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Tai Chi is a
system of Chinese Internal Martial
Arts. Created around 14th
century, by Chang San Feng this
system emphasizes on healthy living
as well as passive methods of
martial arts. Tai Chi teaches
relaxation and empowerment through
appropriate breathing and posture to
facilitate the flow of Ki energy,
also known as Chi. Tai Chi
Chuan also has various self defense
applications however most
instructors do not emphasize on that
aspect of the art. There
are various schools of Tai Chi such
as Yang style, Chen style, Wu style,
and Sun style. Perhaps the
most popular style of Tai Chi Chuan
in
United States
is the Yang style. This style
emphasizes on slower yet more
consistent, smooth, and continuous
series of techniques throughout the
entire form. It is said that in the
1800s, Yang, Ban-Hou altered the
forms taught to him by his father,
Yang, Lu-Chan, to hide the original
set from the Manchurian rulers.
Yang, Ban-Hou had a disciple named
Wang, Chiao-Yu. Ban-Hou taught the
original Yang from and the small
circle application technique to
Wang, Chiao-Yu, who later became the
teacher of Kuo, Lien-Ying. After
inheriting the lineage from Wang,
Chiao-Yu, Kuo applied his lifelong
experiences, elevating his Tai Chi
to another level.
The style of Tai
Chi you will be learning at Azad’s
will be a form inspired by Shaolin
Kung Fu systems and its masters.
The system was handed down for
centuries and ended with Master Kuo
Lien Ying (1895-1984) who was born
in Inner Mongolia in
Northern China. He was a
martial artist since 1907. He
became a general in 1940’s under
Chiang Kai-shek. He moved to United States in 1974 and he became a Tai Chi
living legend in
San Francisco, China town. An undisputed
master of Chinese Internal Arts such
as Hsing I Chuan and Pakua Chuan,
Kuo was a major theorist of the Chin
school which offers the closest
blend of soft and hard style martial
arts. Kuo died in Mongolia in 1984.
The Tai Chi system
created by Kyo Lien Ying became a
major combative course with the United States
secret service and a variety of
branches of military.
One
of Kuo Lien-Ying’s students is Sifu
Lenny Vavallet who is now a
Grandmaster of the art of Tai Chi
Chuan. Grandmaster or Sifu
Vavallet’s extensive understanding
of hard and soft style fighting
systems has brought Kuo Lien Ying’s
form and combat strategies to the
next level of martial arts
expertise. Over 45 years of
training and teaching Sifu
Vavallet’s teaching has extended in
many places around the world in the
spirit of Tai Chi and martial arts.
At age 86 Sifu
Vavallet decided that it was time
for him to pass on the knowledge,
and the true nature and
understanding of his martial arts to
one of his students to make certain
the continuity of his art in detail.
The tradition of passing the flag to
the next master is not an easy one
but an important one for a teacher.
Sifu has chosen Master Farshad Azad,
one of Sifu’s top students to be the
recipient of the martial arts
knowledge Sifu has acquired all his
life. Sifu has appointed
Master Azad as his official
successor in martial arts.
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