SC Traditional Sun Style Taijiquan (Saddleback College-CPSR)

I am not a regular student of Tim Cartmell--but this book makes me

want to be. My recommendation? Buy it. Buy the companion 5DVD set. Learn from them. Learn how a good teacher breaks down
and illustrates his subject. Cogitate and apply what you've learned to
your own pursuits or your own teaching.
Traditional Sun Style Taijiquan Course
CONTENTS:
Introduction (Cartmell--reworking of the introduction to his
translation of Sun Lutang's book on taijiquan)
Chapter 1: Biography of Sun Lutang (Dan Miller--reprint of
biographical account based on interviews with Sun Jianyun, Sun
Lutang's daughter)
Chapter 2: Origin and Development of Sun Style Taijiquan (Jake Burroughs, student of Tim Cartmell)
Chapter 3: Health Benefits of Taijiquan Practice (Thome)
Chapter 4: Important Principles for Practice (Cartmell)
Chapter 5: Basics (Cartmell)
Chapter 6: Form Practice (Cartmell)
Chapter 7: Posture Testing (Cartmell)
Review
This book is the single most useful text on a taijiquan style published in the English language in a long long
time. Together with the 5-DVD set where Tim and Troyce provide live demonstration of the form and detailed
explication via solo performance, posture testing and basic applications of the movements, I consider it to be the
most valuable educational adjunct to live instruction for one of the Chinese internal martial arts ever produced in
English.
Most taiji texts do not successfully weave together clear statements of principles and the applications of those
principles to the sequence of movements that make up the solo form. This is true whether we are looking at an
instructional text written by the author, or a translation of a Chinese text. Most translations into English are of
"classic" texts that frankly suck from a pedagogical perspective--and also sucked as instructional texts at the time

they were written in the original Chinese.

Take, for example, Louis Swaim's translation of "The Essence and Applications of Taijiquan" (Taijiquan Tiyong
Quanshu) allegedly written by Yang Chengfu (but probably largely ghost-written by Zheng Manqing). The
translation is superlative (so I am told) and the translator's notes are very interesting. The problem is not with the
translation. No one is going to successfully learn Yang style taijiquan from the underlying text. Details on key
elements such as postural principles and transitional movements are utterly lacking. Explanation and illustration
of actual usage of the moves is laughable (I'm one of those simple people who believes that the raison d'etre for
postural principles and movements is best demonstrated by testing basic applications of the postural principles
and movements). What is lacking in Yang Chengfu's book is also lacking in the source book for this study
course, Sun Lutang's own "A Study of Taijiquan" (Taijiquan Xue). In elegant contrast, in the book under review,
Tim and Troyce clearly, credibly and successfully teach both the "whys" and the "hows" for the principles woven
into Sun's form.
A review of the individual chapters shows how. In the Introduction, Tim briefly addresses the context of the
development of Sun's taijiquan: how Sun recognized certain principles as central common denominators of the
xingyiquan, baguazhang and taijiquan he'd studied; how he endeavored to weave specific proprioceptive and
movement principles into his taiji taolu; how he was able to draw from a wider base of potential applications for
the taiji movements because of his previous studies in xingyi and bagua; how the sequence's movements and
transitions are designed to be practiced in the solo form exactly as they would be used in a fight (this differs
from every other taiji sequence I'm familiar with, except perhaps Hong Junsheng's derivation of Chenshi Lao
Jia); and Sun taiji's pioneering role in credibly establishing the connection between training internal martial
power through natural movement and the attendant benefits for the practitioner's health.
Chapter 1 is Dan Miller's biography of Sun Lutang based primarily on interviews with Sun's daughter Jianyun.
This biographical account was originally published in the late "Pa Kua Chang Journal" and in Albert Liu's
translation of Sun's book on xingyiquan. It is Sun's life from about as close to the monkey's mouth as we'll ever
get, unless someone finds Sun Lutang's stolen-then-lost training diary (which itself would be a fascinating source
for a novel, but one we'll probably never see).
Chapter 2 is Jake Burrough's account of the origins and development of Sun style taijiquan. While the history
described is somewhat suspect, Jake does draw some important and valid historical points from this synopsis:
Sun Lutang learned and trained taijiquan in the context of a fighting art; cross-training with different teachers
was common in the era in which taijiquan developed; and the philosophical label attached to taijiquan (as well as
xingyiquan and baguazhang) was bestowed well after the development of the art by its founders. Knowing the
history won't make you a better practitioner or more effective fighter, but it helps pass the time while sipping
your Four Loko.
My critique of the history described is relatively minor, in that the chapter says that Yang Luchan came back to
study with Chen Qingping in Zhaobao village in 1860, after returning from Beijing where he was already
involved in teaching the Imperial Guards--without a source for this statement. The more common account is that
it is Wu Yuxiang (the grand-teacher of Sun Lutang's taiji teacher, Hao Weizhen) who sought out Chen Qingping,
after his initial quest to train with Yang Luchan's teacher Chen Changxing failed because Chen Changxing was
old and ailing when Wu Yuxiang sought him out. I have not seen any source that says that Yang Luchan studied
with Chen Qingping at any point in time, let alone in 1860 when he had already established himself as Beijing's
premier martial artist and trained the Shenjiying battalion of the Qing imperial guards. At 61 years old, Yang
Luchan would have shown impressive open-mindedness to have trained with Chen Qingping after his Beijing
gig, but his own descendants state that Yang Luchan only trained with Chen Changxing (visiting him at
Chenjiagou three times for a total of 18 years of training, according to Yang Jun).
Similarly, although it is commonly said that Wu Yuxiang initially learned taijiquan from Yang Luchan, Wu's own

descendants disavow that. The following account by Kent Williamsson in Sweden is based on Wu/Hao sources:
[...]
"The Wu family was originally from Shanxi and when reaching Wu Yuxiang they were already at the 7th
generation. He had two brothers Wu Chengqing (1800-1884) who took the imperial exam in 1852 and Wu
Ruqing (took imperial exam in 1840). Wu Yuxiang studied as a young boy the popular style in the area with his
father. He and his brothers were all fond of boxing. The Chen family were renting a store in Guang Fu, Yongnian
from the Wu family. It was a herbal store named Tai He Tang. Due to this the Wu brothers had the opportunity to
have some basic studies in the Chen family boxing and so when Wu Yuxiang later studied with Chen Qingping
(1795-1868) he already had a good foundation. Chen Qingping was troubled by a law suit in the village of
Zhaobao where his family was doing business but with the help of Wu Yuxiang it was settled to his satisfaction.
Seeing that Wu Yuxiang was a clever learner he had him stay with him for some time, according to Li Yiyu it
was in the year 1852. It is interesting to see that in the old manuals of Li Yiyu we can find forms that can be
traced to the "small circle" style of the Chen family, like the 'yi shi duan da', 'shisan dao', 'shisan qiang' and
others that are not found in other Tai Ji Quan styles.
At this time, following the words of his mother, he visited his older brother Wu Chengqing in Henan. His brother
had a manual called 'Wang Zong Yue Tai Ji Quan Lun' and he gave the manual to Wu Yuxiang. Wu Yuxiang and
his brothers Wu Chenqing and Wu Ruqing wrote several articles on Tai Ji Quan. These are the Tai Ji Quan texts
later used also by other Tai Ji Quan schools, some with slight changes.
( It is also argued by some that Wu Yuxiang studied with Yang Luchan (1799-1872) who is said to have taught at
the Tai He Tang herbal store owned by Chen family. The 6th generation manager of the Chen herbal store in
Guangfu told me that such a thing would have been totally out of the question in such a feudal society. They
would never let a non Chen family person and former employee of Chen Dehu teach their family's traditional art
at their own grounds!)
It is told by Li Yiyu that Wu Yuxiang wanted to study with Yang Luchan at his return but that Yang Luchan was
unwilling to teach. Due to that reason Wu Yuxiang went to Henan and then studied with Chen Qingping.
The only one to have received teaching from Wu Yuxiang except for his nephews Li Yiyu and Li Qixuan, was
Yang Banhou - son of Yang Luchan. (Note: the wife of Yang Banhou was of the Hao family)"
Chapter 2 also repeats the confusing appellation of Chen Youben's taijiquan as "New Frame taiji," and somehow
in contrast with Chen Changxing's "Old Frame taiji." My point of view: it is much more probable that Chen
Youben and Chen Changxing taught much the same practice methods--what is now referred to as Chen xiaojia or
small-frame taiji--and that Chen xiaojia is probably what Yang Luchan learned from Chen Changxing. In
subscribing to this view, the Chen xiaojia line inheritors Chen Peiju and Chen Peishan refer to Jarek Szymanski's
fine translation and notes of an article by Jian Ge at []
"New Frame" and "Old Frame" seem to have been first used in Tang Hao's writing on the history of taijiquan;
the current Big Four Marketeers of Chenjiagou (Jin Gang Pounds the Pocketbook) have often described "Old
Frame" as simply what they learned in Chenjiagou in the 1950s and 1960s from Chen Zhaopei, and the "New
Frame" as what Chen Zhaokui, Chen Fake's son, later brought from Beijing to teach them. The conventional
distinction in practice is between Chen Zhaopei's and Chen Zhaokui's methods of Large Frame, on the one hand,
and Small Frame methods of training the movements. In the article translated by Jarek, Chen Youben practiced
and taught Small Frame, but developed Large Frame methods to render the silk-reeling and dan tien usage more
explicit in order to help Chen Changxing's son, Chen Gengyun, develop a "crash course" in Chen taijiquan so
that Gengyun could develop useable skill in a relatively short time frame (about one year), in order to be able to
follow his father in the security-guard business (Chen Changxing was away for long periods of time handling

security jobs, so Chen Gengyun turned to his uncle, Chen Youben, for instruction).
As noted previously, history is good primarily to accompany the mood-altering beverage of your choice.
Chapter 3 brings to light recent studies of the health benefits of taijiquan practice (without reference to moodaltering beverages), and highlights specific attributes of Sun style taiji. Troyce Thome teaches taiji to a wide
variety of students, including elderly folks, and speaks from a balanced and practical point of view for why those
of us who are not Brock Lesnar might want to train Sun taijiquan. As Sun Lutang observes at the beginning of
the chapter, "The focus (of Sun taijiquan) is on the beneficial cultivation of one's natural life force as the core of
training. All people--men, women, the old and the young--may practice in order to replace temerity with bravery;
and stiffness with pliability . . . " (it turns out that Sun Lutang speaks English remarkably well at several points
in this book).
In Chapter 4, Tim addresses several principles of taiji practice that can be seen to relate directly to the health
benefits described by Troyce in the previous chapter. Tim observes that "There is no `Taijiquan' until a
practitioner thinks, moves and breathes in accordance with a fixed set of principles . . . " including use of intent,
correct structural alignment, relaxation (song, more accurately described as the correct or optimal amount of tone
or tension in "all muscles relevant to the task at hand."); coordinated movement; and yielding to gravity (this last
principle is a clue to why Tim characterizes the exercises training principles of correct posture and alignment as
"power" exercises). "With internalization of the principles comes freedom." That is exactly how I feel after
internalizing a fine pale ale. Many people familiar with Tim's previous writing and video work (e.g., his early
"Tru-Balance" postural teaching, "Principles, Analysis and Application of Effortless Combat Throws," etc.) will
recognize the principles described in Chapter 4.
In Chapter 5, Tim applies those principles in describing postural alignments and movement drills that introduce
and train movement principles that are woven into the Sun taiji solo form.
Chapter 6 provides detailed instruction in performing the solo sequence. For Sun style as well as other taiji
styles, solo "form practice is the heart of taijiquan training . . . It is during form practice the student learns to
align the body, coordinate the torso and limbs, harmonize breath with movement, generate force correctly as well
as the specific patterns of movement that make possible the technical applications of the style in one harmonious
practice." I can appreciate how much effort, often tedious, that Tim put into writing down step-by-step
instructions to accompany the photos illustrating the transitions and end-point postures of the 96 movements of
the Sun solo form. The photos are very helpful. One improvement might have been to provide frame-by-frame
stills to connect the photos used in the book--but only if the book was the sole instructional product. Since Tim
will be releasing a 4-DVD instructional set as a companion to this book in just a couple of weeks, the aspiring
Sun taiji practitioner is best served by purchasing and training from both the book and the DVDs, which will
provide far more visual detail then sequences of still photos.
Can you even learn a taijiquan solo form from a book? The conventional wisdom is no. But actually, with a book
as well-thought-out and clearly illustrated as this one, the answer is . . . maybe. Certainly you can learn the shell
of the solo form. But you actually need the visual example of correct movement--from teacher and DVDs--and,
in the long run, to avoid injury and to develop the proprioceptive wisdom that is at the heart of any internal
martial art, you need hands-on corrections, from a good teacher . . . and from your practice partners. And that
kind of correction is what Chapter 7 is about: posture testing.
"For any given posture in the form, there will be a `Power Line,' or specific line of force. The Power Line is the
focused direction from which the practitioner is issuing their force. The Power Line is the line of force generated
through ones connection with the ground, up through the feet, the legs, hips, spine and finally out through the
arms. This concept is introduced in the classic writings of Taijiquan . . . " Chapter 7 provides guidelines for
posture testing, describing general tests and then tests for specific postures. The analysis can be applied to every

posture in the Sun taiji solo form, between a practitioner and his/her teacher, fellow students, domestic partner,
or the person sitting next to them at the bar (buy them a drink first). Posture testing is not a revolutionary idea,
but it's an often-neglected element of effective taijiquan training which can be of benefit not just to the beginning
Sun taiji practitioner at whom this book is aimed, but for taiji practitioners of all levels and all styles. Chapter 7
concludes the book.
I have some other miscellaneous observations to offer:
***Tim provides quotes from Sun's writings at the opening of each chapter that give brief glimpses into the
thinking and attitude of Sun towards training and martial arts. I hadn't seen these rendered into English before.
***There are several dozen minor but annoying typographical or grammatical errors that will hopefully be
cleaned up in the event of a second edition or second printing (and I hope this book does well enough that there
will be one). Example: we learn on page 4 that "Li Kui Yuan had been a Wing Yi Quan student of the famous
Guo Yun Shen . . . " While I think that cross-training of Wing Chun and Yi Quan would be a fascinating blend of
arts, I don't recall Wing Yi Quan as being what Guo Yun Shen was known for. Tim, send me the draft of any
future book you happen to do; I'll proofread it for free.
***Posture and alignment are a core theme of this book. Tim's recommendations and analysis may differ in
some respects from Yang Cheng Fu's 10 Points, which astute taiji nerds will no doubt notice and comment on.
But Tim is in better shape than Yang Cheng Fu ever was, and is far more likely to live a long and healthy life that
will find him teaching Sun taijiquan to Royce Grace when they are both in their nineties. One example of Tim's
variance from YCF's points:
"Lift the Chest and Roll the Shoulders Back:
As the crown of the head lifts and the back of the neck straightens, you will find the shoulder blades `slide' down
the back and move slightly together. Concurrently, the chest should lift upward to the maximum possible without
tension. The feeling is as if the top of the sternum lifts up to touch the chin (in reality it will not). It is important
not to use effort to pull the shoulder blades together, the movement should happen naturally with the crown of
the head floating away from the shoulders and the lifting of the chest. When raising the arms, the shoulders
remain down and back, and the elbows feel as if they are heavier than they really are. Once the chest is in its
correct, lifted position, the lower ribs will open and the chest will broaden. In this position, the lungs will be free
to work without the restriction of the depressed ribcage inhibiting their function. it is not possible to breathe
naturally and correctly unless the chest is lifted and open. Optimal breathing will naturally occur with correct
structural alignment. It may be beneficial to pay considerable attention to the lifting of the chest and the
lowering/closing of the shoulder blades as most people tend to allow their chest to collapse and shoulders top
round forward."
Many interpretations of hanxiong ("contain" or "empty" the chest) and babei ("raise the back") result in a
sunken, rigid fixation of the chest and a turtleshell-like rounding of the upper back. Although conventionally
done to support reverse breathing and power transfer, it's interesting how most good Chenshi taiji (from which
Yang style devolved) practitioners do not wind up with that physical result (sunken chest and rounded back). It
may have been something that YCF didn't know, didn't teach properly, or that his students simply misunderstood,
propagating the misunderstanding. Tim's interpretation makes complete postural sense, and makes natural
breathing during the form easier and more free. Additionally, although he does not talk about it specifically in the
book, Tim's principle also relaxes the shoulders considerably. In my own experience, the shoulders along with
the kua represent the biggest challenges to creating a smooth route for handling incoming force or expressing
power.
***At $43.13, this may seem like a high-priced book, until you consider that it was developed as an instructional

text for the college and other taiji classes that Troyce teaches in the Los Angeles area. Anyone who has
purchased a college text knows that the limited demand--and the monopolistic collaboration of professors,
authors and publishers--leave the student at the mercy of a rigid market dynamic. Potential purchasers should
realize that the information in this book is good for a lifetime: that the book will successfully introduce them to a
taiji practice that they can engage in and train for both martial and health benefits (exactly as Sun intended his
taiji to be practiced), at whatever level of intensity, at any stage of their lives where they can stand on two feet.
The clarity of the presentation and the straightforward insights into the whys and hows of Sun taiji are
remarkable value at any price. Compare this with the English translation of Chen Xin's "The Illustrated Canon of
Chen Taijiquan," which you can buy a used hardcover copy of for $355.00 (or an e-book version for $48.00,
which suggests a possible future medium for Tim and Troyce's book). You will certainly spend a lot of time
digesting Chen Xin's book, but you won't get nearly the practical value for actual taijiquan practice as Tim and
Troyce's book provides.
***Specific martial applications of the form movements are not covered in the book, but simple applications are
demonstrated in the companion DVD series. The book is about learning the Sun taijiquan solo form, and serves
this purpose admirably well.