Sun Style Tai Chi
孫式太極拳The youngest family branch of taijiquan, which Sun Lutang combined with xingyiquan and baguazhang in 1918. High stance and mobile step.
Quick Facts
ChinaCharacter & Origin
Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Sun Style Tai Chi
About Sun Style Tai Chi
Sun style is a family branch of taijiquan created by Sun Lutang (1860–1933), a master of xingyiquan and baguazhang. According to China's national intangible cultural heritage portal, he learned taijiquan from Hao Weizhen of the Wu (Hao) style, whom he met in Beijing in 1912, while the historian Ben Judkins gives the year 1914. In 1918 he combined all three arts into one whole. It is thus the youngest of the main family styles. It is practised in a high stance with a mobile step: a step forward is always followed by the rear foot and a step back is drawn in, while the centre of gravity neither rises nor sways. The opening and closing repeated between sections of the form give the style its other name, Kaihe huobu taijiquan. The traditional form has 97 or 98 positions, the competition form 73. The higher stance with less knee bending is why the British patient organisation NRAS recommends Sun style to people with arthritis. Sun Lutang was also a prolific author, and according to Judkins his book on xingyiquan of 1915 is the first practical modern manual with many photographs. Sun style has been on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage since 2021.
History
Sun Lutang (1860–1933) came from Wan County, today Shunping, in Hebei Province. According to China's national intangible cultural heritage portal, he met Hao Weizhen of the Wu (Hao) style in Beijing in 1912, and Hao passed on to him his own approach to taijiquan. The historian Ben Judkins dates the meeting to 1914 and mentions a tradition that Sun cared for Hao when he was ill. In 1918 Sun combined taijiquan, xingyiquan and baguazhang into a single whole, and according to the portal this is how his style came into being. In 1915 or 1916 he joined the Beijing Physical Education Research Society, where he also taught philosophy, and in 1928 he was invited to the Central Guoshu Institute. The book on taijiquan, Taijiquan xue, has a preface dated 1919. Sun Lutang died on 16 December 1933 in Baoding.
How it differs
According to the national portal, Sun style's lineage runs through Wu Yuxiang, Li Yiyu and Hao Weizhen, i.e. from Wu (Hao) style, but Sun combined it with xingyiquan and baguazhang. It differs mainly in its high stance and mobile step with the rear foot drawn up. According to the list, Wu Jianquan style has economical stances and a 川-shaped step, and per the Macao post office Wu (Hao) has small, concise circular movements. Chen style arose at the end of the Ming dynasty and Sun's only in the early 20th century, making it the youngest main style.
Technique
According to the national list, Sun's style is practised in a high stance with a mobile step, gaojia huobu, and the centre of gravity neither rises nor sways sideways. A forward step is always followed by the rear foot and a backward step is drawn in, with smooth movements and no visible jumps. The style rests on the principle of using reversal within softness and moving softly within reversal, and on the idea of uniting combat and the Dao. The traditional main form has 98 positions by one source and 97 by another. The Macao Post Office calls the style gentle and agile, with high leg lifts and linked openings and closings. Judkins says Sun Lutang put health and self-improvement before martial application.
Training
Besides the traditional form, the national list gives a simplified 35-position form and a Sun sword form. The style is passed on mainly through the relationship of master and student, and the documented lineage reaches the sixth generation. According to Judkins, Sun Lutang began studying taijiquan only after mastering xingyiquan and baguazhang. The British patient organisation NRAS calls Sun's forms especially suitable for people with arthritis for their higher stance and less knee bending, and recommends consulting a doctor.
Ranks and progression
We did not find a grading system specific to Sun style. The national list gives a competition form of 73 positions. According to an expert article, the national duanwei system of 1998 has nine grades in three levels, and taijiquan of the Sun style is among the examination disciplines. Under a regulation of 28 January 2021, holders of a duan may be warned, reprimanded or stripped of their grade for breaking the rules.
Today
Sun style was added in 2021 to the fifth batch of China's national list of intangible cultural heritage as an extension of taijiquan, with two listings, for Hebei and Beijing's Xicheng district. Its main area of spread is the city of Baoding, and it is practised most in Wangdu County, where the application cites over 50 registered teams. UNESCO inscribed taijiquan as a whole in 2020. The Tai Chi for Arthritis programme, created by Paul Lam in 1997, derives from Sun style.
Did you know
Sun style is also called Kaihe huobu taijiquan, taijiquan of opening and closing with a mobile step. According to Judkins, Sun's book on xingyiquan of 1915 is the first practical modern manual with many step-by-step photographs. Kennedy and Guo, according to Judkins, call Sun Lutang the most important Chinese author on martial arts of the modern era. He died in the room where he was born, and according to tradition he predicted the date of his death. The book A Study of Taijiquan was published in English only in 2003.
Frequently asked questions
Who created Sun style, and from what?
Sun Lutang, who learned taijiquan from Hao Weizhen of the Wu (Hao) style and in 1918 combined it with xingyiquan and baguazhang.
How does Sun style differ from other styles of taijiquan?
Mainly by its high stance and mobile step, where on a step forward the rear foot follows and on a step back it is drawn in.
Is Sun style suitable for people with sore joints?
The British patient organisation NRAS calls it suitable for people with arthritis because of its higher stance and less knee bending, and recommends consulting a doctor first.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.