Grandmaster Tung Kai Ying

Grandmaster Tung Kaiying has been one of the most distinguished and quietly influential teachers of Taichi Chuan over the past half a century, especially in the West. He represents one of the last living links to the old tradition of Taichi Chuan from the time before the Cultural Revolution and the subsequent modernization of China. A consummate teacher and exquisite model of Taichi philosophy in action, Master Tung embodies the very best of the tradition and is distinguished among teachers of Taichi Chuan by his spare and subtle teaching style and peerless mastery of Push Hands.

Master Tung was born in 1941 in a rural village in northern China, the eldest son in the third generation of an esteemed martial arts family. His grandfather, Master Tung Yingchieh, was one of the senior students of the great Beijing teacher Master Yang Chengfu and one of the most renowned Taichi Chuan practitioners of his era. When he turned 14 young Kaiying left China to apprentice with his grandfather in Hong Kong and learn the family art. His next 17 years were spent deep in training, following his grandfather and father all over Southeast Asia as their school continued to grow and expand. Eventually his father made it to the islands of Hawaii and Master Tung continued on to southern California where he opened a school of his own on Los Angeles's Venice Boulevard in 1971. The studio location in Los Angeles has changed a few times since then but the weekly classes have been going strong ever since. He has also continued to grow and expand the family school throughout the entire United States and all of Europe, sharing his distinctively elegant transmission of authentic Taichi Chuan and teaching in-depth workshops and camps for his many, many happy students.

website: www.tungkaiying.com

Master Tung Chen Wei

Just like his father and grandfather before him, Master Tung Chenwei began his Taichi Chuan training in early childhood with clear purpose. Once finished with high school he quickly became an ever-present fixture by his father's side whether at home or abroad. His inquisitive and energetic nature combined with this proximity to his father's expert guidance and growing up in an ideal training environment quickly resulted in Chenwei's inevitable rise to the top of his father's classes. Gradually he took over the primary teaching responsibilities at the Los Angeles school and now also regularly travels to several locations throughout North America and Europe to teach workshops and camps of his own. Representing the first generation of a Taichi Chuan master that was born and bred on American soil, Master Tung Chenwei is living testament to the timeless efficacy of the ancient methods. Perfectly poised between the two worlds of old China and contemporary California and equally as deft with a surfboard as a sword, there is nobody in a better position to transmit and translate this ancient esoteric practice to the modern world.

website: www.tungkaiying.com

Christopher Kiely

Forming and refining my understanding of exactly what Taichi is and how it can best be applied has been the central theme of my life since I was 16 years old. I was lucky enough to have stumbled across the powerful lineage stream of Master Tung Kaiying while in high school and have been diligently following it to its source ever since. It is a sole endeavor to this day. The choices I've made, the way I've lived, the way that I love, both the way I conduct my self outwardly and relate to my self inwardly have all been considerably influenced by my longtime intimacy with Taichi. Along the path were of course certain inevitabilities: an obscene amount of practicing, extensive wandering and a fervent embrace of solitude. This also included formal Chinese Medicine training, travel to Asia, a full embrace of the Chinese language, deep textual studies and a whole lot of trial and error. Then came falling in love and raising a family, running a private practice, teaching, volunteering, publishing, wrestling with politics and all the other requisite triumphs and pitfalls of the professional life. Finally there was the retreat from formality, quiet perseverance towards subtle balance and a newfound love for all things uncontrived. All the while I have been gently getting closer and closer to simply being who I am and have always been this whole time.

Thirty years have now come and gone since I gave my first salute to the tremendous potential that Taichi represents. Though by no means done with my quest to fully understand, I have indeed secured some valuable resources and am eager to share. The only thing better than enjoying the internal freedom and energy that closeness with Taichi daily rejuvenates is sharing it with others and helping them to discover the apparently endless bounty for themselves.