Dear Friends:

Since the 80‘s graduates of Beijing Normal University have dedicated their time and effort to find out which exercises are best from each style of Tai Chi and Qi Gong to improve health.

For this reason each year we announced our “Retreat Tai Chi and Qi Qong for Health and Longevity” with Master Peng You Lian; graduate degree from the faculty of physical education and health of Beijing Normal University, where he mentions honors of his teacher and mentor Wang Jianhua (creator of most of the texts of standardized modern Wushu), same university where he got his master’s degree in application of TaiChi and Qi Gong with masters of fame as Zeng Nailiang ex coach of the National Wushu Team China.

Currently Master Peng You Lian  holds 7th grade(Duan) in Wushu by the People’s Republic of China and performs research in Thunderbay Canada for  application of Tai Chi therapeutically in adults and older adults, as well as people of different abilities.

Master Peng You Lian visits the Shaolin Temple in Mexico every year, this time in October 7th  2011 where he teaches the “Tai Chi and Qi Gong for health with acupressure methods” program designed by internationally renowned academics and university graduates of Beijing in which you have the possibility to be  certified as an instructor in Canada and has been adopted by the Canadian National Association of Sport and Health: “Can-Fit-Pro” (www.canfitpro.com)

If you attended last  retreat master Peng You Lian will review  this time those who completed the course of 2010.
We look forward to your presence!

For more information please download the file:

Sign up right now !  using any credit or debit card:

Tai Chi Qi Gong Retreat Mexico 2011

Tai Chi Retreat Sign up Shared Room $350.00 Tai Chi Retreat Individual Room $450.00

Check out  the Video from  last Retreats  to get a better idea of our event:

For more information please contact us to  info@kungfu.com.mx  or by phone to +52 (55) 56 73 56 82

From centuries the Yang Family has been famous for its work in martial arts development, and spreading of  Tai Chi Chuan around the world, also  today we know the Yang style is the best way to improve your health because it can be practiced by anyone,  kids or seniors are all able to do Yang style.

Once a year master Yang Jun  the 6^th generation  of the Yang style  visits Mexico for an intensive Retreat held in  a beautiful monastery in the woods between  Mexico City and Cuernavaca city, offering a beautiful and peaceful place for practicing  Tai Chi  with the best company.

Also Cuernavaca (the city of ever spring) offers  beautiful tourist places to visit, and experience the joy of small old fashion towns like  Tepoztlan and  some others surrounding the monastery.

The retreat will be held on April 1st to 3rd, 2010 in Cuernavaca, Mexico. It will cost $350 US Dollars. It includes lodging (shared room) and the meals for the weekend. You will find more information enclosed and we are at your service. If you have any questions, please call us: [+52] (55) 55 94 65 01 in Mexico City, or email to  daniel@TaiChi.org.mx

We look forward to seeing you there!

For more information, questions and answers take a look to the pdf file:

Read lasts year review of the 2010 seminar in Mexico in here (click here)

Sign up right now online !

Yang Family in Mexico 2011

Admission with Shared Room $350.00 Admission S/R Yang Family Members $315.00 Admission with single room $450.00 Admission S/R Yang Family Members $415.00

Take a look  at the video of last years  2010 seminar :

The retreat is 80% full! Hurry up and register before it’s too late!

Master Yang Jun presents the Yang Style 49 Movement Hand Form and the Yang Style Saber Form.

Of all the Tai Chi weapons we know of today, one of the rarest and most beautiful is the Yang Style Tai Chi Saber.

This weapon is very little known in the West, and it was among the most popular in the years of splendor of the Yang Family in China, because its movements become an extension of the body that help us improve our practice and obtain better results from our Tai Chi. But that is not all. The movements of the Yang Style Saber Form were taken from the Yang Style fencing technique. That means the movements that make up the sequence are also applicable movements that at some point were attacks and defenses in the fencing technique of the most popular Tai Chi family in the world.

This time, we present the 2010 Yang Style Tai Chi Annual Retreat, were Master Yang Jun, a sixth-generation descendant of the Yang Family will teach the 49 Movement Hand Form for the people who want to begin learning Tai Chi and, for the first time in seven years, the use of the Tai Chi Saber.

Learn the movements of one of the most beautiful techniques in the world to improve your health and well-being as we remember the fencing movements that were part of the most famous Tai Chi technique. The cost of the event covers room and board, a wooden saber for you to practice with and an instructional video with both the 49 Movement Hand Form and the Saber Form to help you practice.

Download all the information about the event, Frequently Asked Questions can be found on the PDF file, clicking here.

Register online right now with any credit or debit card.
Click Here

* This is a closed-door, not-for-profit event. None of the participant instructors, including the guest Master obtains any payment for this event, since the costs are only used to cover the event. Any remaining income (if any) will be used to fund the civil association Templo Shaolin de Mexico AC.

Two hundred years ago, there was a great Martial Arts master in China. He was said to be able to defeat dozens of men, one by one, without losing his breath. He became so famous that the Emperor chose him to train his elite guards. People knew him as Yang Wu Di (Yang The Invincible), but his real name was Yang Lu Chan, and his technique is known today as Tai Chi Chuan. The knowledge of Yang Lu Chan was transmitted from father to son until Yang Zhen Duo, the current bearer of style, and his grandson Yang Jun, who now teach seminars throughout the world, spreading the martial art of their ancestors.

One of these seminars took place in the city of Cuernavaca, México, on March 2009. Beginning on the 13th, dozens of Tai Chi Chuan practitioners from across the country gathered to receive the knowledge of Master Yang Jun. For three days, master Yang taught the 103 Movement Hand Form, but he did not only teach the sequence of the form. He took care to teach the fundamentals of this martial art, how the movements work, their application and their correct implementation.

In the first class, master Yang focused on the foundations of Tai Chi Chuan. He explained the stances, the philosophy of the movements, why they are done the way they are, and what the intention is with each of them. He then began teaching the first movements of the Long Form.

During the two days that followed, Master Yang taught the form, part by part. He showed a set of movements from the form, then he answered questions about them and taught their martial application with volunteers, before returning to practice several times with the proper intention. This allowed many of the participants to feel the softness and power of Tai Chi for themselves, and understand why it is said that Tai Chi is like steel wrapped in cotton.

Master Yang gave all participants a DVD to help them continue practicing on their own. This way, it was not necessary for the teacher to put too much emphasis on memorization of 103 movements. He was able to pay more attention to details, the proper implementation of each movement and clarification of doubts. The attendees, having no extra pressure to learn the sequence, were more willing to correct their postures and to understand the art they were practicing. Master Yang also took time to explain the history of certain movements, and the curious origin of their names. EThis way, everyone enjoyed the practice of Tai Chi even more.

Many of the attendees, who came from places as distant as Hermosillo and Merida, were already practitioners of other styles of Tai Chi. Those who were more experienced in the Yang Style were the students of the Yang Chengfu Tai Chi Chuan Center Mexico. Between classes, some of these students ran practices with the other students to review the movements Master Yang had just taught. Even at night, when most participants had gone to sleep, a silhouette could be seen against a wall, a participant still practicing before going to bed.

Before leaving, Master Yang said he was proud of his student and representative in Mexico, Daniel Corona (Shi Heng Yi), who spreads his teachings in this country and organized the event with his team from the Templo Shaolin de México AC and affiliated schools, and made sure everything went smoothly and successfully. Likewise, the attendees were very excited as they completed the seminar, and spoke of returning to the following seminars organized by the Temple, including next year’s seminar with master Yang, to keep learning more and more of this ancient and powerful martial art.

Grandmaster Yang Chengfu

The five main schools or styles of Tai Chi Chuan, in order of appearance, are Chen, Yang, Wu, Hao and Sun, although naturally, each of them has their subbranches. In spite of each having their own characteristics, they all have the following common traits: the body extends and relaxes in a natural way, emphasizing the flexibility. While performing, the practitioner keeps an erect body, moving it naturally and with liveliness in a firm and confident way. During the whole sequence of exercises, the body movements are perfect and coordinated.

In Tai Chi, the hands, the eyes, the body and the limbs must move as a whole, using the legs as the base and the waist as the axis. However, the fact that postures are relaxed does not mean that the movements are performed weakly and without effort. That is why Tai Chi also requires physical, mental and respiratory training.
Historical Origins

The Chen Style Tai Chi  was the first Tai Chi we have knowledge of, and it is the ancestor of the other schools. Its origin goes back some three hundred or four hundred years, during the decadence of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and the beginning of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), but the old legends state that this art was given by heavenly beings to the men of the 12th century, more specifically to a Taoist monk in the Wu Dang mountain by the name of Zhang Sanfeng. However, there were some newly published documents in 1921 that placed Sangfeng in the 15th century; and then in 1930, famous martial arts master Tang Hao’s (1897-1959) research placed Chen Wangting, of the Wen county in the Henan province, as the real creator of Tai Chi Chuan, basing himself on ancient documents and scrolls, but especially on the similarity of techniques among the people of Wen. Wangting, also known as Zhouting, was a knight at the end of the Ming dynasty and the beginning of the Qing dynasty, known and feared by the people of Shangdong. He passed on his knowledge to the Chen families in Chenjiagou. His technique was known as “push hands”, and passed on in the Chen family from one generation to the next. It is nowadays known as the Chen Style Tai Chi.

The fifth generation descendant of Chen Wangting, Chen Changxing (1771-1853) was born. He had a peculiar student who quickly became famous in the Hebei region, as he was said to be “invincible” among his fellow classmates. Even though he was not a member of the Chen family, he was the best of Changxing’s students, and would often take challengers from other towns who wanted to prove their abilities. This man was Yang Fu Kui, better known as Yang Luchan (1799-1872), who made his own interpretation of the Chen school movements and created, as a result, what would be the most famous school of Tai Chi, the Yang Style. Yang Luchan taught his descendants, Yang Jianhou, Yang Banhou and one of Yang Banhou’s disciples named Wu Jianquan (1870-1942), who would create a set of circular and more modern movements, resulting in the creation of the Wu school of Tai Chi. Later, Wu Yuxiang (1812-1880) developed simpler and quicker movements, opening and closing the arms, and that was called “the small frame.” This style was also named “Wu” after his creator, but it was his disciple, Hao Weizheng (1849-1920) who really spread the style. In consequence, this style was more commonly known as the Wu-Hao style Tai Chi. Finally, the Sun school was developed by Sun Lutang (1861-1932), a disciple of Hao Weizheng. Sun created a style that featured lively, skillful movements, performed at a fast pace and with a lot of footwork.

In 1852, Yang Luchan introduced Tai Chi in Beijing and years later, after the Chinese Revolution, the government decided to create the Beijing Sports University. Since then, the above forms and styles were made official, and a new training program known as Modern Wu Shu was established.

In later years, Tai Chi Chuan has seen a following in all its manifestations. In other words, there are people who practice it as a martial art, those who practice it as a therapeutic exercise, and those who see it as a form of movement meditation. Nowadays there are different interpretations that explore Tai Chi in all of those senses, but the descendants of the five schools defend their traditional stance that tries to rescue the martial aspect of Tai Chi Chuan.  The beneficial effects of practicing Tai Chi Chuan are now being studied more thoroughly. Australian, Chinese-descent master Paul Lam, gold medal winner at the Third International Tai Chi Competition in Beijing in 1993, does research with his colleagues to find the specific Tai Chi exercises that help in the treatment of diabetes and arthritis. This is not surprising, if we remember that all sports activate the blood flow, and Tai Chi could be the only option for older people affected by these conditions. Still, as we mentioned before, the original Tai Chi families and their descendants have a trend that tries to bring Tai Chi back to its origins, regarding any health benefit Tai Chi might have as a secondary effect of its correct practice. According to this, the practice is strictly martial, and practicing with any other intent would not have the same effects. These trends hope to bring the forms back to their origins.