Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked Questions on the Internal Chinese martial arts. The movements of Yang style are slow, smooth, rounded, flowing and gentle, with no perceptible hesitation between upper body movements and stances. The earlier Chen style uses both slow and quick movements which sometimes spring extremely vigorously. The Yang style being simplified and lighter is more suitable for the aged beginner whereas the Chen is more vigorously athletic.
All styles use rounded, spiralling techniques.
Ground contact is utilised to develop powerful leverage for every technique and its transformation. If you move with the centre of gravity well under the body a sense of strength and gracefulness develops. Advanced practitioners achieve of T'ai Chi Ch'uan develop fluidity of free form from movements. A constant stream of martial combinations, counters and movements are easily linked to the other generic names for T'ai Chi Ch'uan, such as Long River boxing and Shadow boxing. The earliest recorded School of Tai Chi Ch'uan or Shadow Boxing is rooted in the Chen family through Chen Wanting a warrior of the late Ming Dynasty.