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.
