Tai Ji

It was back in 1998. Shi De Cheng had informed me that he knew about 80 different Shaolin forms. Now, making a list of all of those would be difficult, given the language differences. He had claimed to practice them on a regular basis. The reason for this? The transmission of information from master to disciple, in an exact fashion, as he had learned them from Shi Su Yun, Of all the monks I had met in Shaolin to this point, DeCheng was more of a Shaolin encyclopedia than most. The man knew a lot, and he was proud of the fact that he could remember, and, more importantly, teach the forms exactly as he had learned if. Shi Su Yun not only taught him the forms, as he had learned them from his master, but also taught him the importance of tradition, and maintaining the sanctity of the forms.

The following is a list of the commonly taught traditional Tai Ji types at Shaolin, historically through this century, as per Shi Su Yun, via Shi De Cheng. Granted, there are others, but these are the most well known, and most accepted. Generally, Tai Ji is not a commonly taught methodology at Shaolin. It did not originate there; most of the Tai Ji is Chen style, which was imported.


Shaolin Tai Ji

Tai Ji Hand Form
Tai Ji Double Edge Sword
Tai Ji Sword
Tai Ji Spear
Tai Ji Fan
Tai Ji Tui Shou (Two man form)