Our School of T'ai Chi Chuan

The mission of our School is study and teach T'ai Chi Chuan as a way to bring health and consciousness to humanity.

Our Lineage

Our traceable lineage begins in the Ch'en family where Ch'en Ch'ang-hsien passed T'ai Chi to his disciple Yang Lu-shan (1799-1872). Yang style T'ai Chi was born and was passed within the family to his sons Pan-hou (1837-1892) and Chien-hou (1839-1917). Master Yang Cheng-fu (1883-1936), pictured here was the son of Chien-hou.

Grand Master Cheng Man-Ch’ing (1901-1975) is known as master of the "Five Excellences": painting, poetry, calligraphy, medicine and T’ai Chi Chuan. As a physician, Cheng Man-Ch'ing had the opportunity to cure Yang Cheng-fu's wife of a serious illness, and as a result Yang Cheng-fu accepted Professor Cheng into his inner circle. For several years Professor Cheng studied T’ai Chi daily with Yang Cheng-fu, putting in long hours; he came out a master.

In the 1930s, Professor Cheng saw that his nation needed the health benefits of T’ai Chi Chuan so, to make it accessible to everyone, he shortened the T’ai Chi form and published a description of the movements in book format. He again broke the tradition of secrecy by bringing T’ai Chi Chuan to the West in the 1960s. It is his modified Yang Style Short Form that has become the most popular T’ai Chi form in the West.

Patrick Watson (1935-1992) already had a long history with martial arts, Hawaiian swimming, and the theater when he began to study with Cheng Man-Ch'ing in 1966. He studied with him for nine years, becoming one of his eight most senior disciples. In 1976 Patrick founded The School of T'ai Chi Chuan (STCC) specifically to train teachers of T’ai Chi Chuan. Over the next sixteen years, Patrick guided the STCC in its growth as an international school with branches in seven countries.

Oscar Ichazo, founder of the Arica School, was another of Patrick's teachers.  When Patrick introduced his two teachers they recognized each other's mastery and became friends. Patrick encouraged the students of our School to study with Oscar Ichazo and this ongoing connection has been one of immense value.  Many of the principles of our teaching method come from the Arica School.

Our School Today

Our School today is composed of over 200 instructors teaching classes in 30 cities around the world. Each teacher follows the curriculum and team teaching method developed by Patrick Watson.  We gather together once or twice a year to continue to learn from Patrick’s senior teachers. 

Add to that the many students whose dedication and perseverance have contributed greatly over a long association with the School, plus the new students who join us each year, and you will see that the School forms a large community of people dedicated to this gentle happy art.

Team teaching is the hallmark of the School. With two or more instructors in each class, students always have one teacher to follow, leaving the second free to give instructions and observe what the class needs.  Group classes make the learning process both fun and easy.

For over 30 years, our School has followed a unique teaching curriculum, preserving the lineage and tradition of this ancient art while presenting it in a modern, easy-to-learn method. Continued study helps our teachers maintain the highest standards as well as consistency of method: students can study at any of our branches and receive the same careful attention to the principles and details of the art.

Because our teachers continue to work together, our School's strength is much more than any individual instructor.  It is the unity of the School that preserves this living art and provides a bedrock for consistent growth into the future—serving humanity through the study and practice of T'ai Chi Chuan and Arica.