Styles and schools
Yang, Chen, Wu, Sun and other lineages emphasise different movement qualities.
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Tai Chi encyclopedia
History and culture
The development of Tai Chi, key people, schools, forms and the path of the tradition from China to the wider world.
Encyclopedia
A tradition that continues to evolve
Modern Tai Chi includes many styles, schools and teaching methods. Historical context helps explain why the same principle can look different across lineages.
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Selected topics in this section
The Tai Chi 24-Form: Origins, Sequence and How to Learn It
From 1956 to present-day practice: why the short form was created, all 24 parts, and the difference between remembering a sequence and understanding movement.
Read articleA brief history of Tai Chi
What we reliably know about its development, major lineages and global spread.
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Chenjiagou and the Chen Family: Beginnings of the Documented Tai Chi Tradition
Chenjiagou is now called the birthplace of Tai Chi. Behind that simple phrase lies a long history of the Chen family, local martial culture, later manuscripts, historiographical disputes and modern heritage-making.
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The Five Major Tai Chi Styles: Chen, Yang, Wu/Hao, Wu and Sun
How Chen, Yang, Wu/Hao, Wu and Sun are historically connected, what distinguishes them and why a style name never describes the whole practice.
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Yang Luchan and Tai Chi’s Road to Beijing
How did an art associated with Chenjiagou enter the social world of the Qing capital? Yang Luchan’s life is central to the history of Yang style and to understanding how stories about martial masters become legends.
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Tai Chi and UNESCO: what the inscription means
What the inscription safeguards—and what it does not claim.
Read articleThe wider picture
What you will explore
Key people
Teachers and families passed on practice, adapted forms and developed new methods.
Cultural context
Names, gestures and principles make more sense when we understand where they developed.
Tai Chi Bratislava
Would you rather experience Tai Chi in person?
The Bratislava morning group welcomes complete beginners. We practise calmly, without contact and at a comfortable pace.