The Untold Story of Tai Chi

Yi Chuen Do is the updated version of the Classic Tai Chi. The Classic Tai Chi can be traced back to Yang Lu Chan who traveled across China challenging the best martial artist in each village he came to. He became famous for never losing a match and never seriously injuring his opponents. The Ching Emperor of China recruited Yang Lu Chan and forced him to teach the Ching army how to fight. Yang Lu Chan hated the Ching people so instead of teaching them the real Tai Chi, he created and taught them a system called push hands. The ruthless emperor would have killed the famous martial artist if the lied was ever discovered. Therefore, Yang Lu Chan only taught his son and a few close students the real Tai Chi.

Today millions of people around the world practice Tai Chi, but they are practicing a style that is very different from ours. In our system there is no push hands.

Sifu Tommy is the 4 generation inheritor of the real Classic Tai Chi and as far as we know, he is the only one left. The classic Tai Chi differs from push hands in that it includes strikes, throws, qinna, headbutts, and much more. In New Orleans, a small group of students are working tirelessly with Sifu Tommy in order to inherit and preserve the beautiful art.