Our Curriculum & Legacy
Tai Chi for beginners, Intermediate and Advanced students
The Living Art of Yang Family Taiji
(楊氏太極拳)
Yang Family Taiji Quan is not a performance — it is a living science of balance.
It refines the external body to reveal the internal one; it replaces resistance with awareness. Through its practice, the student learns how structure gives birth to energy and how energy gives rise to stillness.
The 108 movements now recognized as the Yang Family Long Form descend from Yang Lu
Chan’s original study in Chen Village, where he absorbed the spiraling principles of Chan Si Jin (纏絲勁, Silk-Reeling Energy). Later, upon encountering the Li Family’s internal method, Yang Lu Chan discovered a new way — where power was not released through abrupt Fa Jin (發勁) but sustained through continuous, unbroken flow.
Yang softened what was hard, concealed what was obvious, and transformed martial method into Dao in motion.
The result was an art that could heal as well as defend. Each posture became a circle; each circle, a breath; each breath, a mirror of the mind. Form (形) is the outer shell — Movement (動) is the living spirit. When form is held too tightly, energy dies. When movement flows without intention, discipline is lost. Between those poles lies Taiji (太極) — the ever-turning balance of Yin and Yang. Transmission and Authenticity
Shifu W.C. Bey (貝師傅) received direct instruction in the Yang Lu Chan Taiji-Quan Long
Movements — the expansive, pre-108 structure preserved through the early Long Frame
(大架 Dà Jià) tradition. These original teachings maintain the transitional flow, martial integrity, and circular coherence of early Yang family practice before the later refinements of Yang Chengfu (楊澄甫) standardized the 108-movement form.
Under the tutelage of Grandmaster Dr. Steve L. Sun, Shifu Bey inherited both interpretive
lines — the foundational long-frame transmission of Yang Lu Chan and the systematized
pedagogy of Yang Chengfu. This dual lineage grants him rare authority: he bridges the martial vitality of the original art with the refined internal depth of the modern system.
To train under this synthesis is to study Taiji as a continuum — from root to crown, from martial precision to meditative stillness — guided by an unbroken line of living knowledge.
Yang Cheng Fu's Yang Family 108 movements
Yang Family Taiji Curriculum
(English → Chinese)
Empty-hand Forms
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Yang Cheng Fu 108 Movements
杨澄甫 太极拳 一百零八式
Yáng Chéngfǔ Tàijíquán yībǎi líng bā shì -
Yang Ban Hou 64 Movements
杨班侯 太极拳 六十四式
Yáng Bānhóu Tàijíquán liùshísì shì -
Yang Lu Chan 208 Movements
杨露禅 太极拳 二百零八式
Yáng Lùchán Tàijíquán èrbǎi líng bā shì
Classical Yang Family Weapons
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Yang Family Straight Sword — 91 Movements
杨家 太极剑 九十一式
Yáng-jiā Tàijíjiàn jiǔshí-yī shì -
Yang Family Broad Sword (Saber)
杨家 太极刀
Yáng-jiā Tàijídāo -
Yang Family Cane
杨家 太极拐杖
Yáng-jiā Tàijí guǎizhàng
(also acceptable in martial context: 太极拐 — Tàijíguǎi) -
Yang Family Sabre (same weapon category as broad sword, but if taught as a distinct saber set/lineage)
杨家 太极刀
Yáng-jiā Tàijídāo -
Yang Family Staff
杨家 太极棍
Yáng-jiā Tàijígùn -
Yang Family Spear
杨家 太极枪
Yáng-jiā Tàijíqiāng
Yang Wind & Fire Wheels
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Yang Wind & Fire Wheels — Beginner
杨家 风火轮 初级
Yáng-jiā Fēnghuǒlún chūjí -
Yang Wind & Fire Wheels — Intermediate
杨家 风火轮 中级
Yáng-jiā Fēnghuǒlún zhōngjí -
Yang Wind & Fire Wheels — Advanced
杨家 风火轮 高级
Yáng-jiā Fēnghuǒlún gāojí
Yang Jian Hou
Yang Jian, called Jian Hou, was nicknamed Jian Hu and called “3rd Son” until his later years when he was referred to as just “old man”.
Born in 1842, he started studying Tai Chi Chuan with his father at a young age. Under the strict requirements of his father he would practice hard all day. Frequently feeling that he could not endure it any longer, he tried several times to run away.
It was clear that working hard daily at practicing gongfu under his father’s watchful eye caused his skill to greatly improve. Finally he became a man of great talent.
Jian Hou took his father’s old frame and revised it into the medium frame. He also mastered the saber, spear, sword and other weapons. His sword skill was renowned for combining softness and hardness.
Yang Cheng Fu
Yang Zhao Qing, called Cheng Fu, or just “3rd Son”, was born in 1883 and died in 1936. He started receiving his father’s teachings at an early age.
During his youth he worked hard at making a careful study of Tai Chi, practicing hard through both summer and winter with his skill increasing daily.
Eventually he became a celebrated martial artist. In order to adapt to the changing needs of society, Yang Cheng Fu began with his father’s revised middle frame, and made further revisions. He gradually established the Yang family large frame, becoming the most widespread of today’s Yang styles.
The large frame postures established by Yang Cheng Fu in his older years are open and extended, simple and direct. The structure is compact and precise, with body alignment maintained in movement. The movements are gentle and flowing, and performed at an even speed.
杨振基 Yang Zhen Ji, 杨澄甫 Yang Cheng Fu's second son, performing the long form (91 movement form)
Yang Zhen Ji, born in 1921, started studying with his father and elder brother at age 6. He studied very hard, grasping the essence of Tai Chi Chuan.
In the late 1940’s he began teaching Tai Chi Chuan. He traveled from Guangzhou (Canton) to Beijing, to Tianjin, to Guangxi, and to Handan to teach.
Because he teaches very earnestly, his students are quite numerous and he once visited the United States. Zhen Ji, after several decades of practice and teaching, has gained a deep understanding of the skill passed on by his father.
Grandmaster Dr. Steve L. Sun
Grandmaster Sun, a tenth degree Black Belt, is the beloved and widely respected teacher of the internal and external martial arts at the Siu Lum Martial Arts Academy in Havertown, Pennsylvania. His dedication and care for others in over fifty years in the martial arts is marked by a full life of accomplishment for both himself and thousands of students he has trained throughout the world. He is widely respected in the Chinese martial arts community for his wide knowledge, a carefully thought out training system, and healing skills in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The depth of his
knowledge is exemplified in the two books he has written (Tai chi Chuan Wind Fire Wheels and Advanced Tai Chi Chuan Wind Fire Wheels). He has authored many articles in martial art publications such as Tai Chi Magazine, Inside Kung Fu, Wu Shu Kung Fu in the United States and Tai Chi & Alternative Health in Europe, and has produced four videos on Wind Fire Wheels and Tai Chi.
Grandmaster Sun was born on October 7, 1939 in Tainan, Taiwan, China. His father, Grandmaster Chun Sun, was renowned for deep skills and encouraged his son to begin serious training in the martial arts upon reaching the age of ten years. Grandmaster Chun Sun guided his son’s early training and directed him to advanced studies with respected masters in both Northern and Southern Shaolin styles; teachers who were the first of seven different masters for both studies in China and in Taiwan.
When Grandmaster Sun was eighteen years old, he entered the National Cheng-Kung University in Taiwan where he studied Civil Engineering. He also studied Yang style Tai Chi Chuan under Professor Wang Da-Sen and Xing-Yi Chuan under Master Kuo-Zong Chang. Dr. Sun completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1962 together with his Reserve Officer Training (ROTC) program. Dr. Sun then served in the
Chinese Army in an Artillery company stationed on Kin Moey Island. During this tour of duty, he taught Kung Fu, Chin Na, and Knife & Gun Defense. After receiving an honorable discharge, he returned to Cheng Kung University to teach Civil Engineering.
The 1960s were also exciting times for Dr. Sun socially as it was then that he met, courted, and married a beautiful and intelligent young woman – Emilia. This accomplishment was no mean feat as the future Mrs. Sun was a talented and budding movie actress with many suitors. Dr. Sun’s own intelligence, martial prowess, and attractiveness helped him prevail. Appropriately enough, Emilia’s family had a long tradition in the Kung Fu and internal arts. For example her maternal grandfather was the renowned Grandmaster Hwang Xi. Indeed, Dr. Sun’s mother-in-law, who studied
Yang Style Tai Chi under a Taiwanese grandmaster, assisted Dr. Sun in teaching in the United States. Dr. and Mrs. Sun became the proud parents of two sons, David and Paul, who both achieved Master rankings in the martial arts and wide reputations on their own. Now, Dr. Sun has advanced to the status of a beloved grandfather.
Dr. Sun came to the United States in 1967 to study Civil and Environmental Engineering at the prestigious Ivy League University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. His martial skills were so apparent to fellow students that they requested that he teach Kung Fu. He received a Master of Science in Civil Engineering in 1969 and immediately began doctoral studies in Water Resource and Environmental Engineering. These studies were accompanied by related employment as an Environmental Engineering Consultant with United Engineers and Constructors. Dr. Sun was awarded his Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D..) in Environmental Engineering in 1975 upon acceptance of the doctoral dissertation “Potential Cultural Eutrophication of the Proposed Tocks Island Reservoir”. Admiration for Dr. Sun’s creative and systematic solutions for complex problems showed itself when his Ph.D. defense attracted some fifty outside experts from universities, government, and environmental organizations. Dr. Sun completed his professional qualifications by passing the Professional Engineer Certification Exam which is the hallmark for professionally qualified engineers. His career in engineering went on to exemplify the same talents brought to the martial arts: systematic and creative systems (in this case for water management at nuclear power plants such as Three Mile Island, Peach
Bottom, and Seebrook) that were clearly communicated to the management and clients of both United Engineers and the esteemed design and construction company Stone and Webster that Dr. Sun joined in 1986.
Dr. Sun founded the Siu Lum Martial Arts Academy in Havertown, Pennsylvania in 1983 to offer a full program in Northern and Southern Kung Fu and in Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan (Chi Kung, Forms, Weapons, Applications, Sparring, and Competition). Dr, Sun’s personal skill and dedication in the martial and internal arts was recognized in 1985 with a closed door invitation to become a disciple at the Shaolin Temple in Henan
Province, China by training under renowned Shaolin masters in the ancient arts. For example, training in Internal Qicong and Advanced Chin Na was conducted under Abbot Su-Xi. Successful completion of the Shaolin program made Dr. Sun a 31st generation disciple with martial art brothers around the world. Dr. Sun’s life dream has always been to develop a system of internal and external martial art training that would spread the use of these arts around the world especially in the West where cultural mores do not support such training. Therefore, and despite considerable success and accomplishments in environmental engineering, Dr. Sun retired from engineering in 1991 to devote full time to martial arts students at the Siu Lum Martial Arts Academy he had founded in 1983. One tenet of Dr. Sun’s training system is the realization that martial art training be conducted in steps that can easily be kept in mind by busy westerners anxious for signs of achievement. Dr. Sun combined this realization with the emphasis of Chinese training on tradition and repetitive practice by dividing traditional long forms into easily grasped components.
For example, the Yang Style Long Form was first divided into three sections and then each section was divided into basic movements. Dr. Sun opens each training session with a thorough going program of Chi Gong exercises. Students then learn and repeat basic movements until they are performed correctly and with appropriate energy. Students next learn to combine the basic steps into short forms derived from the traditional long forms. Students with a command of these forms go on to learn and practice the martial applications of the movements they know. Students are then tested on their learning in order to merit traditionally colored belts. Students who have passed a certain level go on to learn their movements with deep breathing and energy flow and to relate their forms and movements to competitive action in sparring and push hands. At various and appropriate points, students are taught forms with weapons such as straight sword, broad sword, wind fire wheels, and cudgel. Progress through all these stages requires several years of dedicated instruction, practice, competition, and interaction with other students. Students who reach an advanced level receive instruction in the deeper martial arts such as Xing Yi, Bagua, Chin Na, and Advanced Kung Fu forms. Qualified students may also go on to learn the basics of the Traditional Chinese Medicine art of Acupressure. Given Dr. Sun’s emphasis on communication, he not only teaches and guides others to teach but is active in writing articles on the components and usefulness of his system for martial art publications. He looks forward to editing these pieces in a book that will fully describes and helps others use his training system.
One of Dr. Sun’s most admired qualities is the care he shows for other people. The story of his entire life is really one of making sure that others understand, realize, and enjoy their full potential. Therefore, it was not surprising that Dr. Sun applied his considerable intelligence, internal energy, and traditional knowledge to the healing arts by founding the Chinese Chi Kung Acupressure Center in Havertown, Pennsylvania. It was also no surprise that Dr. Sun melded the knowledge of both
Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Chinese Internal Arts into a full system of Therapeutic Chi Kung, Targeted Energy Application, and Acupressure Healing. Per his focus on sharing his knowledge with others, Dr. Sun committed himself to communicating his system in writing for others to use. The first of many articles to follow on his system has already appeared in Tai Chi Magazine.
Yang Family Taijiquan Lineage
(楊家太極拳 傳承)
Foundational Root:
Chang San-Feng (張三丰) — Taoist Grand Master (1247 – 1447)
→ Chen Wang Ting (陳王廷) — Founder of Chen Family Taijiquan (1580 – 1660)
→ Chen Chang Hsing (陳長興) — 14th Generation Chen, Old Frame Style (1771 – 1853)
→ Yang Lu Chan (楊露禪, 1799 – 1872) — “Yang the Invincible” (楊無敵) Founder of the Yang Family System
→ Yang Jian Hou (楊健侯, 1839 – 1917) — 3rd Son of Lu Chan
↳ Yang Shou Hou (楊守侯, 1862 – 1930) — 1st Son of Jian Hou
↳ Yang Ban Hou (楊班侯, 1837 – 1892) — 2nd Son of Lu Chan (64 Small Frame)
↳ Yang Feng Hou (楊鳳侯, 1835 – 1861) — 1st Son of Lu Chan
→ Yang Cheng Fu (楊澄甫, 1883 – 1936) — 3rd Son of Jian Hou; opened Yang Family Taijiquan to the public (108 Large Frame)
↳ Yang Zhao Qing / Yang Zhen Ji (楊振基, 1921 – 2007) — Direct descendant and system preserver
↳ Professor Wang Da-Sen (王大森) — Prominent student of Yang Cheng Fu
→ Grandmaster Dr. Steve L. Sun (孫力博士, 1939 – ) — Direct disciple of Professor Wang
Da-Sen; 31st-generation Shaolin disciple; Founder of Siu Lum Martial Arts Academy (Havertown, PA)
→ Shifu W.C. Bey (貝師傅, 1949 – ) — Senior Disciple of Dr. Sun; Director of Internal Arts at Siu Lum Martial Arts Academy; Transmitter of Yang Family Taijiquan in the United States.
Yang Lu Chan
Yang Fu Kui, later called Yang Lu Chan (the “Lu” having two different Chinese characters as accepted) was born in 1799 and died in 1872. Yang Lu Chan’s family was from Hebei Province, Guangping Prefecture, Yongnian County and since childhood his family was poor.
He would follow his father in planting the fields and as a teenager held temporary jobs. One period of temporary work was spent in doing odd jobs at the Tai He Tang Chinese pharmacy located in the west part of Yongnian City (the pharmacy was opened by Chen De Hu of the Chen Village in Henan Province, Huaiqing Prefecture, Wen County).
As a child, Yang Lu Chan liked martial arts and started studying Chang Chuan, gaining a certain level of skill. One day he saw some hoodlums who came to the pharmacy looking for trouble.
One of the partners of the pharmacy used a kind of martial art that Yang Lu Chan had never before seen to easily subdue the troublemakers. Because of this, Yang Lu Chan decided to study with the owner of the Tai He Tang pharmacy, Cheng De Hu.
He saw that Yang Lu Chan came from the heart and was eager to study and sent Yang Lu Chan to the Chen Village to seek the 14th generation of the Chen Family Chen Chang Xing as his teacher.
Yang Ban Hou
The momentum created in the Tai Chi world by Yang Lu Chan throughout his lifetime did not stop with his death in 1872. Yang Lu Chan transmitted all of his knowledge to his two sons, Yu, nicknamed Ban Hou, and Jian, nicknamed Jian Hou, who became the 2nd generation representatives of the Yang Family.
Yang Yu, also named Yang Ban Hou, but referred to as the “2nd Son” by all, was born in 1837 and died in 1892. From an early age he and Jian Hou followed their father studying Tai Chi Chuan. All day long Ban Hou would practice hard, undeterred by winter’s cold or summer’s heat. Yang Ban Hou had a hard and fierce disposition.
He was skilled at sparring, and especially adept in using the staff (made of bai la wood, over three meters long, and used in the same way as the spear). One day in Yongnian City, inside the stalls located at the East Gate, a fire started due to carelessness. Water surrounded all of Yongnian City and it teemed with reeds.
It was late fall, after the harvest, and inside the stall bundles of reeds were piled up into a small mountain. Once one of the stalls caught fire, if it was not put out quickly it would turn into an inferno. At this time, Yang Ban Hou rushed to the scene wielding a spear, lifting and throwing the fiery bundles of reeds.
The burning bundles flew through the air like a string of fish, and almost instantly they were all in the water. With the fire extinguished and conflagration avoided, the word of his deed spread quickly through the city.
Yang Shao Hou
Yang Zhao Xiong was born in 1862 and died in 1930. Also named Meng Xiang, and later called Shao Hou, most just called him “Mr. Big”. From very young he studied with his father and his uncle.
He learned the greater part of his skill from Ban Hou. His nature was forceful and he would stand up for injustices suffered by others. Shao Hou enjoyed sending people flying, rather like his uncle’s style.
When he was young he taught the middle frame established by his father, but later changed direction. He developed a form that was high with small movements done in a sometimes slow and sometimes sudden manner.
His releasing of energy (fajin) was hard and crisp, accompanied with sudden sounds. The spirit from his eyes would shoot out in all directions, flashing like lightning. Combined with a sneer, a sinister laugh, and the sounds of “Heng!” and “Ha!”, his imposing manner was quite threatening.
Shao Hou taught students to strike quickly after coming into contact with the opponent, wearing expressions from the full spectrum of emotions when he taught them.
The Ten Essential Points of Yang Cheng Fu
1. 虛靈頂勁 Xū líng dǐng jìn — Empty, lively, pushing up and energetic.
2. 含胸拔背 Hán xiōng bá bèi — Sink the chest and raise the back.
3. 鬆腰 Sōng yāo — Relax the waist.
4. 分虛實 Fēn xū shí — Distinguish substantial from insubstantial.
5. 沉肩墜肘 Chén jiān zhuì zhǒu — Sink the shoulders and drop the elbows.
6. 用意不用力 Yòng yì bú yòng lì — Use the mind (Yi), not force (Li).
7. 上下相隨 Shàng xià xiāng suí — Coordinate upper and lower parts.
8. 內外相合 Nèi wài xiāng hé — Harmonize internal and external.
9. 相連不斷 Xiāng lián bù duàn — Maintain continuous movement.
10. 動中求靜 Dòng zhōng qiú jìng — Seek stillness within movement.
Major Awards and Achievements of Grandmaster Dr. Steve L. Sun
1985 31st Generation Disciple of the Shaolin Temple, Henan Province, China
1990 Most Outstanding Martial Arts Gold Medal, World Martial Arts Federation, Taiwan
1992 Team Leader – United States Kuo Shu Team at the 7th World Cup Kuo Shu Tournament, Taiwan
1993 Top Ten Martial Arts Gold Medal
Team Leader – 3rd Overseas Chinese Cup and 4th World Cup International Martial Arts Championships
1995 Martial Arts “Living Legends” Award from Everhart’s Nippon Kenpo Karate Do, Washington DC
1996 Hall of Fame and Sifu of the Year Awards from the United International Kung Fu Association
1997 World Top One Hundred Exceptional Martial Artist Gold Medal Award
1998 Seven Most Outstanding Golden Awards from the World Chinese Medicine and Herbs United Association, California
1999 World Most Outstanding Achievement in Martial Artists Award, International Wushu Festival, California
USA WKF Hall of Fame Inductee and Outstanding Master Award, USA World Kun Fu Association, Maryland
World Outstanding Achievement in Martial Arts Award, International Martial Arts Federation
Honorary Doctorate in Martial Arts from the International Martial Arts University, California
2000 Lifetime Achievement Award from the USA Wushu Kung Fu Federation
2001 American Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Martial Arts Federation
2004 Honorary Ph.D. in Oriental Medicine, International Medical University, California
2006 and 2007 Lifetime Achievement Awards from Action Martial Arts Magazine Honorary Chairman and East Coast President, International Kung Fu Federation
Grandmaster Dr. Steve L. Sun
holding the wind and fire wheels
海底捞针 — Searching for the Needle at Sea Bottom
(Hǎi Dǐ Lāo Zhēn)
中文 (Mandarin)English海底捞针是杨家太极拳中的重要动作，需要丹田下沉，胯部打开，意念贯穿于脚底，与地相连。此图展示的是 师父 W.C. Bey 正在演练。此动作培养沉稳的根、平衡以及借对方之力下引的能力。Searching for the Needle at Sea Bottom is a key movement in Yang Family Taijiquan. Here, Shifu W.C. Bey demonstrates sinking the qi, opening the kua, and threading intent downward into the ground. The movement develops rooting, balance, and the ability to redirect force by borrowing the opponent’s structure downward.
Closing Statement — Our Curriculum & Legacy
by Shifu W. C. Bey
Our curriculum is more than a list of forms — it is a living transmission.
Each movement carries history, each principle carries wisdom, and every student who trains with sincerity becomes part of the lineage.
We preserve the old ways not to look backward, but to move forward with clarity.
From Yang Lu Chan to Yang Cheng Fu, from teacher to student, the Golden Thread has never been about imitation — it has always been about transformation.
“When the art enters the body, it becomes skill.
When the art enters the heart, it becomes legacy.”
Train with purpose.
Move with integrity.
Carry the thread forward.
— Shifu W. C. Bey
