Writings
“Jing qi” calligraphy by Tung Ying Chieh
Below are a variety of writings on subjects relating to Taijiquan, more particularly, the Taijiquan as taught by the Dong family.
Also, there is an audio file of the names of the moves of the Yang Style Slow Set.
History
Dong Ying Jie’s great grandson, Dong Da De (Alex Dong), and David Saltman have written a book about Dong Ying Jie that has great historical value and is truly an inspiration for all those interested in the art of Taijiquan. This is a must read! Click on the book to get to the Amazon.com page to buy it.
太極拳使用法
METHODS OF APPLYING TAIJI BOXING
董虎嶺
by Dong Huling
[1956]
[translation by Paul Brennan, Jan, 2017]
There is much to be learned from the writings and pictures of past masters. Until recently those of us who did not read Chinese were ignorant of much of this material. Now, thanks to Paul Brennan, you can see the books and read English translations. If you are a student of the history of Taijiquan I think you will find the following site to be a wealth of knowledge. Happy reading!
Paul Brennan has translated Dong Huling’s book on Taijiquan applications into English for the first time
Dong Zeng Chen has finally written and published his book. This has been years in the making. It includes much new material and pictures of him doing the long form.
Book Title: Dong Style Tai Ji Quan 董式太極拳
Author: Zeng Chen Dong 董增辰
Book Size: 214 pages, 8 inches x 10 inches
Paperback: $35 each plus shipping
Hardcover: $60 each plus shipping
Contact Person: Yan Dong
dongtaichi@gmail.com, or call ( 808 ) 524-1532
Pushed to the Limit: One Hundred Years of Traditional Taiji Training – by Rachel Porter
Tung Ying Chieh’s Commentary on Chang San Feng – Translated by LeRoy Clark
Dong Ying Jie a remembrance by T. Y. Pang – Excerpt from Pang’s book On Tai Chi Chuan
The Legend of Zhang Sanfeng – Click here for a link to an interesting article by Major Stanley Henning on the legend of Zhang Sanfeng (Chang San Feng). Major Henning is a well respected martial artist and martial arts researcher. I met him in Hawaii and trust his research.
Biography of Tung Hu Ling – by Chip Ellis
Mak Ying Po – Excerpt from an article about him by Ray Switzer. Mak Ying Po was a long time student of Tung Ying Chieh (Tung Ying Kit). This article contains some historical information about both men. Courtesy of Andy Wong.
Training
Names and sequence of the traditional Yang Style Slow Set – From a handout from Tung Hu Ling’s class in Honolulu, Hawaii.
AUDIO of the moves-
If you would like to hear the English and Chinese names of the moves of the set that correspond to the above handout, click here. That’s my voice reading the English, and Dong Zeng Chen’s voice for the Chinese. Enjoy!
And here’s a Word doc with words and sound – the names of the moves of the traditional Yang Style Slow Set in Chinese characters, English transliteration, English, and with sound (Dong Zeng Chen reading the names in Chinese). The file is about 10 megabytes so you will want to be on a fast Internet connection before you try to load it. Click here to load the doc.
And click here to load the doc without the sound. It’s a small file. No problem.
Alex Dong has published an English language translation of Tung Ying Chieh’s “Big Red Book”. If you are a student of the Dong family, and can’t read the Chinese version, this is a must have!!! It contains the thinking and advice of the first Master of the Dong family concerning methods of practice, energy, Taijiquan theory, push hands and more. Born in 1898, Dong Ying Chieh was one of the top disciples of Yang Chen Fu, and a person famous for his Taijiquan skills throughout China and South East Asia. To find out more or to order the book click here to get to Alex’s website. An excerpt from his work is listed below.
Push Hands by Tung Ying Chieh – Translated by Alex Dong, Excerpt from Alex’s book
Words of Experience by Tung Ying Chieh – Translated by Albert Tang
Tung Ying Chieh on the Mastery of Taijiquan – Translated by LeRoy Clark
Tung Ying Chieh further Excerpts from his Book – Translated by LeRoy Clark
Tung Ying Chieh’s Commentary on Popular Beliefs – Translated by LeRoy Clark
Tung Ying Chieh’s 1948 “Red Book” Pictures Rearranged with Commentary by David Parker Note that this file is 6.2 meg in size so it will take a while to download.
Rules To Be Forgotten by T. Y. Pang Excerpt from his publication On Tai Chi Chuan, Academy of Chinese Wushu, Honolulu, Hawaii 1974
Fa Jing in Taijiquan by Chip Ellis
Yang Family Qigong by Chip Ellis
Hao Style Training by Chip Ellis
Push Hands Energy by Chip Ellis
Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On by Chip Ellis
Yang Style Stepping by Chip Ellis
Dong Family Practice Aids – Warm Up and QiGong by Chip Ellis
Taijiquan Applications by the Master – Dong Ying Jie by Chip Ellis
Weapons
Taiji Double Edged Sword (Jien) – Names of the moves in Chinese and English
This is a copy of a handout from Tung Hu Ling’s class in Honolulu. Note that we did not do move number 12 “Phenix showing its left wing” but just went from number 11 “small quaser” to number 13 “Waiting for the fish”. Later (February 2006) Dong Zeng Chen added move number 12 back into the set and now teaches it that way.
Chinese Knots – Step by step instructions on how to make the fancy Chinese Knot that is commonly found as part of the tassel hanging from the butt of the double edged sword (jien). If you practice much the cord of the tassel, where it attaches to the sword, will fray and break. You can either buy another tassel – hard to find – or make one yourself. Here are instructions on how to make one. Note – make the top loop longer as this is the part that connects to the sword. Have fun!
Bibliography
Here are references to a variety of published materials relating to Taijiquan:
Taiji Comix: Here is a copy of a draft “comic” book about Taijiquan. It is in Chinese, with great drawings! If you are an experienced Taiji player who only speaks English, I think you will still find it enjoyable as you identify the various Taijiquan principles that are shown. The file is about 9 Meg in size, so make sure you have a high speed Internet connection before you click on the Link to see the PDF file. Here are a few sample pages:
See the following link for an excellent listing of references to Yang Style Lineage Books
Plumb Publications in Santa Cruz, California offers a high quality reprint of Yang Cheng Fu’s 1934 book. I just got a copy and highly recommend it to you. Click here to go to their website to order the book.
Movies
Cast: Jacky Wu Jing, Billy Chow Bei-Lei, Kara Hui Ying-Hung, Shing Fui On, Amy Fan Yik Meng, Yue Hoi, Wong Kwun, Sun Tak Mau, Lau Shun, Yeung Kit Mui, Tsui Heung Tung, Wong Sun, Chan Hoi, Man Hey Tai, Yau Keen Kwok, Yuen Cheung Yan, Lui Yau Wai
Director: Yuen Woo Ping, Yip Chiu Yee, Lee Kin Wu
Release date: 2005
Even before I began my martial arts studies I loved to go to the “kung fu” movies. Once I was actively studying I found them to be both an inspiration and a chance to examine techniques. Even movie techniques can teach you something!
If you have a favorite Taiji movie please let me know.
But over the years I have found just a few movies that claimed to show you the art of Taijiquan. Below are links to several. (Note that I get nothing from these links except the satisfaction of sharing them with you.)
The Tai Chi Master – with Jacky Wu Jing and others. This is the best kung fu movie featuring Taijiquan that I have seen. It is a dramatization of the story of Yang Lu Chan, the founder of the Yang style, with many examples of the art. Of note, there are numerous fight scenes with Dong Hai Chuan, the founder of Baguazhang, so you get to see some excellent techniques from this art as well. I highly recommend this movie. Click here to get to a site that sells it.
The Tai Chi Master – with Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, among others. There’s no doubting Jet Li’s skill as a martial artist. But this movie is a fantastic kung fu flick with just a bit to do with the art of Taijiquan. Still, it’s worth adding to your collection. Click here for a link to a site that sells it.
(Two different covers for the same movie)
Actors: Jet Li , Michelle Yeoh , Chin Siu-Ho , Yuen Kit Ying , Fennie Yuen , Yuen Cheung Yan , Lau Shun
Directed by: Yuen Woo-ping
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment