Styles

Our school combines these two styles into one system, benefitting from
the different qualities of each. The saying, "Nan Chuan Bei Twei,"
meaning “Southern Fists, Northern Kicks”, is common in Chinese martial
arts and refers to what the southern and northern styles are best known
for. By combining the two, our school creates a very well-rounded and
comprehensive system.

Further information on Hong Chuan can be found here.

Chang Chuan (Long Fist) is a northern style of Chinese
Kung Fu, known for its “far-reaching and wide-sweeping
strikes”, its emphasis on fully extending the body, and its
balanced use of hand and foot techniques. Its movements
are typically long and flowing and, when practiced, should
look like "raging waves on a great river that follow one
another endlessly, allowing for no weak points." It mixes
the varied qualities of many smaller northern styles, such
as Cha Chuan, Hua Chuan, Pao Chuan and Hong (Red)
Chuan (not to be confused with the southern Hong Chuan).

Further information on Chang Chuan can be found here.

Hong Chuan, also known as Hong Jia Chuan, or Hung Ga Kuen in
Cantonese, is the southern style regarded first in the list of the famous
“Five Chuans and Thirteen Famous Schools of Canton”, and is known for
its low, wide and stable stances as well as its strong use of punches and
highly developed hand techniques. It includes a variety of animal styles
such as Tiger, Crane, Snake, Leopard and Dragon, among others.

Tai Chi Chuan, also Taijiquan, often simply called Tai Chi, is
considered a soft style of Chinese martial art, applied with as
deep relaxation or "softness" in the body as possible. While this
approach is fundamental to its practice, Tai Chi Chuan also
develops the ability to use strong energy coming from the mind
and body, without unnecessary and unproductive stress or tension
being introduced into the muscles.

Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan is the most popular and widely practiced
style of Tai Chi in the world today. Its slow, steady, expansive
and soft movements make its practice accessible to a broad group
of practitioners.

Although many who practice Tai Chi do so for its great number of
health benefits, or for its meditative qualities, its origins lie in
martial application. Practice beyond the basic level reveals a
highly defensive and powerful martial art.