Tchoung Ta-chen

Tchoung Ta-tchen was a martial arts master who developed the Tchoung Dual Method of Yang Style T'ai Chi Ch'üan. He died February 22, 2000.

Dual method of the Old Form of Yang Style T'ai-chi ch'uan, taijiquan.
Tchoung Ta-tchen developed his own form based on the Old Form of Yang style T'ai-chi ch'uan (taijiquan). His system is unique in that it is a symmetrical routine. His long form is 220 movements. His annotated form is 120 movements. He also teaches His own t'ai-chi ch'uan Fast Form and a partner application form called T'ai-chi San Shou. He taught several weapons including sword, broadsword, double sword, staff and walking stick. He also taught the pa-kua chang (baguazhang) of his good friend Wang Shu Jin and the Hsing-I Ch'uan of his friend Yuan Tao.

Tai Chi Ch'uan Exercise
The slow long form of Tchoung Ta-tchen was studied by Harvey Kurland at the National Athletic Health Institute. It was found that the slow form was a low to moderate aerobic exercise. Subjects averaged VO2 of 10.4 ml/kg/m and RER of 0.78. That means that the slow tai chi is similar in intensity to walking at 3 MPH.

Tchoung Ta-tchen's Major Influences
As a young man Tchoung studied his family style of t'ai chi ch'uan and tui-na (massage). He also was a track athlete. He became a professional soldier and Army officer. He traveled in China seeking out the top masters. Tchoung had a particular interest is studying the sword and stick forms. He learned several sword styles from the top masters of the day. The sword forms had names such as "Green Duckweed Sword", green bamboo sticks of the beggars style, Kun Lun (Kwin Lin) sword, Heaven and Earth sword, as well as the t'ai chi sword, double sword, as well as Yang and Wu t'ai-chi knife sets. He developed his own t'ai chi Tuan Kune or walking stick form which he taught to his students.

In 1943, he studied ch'i kung (qi gong) and t'ai chi ch'uan with the Senior Taoist, Abbott Hui Kung, at the O'mei (Emmei Shan) Mountain Monastery in Sichuan province. He also studied the Natural Style of Boxing with the Grand Old Man of Hangchow. Tchoung also studied Natural School (Nature School) Boxing, also called the "Natural Style" of kung-fu with a Hsiung Chien-yuan famous teacher of Nature School Boxing. Hsiung was called the "Great Old Man of Hangchow". Tchoung trained with his friend Wang Shu chin. He learned pa-kua chang (baguazhang) and I-ch'uan from his friend Wang Shu Chin and Hsin-I Ch'uan (Xing-Yi quan) from his friend Yuan Tao.

Tchoung studied with Shi Tiao Mei who was a student of Tian Shaolin. Tchoung studied the Old Form of Yang Family Style based on the lineage of Tian Zhao Lin (Tian Shaolin) of Hangzhou with Shi. Tian (also spelled Tien by some) was a famous student of Yang Chien-hou, though some say he studied with Yang Shou-hou, or both. Tchoung studied with Shi Tiao-mei, student of Tien and the head of the police academy. Tian was a disciple of Yang Chien-hou and considered one of the top Yang style students. Tian would fight in open competition representing the Yang Family.

Tchoung Ta-tchen also studied with Hsiung Yang-ho who was one of the few disciples of Yang Shao-hou. Hsiung also taught Tchoung's friend Liang Tsung-tsai. Tchoung and Liang were workout parnters. Tchoung was also a pushing hands partner of Cheng Man-ch'ing. Liang was Cheng's teaching assistant in Taiwan but had several other teachers as well. Kuo Lien Ying was another of Tchoung's practice partners. Tchoung included some homage techiques representing his friends forms in his own forms.

Tchoung's method combines the Tian Shaolin and Hsiung Yang-ho methods. For that reason Tchoung's method is considered the older form of Yang style, that is, in comparison to the newer versions that came after the modifications by Yang Cheng-fu.

Tchoung's teaching skill was due to his flexible and inquisitive mind that allowed him to work out with a lot of well known masters to increase his own skill level. On the practical side he traveled around and tried out other martial artists. If he heard that master was supposed to be good at push hands, Tchoung would visit him. According to Tchoung's student Laurens Lee: "He was famous in t'ai-chi ch'uan push hands in Taiwan. During that period of time, there was a statement in Taiwan's martial arts field: 'Big Tchoung cannot be moved, and Little Tchoung cannot be pushed off balance.' Big Tchoung referred to eagle-claw master Tchoung Fu-sheng, and Little Tchoung referred to Tchoung Ta-tchen." (Tchoung, p. 17)

Tchoung was well known for his pushing hands ability. Master Martin Lee taught in Vancouver, BC, studied Yang style and Wu style t'ai-chi ch'uan for 50 years and was a student of Tung Ying Chieh in Hong Kong. Lee was the Chairman of the Vancouver T'ai-Chi Ch'uan Masters and Friends Club. Lee wrote about Tchoung Ta-tchen, "He (Tchoung) has extraordinary t'ai-chi power. His pang-jing (peng-chin) is super-powerful… Whenever he pushes with anyone he always wins, he has never been defeated by anyone. Only one or two people can break even with him…When Master Tchoung pushed hands, both arms are soft like cotton; when you touch his arm, you feel nothing. He is truly reaching the level of 'Invisibility'. When he attacks, he moves like a speeding arrow, with great power. Lots of martial art Champions and tai chi followers respect Master Tchoung's methods." (Tchoung, p. 12)

Tchoung's practice partners were like a who's who in Internal Martial Arts in Taiwan, including Wang Shu-chi, Kuo Lien Ying, Cheng Man-ch'ing, Yuan Tao, Liang Tsung Tsai, and others.

Chinese Tai Chi Chuan Association
Tchoung was a member of the Taiwan based Chinese Tai Chi Ch'uan Association. The CTCCA was a multi sytle group of t'ai-chi chuan masters and a quasi governmental org at that time. THe CTCCA made Tchoung a delegate and he traveled to Africa to teach President Bongo of Gabon t'ai-chi ch'uan. Tchoung then traveled to South Africa where he taught for some time. Eventually he moved to Vancouver BC, Canada. He taught his unique method in Vancouver and Seattle Washington.

Continued Teaching of his System
His students who continue to teach his system include Andrew Dale, Harvey Kurland, Tim Glasheen, Peter Dickson, Laurens Lee and several others. Tchoung Ta-chen taught his evolving version of t'ai-chi ch'uan in Vancouver, British Columbia, and in Seattle, Washington. His primary school was in Vancouver's Chinatown. Because of his practical and open method of teaching, he became one of the most popular t'ai-chi ch'uan teachers in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s. He claimed over 5000 students. Today, there are several former students and authorized teachers of the Tchoung system teaching in Canada and the USA. Today major centers of Tchoung's system are taught in the Inland Empire of Southern California, Seattle, Vancouver BC, and Kitimat BC Canada.

Public Ceremony in 1986
Tchoung officially authorized a few of his advanced students to teach his system. In a public ceremony in 1986 Tchoung said only five students in the USA could teach his system at that time. Those students were Carey Brooks, Andrew Dale, David Harris, Harvey Kurland and Don Scott. There are several teachers of his system who are currently teaching including the following direct students in the United States: Andrew Dale, David Harris, Don Scott in Seattle, WA and Harvey Kurland in Riverside, CA. Several of his students are teaching in Canada including: Tim Glasheen in Vancouver, BC, Peter Dickson in Terrace, BC, John Camp in White Rock, BC, and Eric Eastman in Nelson, BC, Canada. Most of Tchoung's official students pictures can be found in Tchoung's text (Tchoung 1995).

Philosophy
According to Kurland, "Tchoungs philosophy was to teach his students everything he could. Not hold back, as many teachers did. That is the reason so many students left their previous schools to study with him. He tells his students from the beginning that he can teach them the method, but it is up to them as to what they do with it. That is if they do not train hard, they will not achieve their potential. He says there are no magical secret, just hard training and coaching. He saw that there was a decay in t'ai-chi ch'uan quality in China and the world. That is the art was becoming conceptually a calisthenics exercise or performance art, and the old martial value and traditional method was being lost."

"Tchoung felt the previous generation's skill being lost or watered down was due to the concept of always holding a little back from the student (as well as intentional persecuting of the art and modernizing it on the mainland). So every generation lost a little more, so now even the top names were merely shells of the older art, very few had any real skill."

Tchoung's goal was that he wanted to push his students so that the art would be elevated and that his students would even be more skilled than he was then if they taught their students would be better and so on. Then the long setback after Mao took over followed by a changing the form to a calisthenics added to the decline. Tchoung traveled to China where he taught pushing hands to masters there to improve their skill and raise the level of tai chi in China.