Origins and Lineage
Legend has it the Taoist saint, Chang San-feng (1247-1447) left the Shaolin monastary to live out his final hermitage in the mountains near Wu-dang. While in a state of deep meditation he witnessed an ongoing fight between between a snake and a crane. In this combat, he observed how the softness and flexibility of the snake neutralized the oncoming onslaught of the crane with its sharp bill. Yet, the swiftness of the snake could not overcome the subtle movements of the crane. From this contest the principles of yin and yang (taiji), where the soft overcomes the hard, became evident to Chang and he originated the art of Taijiquan.
After witnessing this battle he was inspired to modify his hard Shaolin form into a soft style; learning to move with, rather than opposing, force. Chang San-feng is regarded as the first patriarch of Internal Kung Fu which includes the styles of Taijiquan, Baguaquan, and Hsing-yiquan.
The teachings of Chang San-feng were passed on eventually to Wang Chung-yueh. He had two disciples of major importance. One went south and the other, Chiang-fa, lived in the north and eventually became the teacher of Chen Wang-ting.
Chen's family developed their Taijiquan form in the 15th century and guarded it closely as a family secret. In the 19th century, Yang Lu-chan passed himself off as a servant for the Chen family and secretly observed their practice of Taijiquan. When he was finally discovered he was allowed to continue training.
Once his training was complete, Yang returned home. He settled in Beijing to teach his new art, and was frequently challenged by other Kung Fu masters. He easily defeated them all and was nicknamed Yang, the Ever Victorious. Yang broke the tradition of teaching only family members, making the Yang Style form the most practiced Taijiquan style in the world.
The form taught at Dragon Studios is the Yang Style 108-movement form.