I am incredibly fortunate to have stumbled upon H. Won Tai Chi Institute. In the past I had trained some tai chi with a few different teachers, nothing I spent much time with, but it piqued my interest. Late one night I found myself scouring youtube for old videos of tai chi masters. I wanted to find footage of the real masters, see if I could decipher who was authentic, which lineage really had the goods. I viewed the forms of Cheng Man Ching, Fu Zhongwen, Dong Yingjia, any video grainy and low-fi enough to look ‘authentic’. It looked like tai chi; slow, soft, flowing…nice, but not particularly interesting. I wasn’t convinced that anything I had seen was really it. Then I came to the video of Yang Sau Chung. From the initial movement of ‘raise and lower arms’, to the first posture ‘ward off’, I was captivated. Something about this master’s form was fundamentally different; the stillness, the consistency of the circles and lines, singular unified movement, the hydraulic motion charged with near visible power….I didn’t understand how or why, but I was certain that this was real quality tai chi. A couple months later I happened to be on my way to visit NYC. Sitting on the plane, pondering things I’d like to see in the city, I thought “there’s sure to be a real tai chi master in NYC”, so I began to search the internet for schools. After viewing a few sites I found underwhelming, I arrived at nytaichi.com; ‘Classical Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan’ as handed down by YANG SAU CHUNG! Sifu H. Won Gim, a direct disciple and 6th generation lineage holder of Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan. Incredible! I had to check this place out.

When I visited the school Sifu Gim was out of town, but I was still impressed. Watching the senior students do the form was striking. The unique qualities of the form; stillness, mechanical precision, complete connection, unified motion, distinct and consistent angles, both square and round, powerful, yet fluid and soft, a natural rhythm, not too slow….I felt like I was seeing something from another time and another world, an art of supreme quality and profound depth. I began to realize that I had never practiced or experienced tai chi, and that so few know what this art really is. I could see how the form taught at the school was Yang Sau Chung’s, it was undoubtedly a direct transmission, but the ways the form appeared different also interested me. A degree of squareness and a deliberate mechanical sequence, postures and movements with clear beginning and ending points, not typically the qualities expected of tai chi. I turned my attention toward some of the beginning students. From observing them I began to grasp at the reasons for these perceived differences in the form; a methodology that starts from the ground up, with clearly defined principles. Observing this I gained appreciation for the quality of instruction at the school. The consistent execution of principles, applied to each students level of skill and physical constitution, convinced me that Sifu Gim has inherited and developed a top notch methodology for transmitting the art.   

I could not stop thinking about my visit to this school. I read all of Sifu Gim’s lively and informative articles to better inform myself about the real tai chi. I’d come to learn that slow movement is not a definitive characteristic of tai chi; the form is done for a specific purpose, and that purpose is not slow movement. Tai chi can be fast, there is a fast form. Tai chi is not only soft, it can be monstrously powerful. This is how it can be an effective martial art. The physical interpretation of yin and yang, division of full and empty. The concept of 45 degrees, physical interpretation of bagua. The five bows and nine pearls aligning so the body can be centered. Centering the postures so the body can align with gravity. Aligning the body with gravity so it can be balanced. Balancing the body so it can relax. These are the fundamentals of tai chi, and when applied correctly they establish a structure necessary for tai chi, a structure which other lineages fail to establish.  I found all of this information intriguing.  So intriguing that I decided to move across the country to be able to train at the school.  

I’ve had the great privilege of training at H. Won Tai Chi Institute for a couple years now. I feel like the only thing one can really learn about tai chi in two years is how much one doesn’t know. But that’s why it’s so exciting. The aforementioned external principles present a pathway to an internal process. The energy developed practicing the form, is refined with qigong and power push hands. These methods intertwine, each feeding into the other. As one changes all change, and the gradual refining of this energy initiates an alchemical process. Slowly, one accumulates internal power. The experience of this power is often baffling. It’s potency defies reason. Yet, it is also a natural progression of the basic principles learned in the form. A sophisticated internal process, rooted in the principles of full and empty, centering, alignment, balance and relaxation.  

Sound intellectual understanding of a posture or movement can be gained within a few minutes, but tai chi demands intuitive knowledge, which takes years of experience. As understanding of a concept transforms from the intellectual, to the experiential, the intuitive knowledge acquired reflects backward, applying to the entirety of the system, and simultaneously projects forward, offering a tiny glimpse of the infinite potential contained in the art. I do not think it is possible to gain this intuitive understanding without individual instruction from a great teacher, and more specifically, without the experience of power push hands. By pushing hands with Sifu Gim we are taught the ‘oral tradition’; the experiential aspect of the art which cannot be communicated through any other means. Training power push hands ties the entire system together, and it is absolutely necessary for development of internal power. It is the great secret of Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan. We are lucky that Sifu Gim is so skilled at teaching both the intellectual and the intuitive.  

Sifu Gim is an elite artist and a masterful teacher. He presents us with the opportunity to learn the complete system of Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan. At H. Won Tai Chi institute, we are offered the necessary environment to attain the remarkable. It is a real treasure to have a teacher transmitting this art, undiluted and authentic. Thanks to Sifu Gim’s tireless dedication to the art, Classical Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan is a living tradition. For this I am immensely grateful, and to those who seek authentic tai chi, I sincerely recommend investigating what this school has to offer.