Wudang Tai Chi Chuan

Wudang Tai Chi Chuan 武當太極拳 is a name given to a system of Tai Chi Chuan that was developed by a Hong Kong 香港 based Tai Chi Chuan master known as Cheng Tinhung 鄭天熊. Cheng Tinhung had never claimed to be teaching a particular school of Tai Chi Chuan, but its close links to the Wu 吳 school of Tai Chi Chuan are clearly evident in most of its forms and applications. However, there are considerable differences between the Wudang Tai Chi Chuan system and the Wu 吳 schools [both Northern and Southern], this is attributed to the developments carried out by Cheng Tinhung’s master Qi Minxuan 齊敏軒, Cheng Tinhung himself and in recent times by Dan Docherty.

The Wudang Tai Chi Chuan system is now being popularized in Europe by two of Cheng Tinhung’s disciples, Dan Docherty and Ian Cameron, both based in the UK. Of course the system also continues to be taught in Hong Kong, and the current head of that school is Cheng Tinhung’s son Cheng Kamyan (Zheng Jianen) 鄭鑒恩, that school is formally known as the Hong Kong Tai Chi Association 香港太極總會.

Zhang Sanfeng 張三豐,a highly mythologized figure said to be the founder of Tai Chi Chuan, lived on the Wudang Mountains 武當山 and the name Wudang used in this Tai Chi Chuan system was used in order to acknowledge Zhang Sanfeng's status as the founder of Tai Chi Chuan. This, however, can lead to some confusion as there are several schools of Tai Chi Chuan that also use this name.

The Wudang Tai Chi Chuan system is also known as “Practical Tai Chi Chuan”. This name comes from that given to Cheng Tinhung's style by various Chinese martial arts journalists in Hong Kong during Cheng Tinhung’s heyday. Dan Docherty has also incorporated this name into his own organisation Practical Tai Chi Chuan International.

The Wudang Tai Chi Chuan system has a well-documented heritage with links to several famous Tai Chi Chuan masters (see lineage diagram), including Yang Banhou 陽班侯, Wu Quanyou 吳全佑, Wu Jianquan 吳鑒泉, Cheng Wingkwong (Zheng Rongguang) 鄭榮光, Chen Gengyun 陳耕雲, and Wang Lanting 王蘭亭.

Qi Minxuan
Qi Minxuan 齊敏軒 was from Wen County, Hebei Dao in Henan Province. He was well versed in the art of Tai Chi Chuan and the mysteries of Neigong 內功心法. After losing his family during the Japanese Occupation and Second World War, Qi Minxuan became an itinerant martial arts instructor teaching Tai Chi Chuan to those that would give him board and lodgings. His father Qi Gechen 齊閣臣 was a disciple of the famed Tai Chi Chuan master Wu Quanyou. Qi Minxuan also learnt from a Buddhist monk known as Jing Yi 静一(Tranquil One), who learnt Tai Chi Chuan from Wang Lanting 王蘭亭. Qi Minxuan’s Buddhist name was Zhi Meng 智孟 (Sagacious Elder) and was an enthusiastic student of Chan Buddhism. The fate of Qi Minxuan is unknown.

Cheng Tinhung
Cheng Tinhung (Zheng Tianxiong) 鄭天熊 (1930-2005). As a young boy he studied Southern Boxing 南拳 from his father Cheng Minchueng 鄭綿彰, which was a family style, learnt from his father Cheng Lin 鄭麟 who was a professional martial artist. As Cheng Tinhung grew older his uncle Cheng Wingkwong 鄭榮光 took an interest in teaching him Wu style Tai Chi Chuan. Cheng Wingkwong was a formal disciple of Wu Jianquan, who eventually held the rank of Shifu 師父 (or Sifu in Cantonese) in the Wu family's Hong Kong school. At that ranking he had their encouragement to take on disciples of his own and open his own school. Cheng Wingkwong knew of an itinerant martial artist known as Qi Minxuan whose father was a disciple of the founder of the Wu 吳 School, Wu Quanyou. Cheng Wingkwong arranged for his nephew to train with Master Qi from the summer of 1946 to the winter of 1948. Qi Minxuan advised his new disciple Cheng Tinhung, that in order to gain a good reputation as a master of Tai Chi Chuan he must be both sound in mind and body and also be able to defend himself, thus being able to represent the art in its true form. Cheng Tinhung later took the nickname of the "Tai Chi Bodyguard" for his enthusiastic defence of Tai Chi Chuan as a martial art.

Dan Docherty
Dan Docherty was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1954. He graduated with a LLB in 1974 and soon after moved to Hong Kong where he served as an inspector in the Royal Hong Kong Police Force until 1984.

Soon after he arrived in Hong Kong in 1975 he started training Tai Chi Chuan under Cheng Tinhung and within a few years was elected to represent Hong Kong in Full-contact Fighting competitions. In 1980 he won the Open Weight Division at the 5th South East Asian Chinese Pugilistic Championships in Malaysia.

In 1985 he was awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Chinese from Ealing College, London.

He is now based in London and travels extensively teaching and writing about Tai Chi Chuan.

Ian Cameron
Ian Cameron was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1944.

He first came under the tutelage of Cheng Tinhung in 1971 whilst serving in the armed forces in Hong Kong. On his return to Edinburgh he set up his class which was to evolve into the Five Winds School Of Tai Chi Chuan.

Ian Cameron teaches in Edinburgh. He also supervises other classes in Scotland and England.