Tung Ying-chieh


Tung Ying-chieh was a leading master of t'ai chi ch'uan, and a top disciple of Yang Chengfu. Born in Ren County, Hebei, China, his given name was Wen-k'e. Famous in his time for defeating foreign boxers in a public challenge match, he dedicated his life to the martial arts, training intensively in multiple styles, serving as chief assistant instructor for Yang Chengfu, and going on to found his own thriving t'ai chi legacy.

Early Life

He was born to a prosperous family, and received a classical education. Avidly interested in martial arts even as a child, at age 12 he convinced his father to send him away to learn from security professional and martial arts master Liu Laoying. There he trained in San Huang Pao Chui and other Shaolin styles, as well as some t'ai chi ch'uan.
After five years he returned home to marry and join the family business, but soon sought out Liu Laoying again to resume training. Liu recommended deeper study of t'ai chi ch'uan, referring him to Yang Laozhen the eldest grandson of Yang Luchan, and Yang Laozhen in turn introduced him to Li Zengkui for Yang style t'ai chi ch'uan instruction.
Liu then introduced him to Li Baoyu, who had mastered Wu -style t'ai chi ch'uan under Hao Weizhen. Tung lived with Li and trained intensively in Wu style for three years before returning home again. From that time on Li became a lifelong coach, mentor, and friend.

Career

Mastery
In his early twenties, Tung moved to Beijing seeking instruction from Grandmaster Yang Chengfu in Yang style t'ai-chi ch'uan. He trained with the Yang school for over 17 years, mastering the art, and serving as chief assistant instructor for the last 10 years of Yang's life.
While in Beijing he also trained under Yang's brothers Yang Banhou and Yang Shaohou, and practiced push hands with Chen style master Chen Fake. In Yang Shao-hou's classes he also trained alongside and exchanged ideas with future Wu-style masters Wu Gongyi and Wu Gongzao.
He later resumed training with Li Baoyu to master the Wu style as well, and so the Tung family trace their t'ai chi ch'uan lineage through both Yang and Wu.
Jianghu Journeys
In 1928 Tung moved south from Beijing with a group led by Yang Chengfu to establish t'ai chi ch'uan schools in other cities. He was the principal contributor to Yang's 1931 book Methods of Applying Taiji Boxing, and helped establish Yang t'ai chi schools in Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou which he ran by himself, and Guangzhou which he took over when Yang returned to Shanghai in 1935.
Ying-chieh
He earned the name Ying-chieh, which can be translated as "heroic figure", in his early thirties by defeating three British boxing champions in a brutal public challenge match in Nanjing, and with his victory defending the honor of t'ai chi ch'uan and Chinese martial arts, and bolstering Chinese national pride. Both Yang Chengfu and Li Baoyu coached Tung for that competition and were there to witness his victory, which was celebrated in newspaper articles in China, Hong Kong, and Macau that called him "Hero of China".
Ying-kit
In 1936 after Yang Chengfu passed away, Tung Ying-chieh was invited to teach in Hong Kong, where he founded the Tung Ying Kit Tai Chi Chuan Gymnasium — "Kit" is the Cantonese pronunciation of chieh — and promoted Yang style t'ai chi ch'uan while continuing to develop and refine his skills and innovations. From 1941 to 1945 during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, he relocated to the neutral territory of Macau, establishing another successful school.
He then returned to Hong Kong, enlisting his three sons in growing his t'ai chi schools, and in 1948 with the help of son Tung Huling he published 太極拳釋義 which illustrated and explained the Yang style curriculum and introduced his Ying Jie Fast Form. Also known as the "Red Book" due to the cover of the Hong Kong edition, it has been reprinted many times. The section on his fast form opens with what may have been the first published reference to "Tung Style T'ai Chi Ch'uan", though at the time "Tung Style" was written "董派", rather than the "董式" often used today. "派" can be taken to mean a school within a style's larger lineage tradition, while "式" indicates a separate style.
His network of schools and students expanded to Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia with the help of Tung Huling and Huling's son Tung Kai Ying. His visibility was no doubt boosted by his appearance at a wildly popular public match between his longtime colleague, Wu style t'ai chi master Wu Gongyi, and a White Crane master in 1954. Before the match, Tung played around with an Eagle Claw master for the cameras and judges, and then was filmed performing his Ying Jie Fast Form for the full audience.

Legacy

Family
After Tung Ying-chieh's death in 1961, his daughter Jasmine Mood-lay Tung continued teaching at the Tung Ying Kit Tai Chi Chuan Gymnasium in Hong Kong. His son Tung Huling taught there and also traveled to teach and promote the art in other countries, then in 1966 moved to Honolulu, Hawaii to establish a new school and home base in the USA.
Another son, Dong Junling, had by then returned home to Ren County in Hebei, where he taught for many years, though he had also traveled back to Hong Kong to help Tung Huling to produce his own book also titled 太極拳使用法.
Tung Huling's son Tung Kai Ying joined him in Hawaii, then founded a Los Angeles school in 1971. Tung Huling's other son Tung Zeng Chen moved from Hebei to take over the Hawaii school after Tung Huling's retirement in 1983, accompanied by his son Da De "Alex" Dong.
In 2003 Alex Dong, Tung Zeng Chen's son and great grandson of Tung Ying-chieh, established a school in New York City, while Tung Kai Ying's son Tung Chen-Wei David — another great grandson of Tung Ying-chieh — is of course also a master instructor, based at the Los Angeles school. All regularly travel to teach classes and workshops as well, resulting in many additional Dong style schools and practice groups around the world.
Dong Style T'ai Chi Ch'uan
Much of Tung Ying-chieh's approach was based on Yang Chengfu’s final style of t'ai chi ch'uan as Yang taught it in the latter half of his career. And as noted above, Tung Ying-chieh also trained with Li Baoyu to master the Wu style. Tung style t'ai chi grew out of these traditions as well as Tung Ying-chieh's own independent research and experience.
Tung Style T'ai Chi training offers a strong foundation in the Yang Chengfu style as received and refined by Tung Ying-chieh and his family. Many students remain focused on that, but advanced students are offered the opportunity to learn fast forms that blend the Yang and Wu styles, including the Yingjie Fast Form, as well as a Wu style slow form, push hands, and applications, plus Yang style and Tung style weapons forms.
A Lasting Legacy
Tung Ying-chieh is perhaps not as well-known in the West as some other masters, yet experts seeking to learn t'ai chi for health or as a component of effective martial arts training have long found their way to him and his successors. For he was a champion, he was a master of multiple styles with his own unique synthesis, and he established a lasting legacy that has continued to thrive, with many affiliated schools in North America, Europe, and Asia.

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