in Southern California
Grandmaster Tchoung taught the Old Form of Yang Style Symmetrical T'ai-chi ch'uan aka taijiquan, pa-kua chang, Hsin-i ch'uan, and ch'i kung (qigong).
His goal in teaching was to raise the level of t'ai-chi ch'uan.
He wanted to have his students have greater skill than himself. Several did. He certified several students in Canada and 5 students in the USA to teach his system. Three are currently teaching: Master Andrew Dale in Seattle WA, Master David Harris in Seattle and Master Harvey Kurland in Riverside CA.
Sifu Tchoung did not believe in the old Chinese custom of "Holding back a little." He said that holding back and poor teaching was the reason that there were so many poorly skilled t'ai-chi teachers in modern times.
His goal was to reverse that trend and raise the level of competence of students.
He enjoyed seeing his students gain excellent t'ai-chi ch'uan skills. And he was not threatened by the high level of some of his students, unfortunately many teachers are threatened by good students.
Grandmaster Tchoung was a great t'ai-chi ch'uan coach, a True Teacher. The best and most Open Tai Chi Teacher in Vancouver and Seattle in the 1970s.
Sifu Tchoung was held in awe and great respect by the Kungfu teachers in Seattle and Vancouver. Most all the Kungfu Masters called him Sifu and many trained with him in ch'i kung and t'ai-chi.
Tchoung Ta-tchen was a Grandmaster of T'ai-chi ch'uan and Ch'i kung. He taught his unique method of Symmetrical Old Form of Yang Style T'ai-chi ch'uan (taijiquan), O'mei Ch'i Kung (Emei qigong), pa-kua chang (baguazhang) and Hsin-I ch'uan (Xin yi quan). He wrote the textbook entitled, Annotated Theoretical and Practical Tai Chi Chuan.
From the early 1970's Grandmaster Tchoung was a popular teacher in the Pacific Northwest, primarily Vancouver, BC and Seattle, WA. He previously taught the Old Form of Yang Style t'ai-chi ch'uan in Taiwan, and Africa. He also taught students in Europe in special workshops.
Tchoung Ta-tchen was a professional soldier and Army Calvary officer. He traveled in China seeking out the top masters to study with in the 1940's.
In 1943, Tchoung Ta-tchen studied ch'i kung (qi gong) and t'ai-chi ch'uan with the Senior Taoist, Abbott Hui Kung, at the O'mei Shan (Emei Shan) Monastery in Sichuan province.
Later, Tchoung studied the Old Form of Yang Family Style primarily based on two lineages.
First Lineage is the method of Tian Shaolin (Tian Zhaolin, T'ien Chao-lin) of Hangzhou. Tian Shaolin was a famous student of Yang Chien-hou, though some say he also studied with Yang Shou-hou and he is listed on the official list of Yang Cheng-fu's group. He is also pictured in Yang Cheng-fu's 1931 book. Tian was called the Number One student. Tian is shown in Yang Cheng-fu's book performing the T'ai-chi Staff exercises with Tung Ying Chieh. The very famous Tung Ying Chieh is called the Number Three student of Yang Cheng-fu in that same book.
In 1959 Tchoung studied with Shi Tiao-mei. Shi was a student of T'ian Shaolin and at the time was the head of the Taiwan Police Academy.
Tchoung became Friends with Cheng Man-ch'ing and worked intensively with Grandmaster Cheng and his group in pushing hands. Cheng was a student of Yang Cheng-fu and was famous on Taiwan for his pushing hands. Grandmaster Liang Tsung Tsai was Cheng's top student in Taiwan at that time. TT Liang and TT Tchoung were friends and workout partners.
Tchoung's Second Old Yang Lineage: TT Tchoung also studied with Hsiung Yang-ho. Hsiung was famous for his San Shou and fighting ablility.
Hsiung Yang-ho was a disciple of The great Yang Shao-hou. Tchoung studied the San Shou Form with Hsiung. Another student of Hsiung was Tchoung's friend and workout partner, TT Liang. Grandmaster Liang taught the san shou form in Boston; Tchoung taught it in Taipei, Gabon, Johanesberg, South Africa, then in Vancouver, BC and Seattle, WA.
A third Older Yang style that influenced Tchoung was the Kuang P'ing Style (Guang Ping). This form was taught by Grandmaster Kuo Lien Ying and the style comes from Yang Pan-hou. Another friend and practice partner of TT Tchoung and TT Liang's was the Legendary Kuo Lien Ying. Kuo taught another Older Version of Yang style which many people now call the Kuang P'ing style. They all worked out together, which helped them all progress. Not unlike how multiple MMA fighters work together in modern times. Kuo was a fighter, not a paper tiger or wushu dancer.
Kuo taught the Kuang P'ing, aka Guang Ping, style that is traced back to Yang Pan-hou. It is thought that this Yang Pan-hou lineage also influenced both Tchoung and Liang as they were all friends and trained with each other. Kuang P'ing style movements can be found in the 9th of the Tchoung System forms.
Other arts influenced TT Tchoung.
Tchoung also studied other arts including "The Natural School of Boxing", which is also called the "Nature Style" of kung-fu, with Grandmaster Hsiung Chien-yuan. This is another Taoist style. Hsiung was a famous teacher of Nature School Boxing and had the nickname the "Great Old Man of Hangchow". Nature Boxing significantly influenced what is called section 9 in the Tchoung forms, the Fast Form, as well as some of the basic training methods he taught.
He was also influenced by Wu Tu Nan who taught his own version of Wu style. He also practiced pa-kua chang, also called bagua zhang, and Ta Ch'eng Ch'uan, aka Dachengquan, with his friend Wang Shu-chin and Hsin-I ch'uan with his friend Yuan Tao.
Tchoung published his masterwork, a 328-page book, The Annotated Theoretical and Practical Tai Chi Chuan, in 1995. The book is written in English and Chinese and shows his "Short" 120 movement form, ch'i kung, san shou, and pushing hands. It also contains some of the t'ai chi ch'uan classics not usually seen in translations. At the end of his book, he pictures his official students. In the USA he had only 5 official students who were certified to teach his system.
Tchoung Ta-tchen developed what is called "The Dual Method of the Old Form of Yang Style". This system is based on what is called the Old Form of Yang style because his lineage is directly traced to Yang Chien-hou and Yang Shao-hou.
See History article.
Tchoung Ta-tchen taught his system on Taiwan, Africa, Canada and the USA.
Group URL: http://groups.myspace.com/nwtaichichuanassociation
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OFFICIAL TEACHERS OF THE TCHOUNG METHOD
In the USA (NWTCCA)
Andrew Dale, Seattle, WA,
Sifu Dale is a bagua master, chi kung master as well as taiji master.
www.wuji.com,
Andrew Dale and his students teach the Tchoung System in Seattle and Ashland. His fully trained student Gene Burnett teaches in Ashland Oregon. Go to www.wuji.com for a complete list of Dale's students who he certified as teachers. Dale also teaches Chen style of Feng Zhiqiang, Chi kung, Yueng Ch'uan and several versions of baguazhang.
David Harris, Seattle, WA,
Sifu Harris is the most advanced internal applications man around.
www.dotaichi.com
David Harris is Certified to teach Tchoung's system. He is one of the most advanced teachers in the Seattle area. Harris teaches Applications and Yueng Ch'uan in Seattle, WA.
Master Harris's student Sifu Steve Smith teaches in Walla Walla, WA.
Harvey Kurland, Riverside, CA Redlands, and Loma Linda, CA,
the "Professor" of T'ai-chi ch'uan and also an Exercise Physiologist teaches for University of California. He has performed research into the effects of tai chi chuan and chi kung.
Sifu Kurland is also a Certified Exercise Expert, Exercise Physiologist, Certified by the American College of Sports Medicine, National Strength and Conditioning Association and International Sports Sciences Association. He teaches in Riverside, CA
www.myspace.com/hkurland,
Harvey Kurland teaches the Tchoung Yang System and Kuo Lien Ying's Kuang P'ing (Guang Ping) Style, baguazhang and ch'i kugn in Riverside, Redlands and Loma Linda CA. Kurland's students teach in Riverside, Corona, Cerritos, San Bernardino, and Perris, CA and Spokane WA. He has taught several t'ai-chi form and pushing hands champions.
Sifu Dale, Harris and Kurland are Certified (see 1986 photo) by Grandmaster Tchoung to Teach his system and are currently teaching the Tchoung system in the USA.
The two other Directly trained and certified teachers are not currently teaching the form in the USA. There are several Canadian instructors of the Tchoung system as well.
CANADA
Canadian Certified Masters:
Sifu Peter Dickson teaches in Kittimat.
Sifu John Camp, White Rock, BC
Sifu Camp is a gold medalist in International Competition.
Sifu Tim Glasheen, is the chief instructor for the Vancouver CTCCA School.
Sifu Laurens Lee is an instructor for the Vancouver CTCCA School and helped translate Sifu Tchoung's book.
Sifu Gordon Wong and Sifu Eddie Fong also teach in the Vancouver area.
See the photos of all official students in Tchoung's book.
or go to
www.dotaichi.com for a complete listing.
Other NWTCCA and the CTCCA Canadian teachers are also listed at the NWTCCA group at:
http://groups.myspace.com/nwtaichichuanassociation
CANADA
In Canada there are several teachers, most of their bios are listed under the NWTCCA group at www.dotaichi.com
Tim Glasheen, Laurens Lee and several others teach in Chinatown of Vancouver BC, Canada at the Studio in Chinatown.
John Camp teaches in White Rock, BC, Canada,
Peter & Jane Dickson teach in Terrace and Kittimat, BC Canada.
Peter Dickson's students Barry and Judy Freeman teach in Creston and Brigeport.
Eric Eastman taught in Nelson, BC, Canada. Now is teaching in Chile.
Most of the Tchoung system instructors are listed at the NWTCCA Group URL:
http://groups.myspace.com/nwtaichichuanassociation
A complete list of his certified instructors is also found at: Instructors at www.dotaichi.com and under the NWTCCA groups. http://groups.myspace.com/nwtaichichuanassociation
When Grandmaster Tchoung was in his late 80's he still practiced his art and worked with his advanced students. He is one of the lesser known greats of the t'ai-chi ch'uan world.
See articles on Tchoung under the blog section. Also additional articles can be found at http://www.dotaichi.com
"It isn't the things that happen to us in our lives that cause us to suffer, it's how we relate to the things that happen to us that causes us to suffer."
--Pema Chödrön
Who I'd like to meet:
Tchoung Stylists from Around the world.
Sincere practicioners of t'ai-chi ch'uan.
Following is a video of Cheng Man-ch'ing. Grandmaster Cheng was a friend and practice partner of Tchoung Ta-tchen. Cheng was well known for his short form and pushing hands.
Sifu Tchoung Ta-tchen - Tai Chi Chuan's Friend Space (Top 40)
Sifu Tchoung Ta-tchen - Tai Chi Chuan has 320 friends.
New book out, Asian Mind Body Techniques Revealed is out now
My book is now on Barnes and Noble's site and Amazon's site, If you want to look at it, check at your local Barnes and Noble to see if it is available in your local store,
Best Price is found at
barnesandnoble. com
and
Amazon.com
Book:
ASIAN MIND-BODY TECHNIQUES REVEALED: Secrets For Reducing Stress And Improving Health
Exercise theory and techniques of t'ai-chi ch'üan, ch'i kung, yoga, aikido, pa-kua chang, hsing-i ch'üan, karate and meditation.
ISBN 978-1-4303-1221-5
By Harvey Kurland, M.S., C.S.C.S.
Many of the exercises described in the t'ai-chi ch'üan chapter can be found on the Symmetrical Yang Style T'ai-Chi Ch'üan Volume One and Volume Two DVDs, by Harvey Kurland and available on Amazon. com
Table of Contents
Introduction……………………………………….……... 9 1. The Benefits of Exercise …….…..11 2. Exercise Basics………………………..………….
29 3. Warm-up and Flexibility………………...……...39 4. Aerobic Training………………………...….…..……45 5. Anaerobic Training and Conditioning….…….….…..55 6. Martial Arts as Exercise…………………………..….
77 7. Aikido & Ki Development Exercises…..….……..…..93 8. Indian Exercise & Yoga…….…..………………..….
100 9. Meditation………………….….………….
…………120 10. Pain Prevention and Stretching…………...…….…..130 11. Stretching Exercises………………..……………….
Workshops at University of California Riverside Student Recreation Center on Linden off Canyon Crest on the University of California Riverside Campus. Park on Canyon Crest on the East side of the street, check street signs.
Bagua Three Levels/ Five Element form
June 29th
Bagua or Pa-kua combined with Hsing-I form section two will be taught by Sifu Harvey Kurland. This form was developed by Sun Lu Tang and combines bagua with hsing-i. There are three levels and five elements in this form, the second set/form will be taught. Students do not need to know the first set to learn the second set.
Students MUST sign up by Friday June 27th at noon, in person or by phone 827-5731 www.recreation.ucr.edu This form is found in the book Asian Mind-Body Techniques Revealed by Kurland see the note at the end of this blog,
ARNIS Workshop with Sensei Toma,
July 27th
Sensei Toma is well known in the martial art world for his knowledge of stick and knife techniques. He is a master of Aikido and is the Go To Guy for learning knife methods for Aikido students and teachers. He brings an air of practicality to the practice. He studied directly with Modern Arnis Grandmaster Reme Presis. www.tomamodernarnis.com
Sensei Toma will teach partner short stick application forms and defenses. We will continue to practice his form in our tai chi chuan weapons classes at UCR.
This is a one afternoon workshop, meeting at 1:00 Sunday July 27th. 827-5731 www.recreation.ucr.edu
Sign up before July 25th at Noon either in person, or by phone. No one will be allowed in the workshop who are not registered.
BOOK
Book ASIAN MIND-BODY TECHNIQUES REVEALED, is now on Amazon and other sellers. If you are interested in getting it you can also go to and get a downloadable version.
