Step Back and Ride the Tiger
Gene Ching - Head Shaolin & Tai Chi Chuan Instructor

Have you ever wondered if your style was what it claimed to be? What if your style was supposed to be unique, yet looked uncomfortably similar to the popular Yang Style of Tai Chi? Would you question your master? What if your master had a excellent reputation from Hong Kong and could trace your lineage directly to the founder of the style?

I was confident with my lineage, however the Sun Style Tai Chi that I was taught had the same pattern as Yang. Furthermore, it included an esoteric sword set that mixed both internal and external movements known as "Tai Yu Ghim" (great grand ultimate sword).From what little I knew about Sun Style, it is completely unique from the other styles of Tai Chi, and does not have any weapon forms. While Sun style is one of the four dominant styles of Tai Chi In China, it is virtually unknown in the United States, so information about Sun Style is scarce.

My teacher is master Kwong Wing Lam, who learned Sun Tai Chi (and Shaolin Kung Fu) in Hong Kong from a direct disciple of the renown master Ku Yu Cheung, master Yen Shang Wo. Grandmaster Ku is a dominant figure in the world of external Kung Fu, as reference in mummeries historical books (see The Spring and Autumn of Chinese Martial arts-5000 Years (B216) p. 85 under Gu Ruzhang). A champion of the heralded 1928 National Martial Arts Examination in Nanjing and one of the fraternity of five masters who traveled south to Canton promoting northern style Kung Fu known as the "Five southbound tigers", Ku was a contemporary of Sun Lu Tang, The founder of Sun style. It was common knowledge that Ku learned this new school directly from grandmaster Sun himself. According to my lineage, I am only four generation from the founder of Sun style. How much variation could arise from three masters would passed this tradition down from the fonder to me?

A little research into each of my predecessors solved this riddle. The key was Tai Yu Ghim, a rare Wudang sword form, included in my curriculum. This form was the famous technique of renown General Li Jinglin (Ibid, p.87), the Deputy director of the Nanjing Martial Arts institute and another Tai Chi instructor of Ku Yu Cheung. Ku included Yang and Tai Yu Ghim into his Tai Chi curriculum, dubbing it "Sun Style, Ku school" He used the Yang form as preparation for the Sun form and added the sword form because of its notoriety. This distinction of "Ku school" becomes very significant because it separates it from the lone Sun form, however it is not as famous as Sun style so it is frequently omitted.

Ironically, since Ku taught in Canton, many of his students would immigrate to other countries. This one reason why Sun style is so muddled in the West despite its increasing popularity in China. Many students of my generation discover the same ambiguities of this initial Yang form and are confused by it. This confusion has inhibited the spread of Sun style. Furthermore, it is one of the youngest styles; It has not had the time to spread. Sun Lu Tang (1861-1933) created his style in the autumn years of his life. Some of his direct students are still alive. However, the appeal of Sun style is definitely on the rise.

What makes Sun Style unique is that it is unites the trinity of internal styles, Xingyiquan, Baguazhang, and Tai Chi Chuan. Sun began his study of internal style with Xingyiquan under master Li Kui Yuan, eventually absorbing all that Li had to offer. Li sent Sun to his own teacher, the renown master Guo Yun Shen. Through Guo Yen Shen, Sun was introduced his Baguazhang teacher, master Cheng Ting Hua, a direct student that system's founder, Dong Hai Chuan. Sun also trained in Tai Chi Chuan under the founder of Hao style, Hao Weizhen.

Sun Lu Tang fused all of these teaching into his new style of Tai Chi. He incorporated the stance work from Xingyiquan, where the stances are seldom wider than shoulder with. Here, both legs are crouched and ready to spring forward, propelling the waist to advance or retreat. The foot work was extracted from Baguazhang. Baguzhang uses circular patterns to pivot around to the opponent's flanks, relying on careful placement of body weight on their heel or the toe, and quick and distinct sifts in balance. The overall softness and flow of the movements come from Tai Chi. This cultivates Qi flow by emphasizing the natural movements of the body. Qi flow was Sun Lu Tang's primary concern. He created is Tai Chi in order to teach his method of channeling internal energy.

This gives Sun style Tai Chi a distinctive character. Its footwork is compact, unlike the wide stances of the other styles of Tai Chi. The hand movements re more linear than the other styles, with minimal extension. It's movements are shorter and tighter. One might even say that Sun is to Yang as Wing Chun is to Shaolin. The most distinctive movement is the "open hands" and "close hands" gesture that precedes the Sun style "single whip". This movement compels the practitioner to center their balance, ground themselves and harmonize their breathing. Sometimes Sun style is known as "open and closed" Tai Chi.

Sun Lu Tang is survived by his daughter, Sun Jian Yun. Now in her eighties, Sun Jian Yun is the current Grandmaster of Sun style and one of the few women who stands among the great Tai Chi Chuan master of China. When the Chinese Wushu Association under the auspices of the People's Republic of China standardized four of the Tai Chi Chuan styles (Yang, Chen, Wu, and Sun) for competition, she openly protested the new modifications. As part of this standardization, a flying kick was added to the form, presumably to add to the degree of difficulty and increase its audience appeal. Sun Jian Yun vehemently opposed this movement stating that Sun style always keeps one food on the ground. Although this standardization represents both "official" recognition and publicity, Sun Jian Yun's name is noticeably absent from verifying committee for competition Sun style.

It is Sun Jian Yun's mission to preserve the authentic legacy of her father. As part of her campaign, she authorized the wing Lam Kung Fu School as the American Branch of the Sun Style Research Institute, joining a family of branches she had formed in China, Hong Kong and Japan. Her disciple, master Paul Tam, established contact between master Lam in America and grandmaster Sun in China. Master Tam's teacher was Lung Chi Cheung, a classmate of Yen Shang Wo and another student of Ku Yu Cheung. Tam learned Ku's school of Sun Tai Chi and even wrote a book on the subject (see Tai Chi Chuan: Theory and Practice (B501) on page 18), but doubted that the Yang from was actually Sun Style. To solve this mystery, he went directly to the source, and found Sun Jian Yum. She taught him the authentic form and he became one of her disciples in 1994, Tam brought calligraphy and Tai Chi banner from Sun Jian Yun to acknowledge the appointment of the Wing Lam Kung Fu School as the American branch.

Lately there has been a lot of interest in the writings of Sun Lu Tang. He contributed five treatises on martial arts theory, each of which remains well respected for the penetrating insights. Finally, these writings are becoming available in English (see Xing Yi Wuan Xue B513 on page 18). While these are available contributions to the field, it is important to remember Sun's legacy of motion as well as his theory. Ultimately, the Sun style Ta Chi form is Sun Lu Tang's masterpiece. As Tai Chi enjoys increased popularity in the West, and more people learn the benefits of Bagua and Xingyi, the Sun shall also rise.