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sometimes the 2-man sparring set (san-sou).Tung family patriarch Tung Ying Jieh choreographeda dynamic form known as the Tung FastSet which is now a part of the Tung Family Tai chichuan curriculum. According to the Tung familyin Hawaii, Yang Cheng Fu and Tung Ying Jiehwere planning to choreograph a fast Tai chichuan form but it did not materialize. The TungFast Set is not the same as the Traditional YangFamily Chang Chuan set. From what I have seenand heard, the Tung Family does not have theTraditional Yang Family Tai chi chuan ChangChuan form.Note some of the names like "Shoot theGoose" and "Fishtail Single Whip." The posturesare actually similar to "Shoot the Tiger" and"Single Whip" respectively but with some variationin the speed and the trajectory and form ofthe hand.Although the names of the Chang Chuan posturesare the same as in the solo form, they aredifferent in the execution, so much so that thetwo sets appear to be from different schools. Inthe Chang Chuan set, one version of the SingleWhip has the right hand open, that's why it iscalled a "fishtail;" in the "Shoot the Goose" posture,the strike is upwards. There are other differences.It is true that the Chang chuan form is shorterthan the 108 solo form, but because of the fastmovements alternating with slow movements,the Chang Chuan is more difficult and tiring.What is it in the Chang Chuan form that makesit an essential training for martial art?The Chang Chuan form is not the solo formdone slow and fast. It is an entirely different set. Ihave no information as to when it became part ofthe Traditional Yang Family Tai chi chuan curriculum.But unlike the solo form, it seems tohave undergone the least change through its history.The form is unpredictable. One time the practitioneris moving slowly and then suddenly,without warning, goes fast and back to slow.Unlike the solo form that's done slowly throughout,you can actually change the speed of theChang Chuan form as you wish. Sometimes theperson doing it begins to look like a cartoon characteror a clock that's been wound up.There are many explosive martial techniquesin the form. You can picture the slow movementsgathering chi and the fast movement dischargingit. There are also kicks and jumping movementsin Chang Chuan that are not in the solo form.Some people call it Tai chi Fast Form,” becausesome of its movements are fast; others call it “FaJing Form” because of its explosive movements.But to Traditional Yang Family Tai chi chuanpractitioners, it is “Tai Chi Chuan Chang Chuan.”It is always a pleasure to watch a good performanceof the Traditional Yang Family ChangChuan set. This unique set is a real heirloom. Nowonder the Yang Family taught it only to theirclose relatives and trusted students.We are fortunate that the faithful practitionersof Traditional Yang Family Tai Chi Chuanlike Sifu Gin Soon Chu of Boston have rescued theChang Chuan form from obscurity and shared itwith their students. Now, like the classical soloform, Chang Chuan can be a gift to the Tai chichuan world.------------------------------1. I am not sure either if he verified his informationabout the Yang Family, but he said that YangCheng Fu "had four sons. They are teaching Taichi in either Hong Kong or Hawaii." (p. 47). Hemust have had in mind the descendants of DongYing Jieh who lived in Hong Kong and Hawaii. Thechildren of Yang Cheng Fu lived in China andHong Kong. Only Yang Sau-Chaung lived in HongKong. The rest of the children lived in China. TheTung family re-settled in Hawaii. The most famouswas Dong Ying-Jieh's son, Tung/Dong Huling,who died many years ago in Hawaii. I interviewedhis son Tung (now spelled Dong) ShengChen and grandson Alex Dong and observed theirclasses doing Fist and Knife and Sword forms atthe Chinese school in Oahu's Chinatown. One ofJune-July 2013 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) 47