Wǔ Taiji Striking to the Eight Gates form

Wǔ Shì Tàijí Quán, Dǎ Bā Mén Wu Family Taiji Quan, Striking to the Eight Gates (Traditional Supplementary form) demonstrated by master Hu TianJun of Nan Hengshan village, Xiyang county, Shanxi province. This lineage of Wu Family Taiji is from Xiyang county in Shanxi province where it was taught by master Li Baoyu (A.K.A. Li Xiangyuan). Li Baoyu was from Hebei province and began studying San Huang Pao Chui at a young age. Later his teacher gave him an introduction to Yang Zhaolin from Whom he studied Yang style Taiji. After the death of Yang Zhaolin he began studying Wu style under Hao Weizhen (Sun Lutang's taiji teacher) becoming one of his top disciples. He was known for his deep knowledge and skills and taught in many places. However it was in Xiyang county in Shanxi province where he taught the longest, staying many years and teaching the entire Wu style system to a small number of local villagers. Since that time the old traditional methods of the Wu style have been preserved at a very high level in a few of the small villages in Xiyang county. Wu style Taiji Quan originates with master Wu YuXiang who studied (along with his brothers) Yang style under it's founder Yang LuChan, and later under Chen Qingping inheritor of the Chen family small frame style and the Zhaobao style. His brother discovered the Taiji classics in the back of a salt shop while they were studying under master Chen. He later formulated his own system of Taiji combining the methods he had learned from his teachers with the teachings contained in the classics.