Preserving the traditional Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan as taught by Master Choy Kam Man of San Francisco — 5th generation lineage holder in the Yang family tradition, and son of the man who introduced Tai Chi to America.
The style of Tai Chi taught on this site traces an unbroken lineage from the founder of Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan to a courtyard in San Francisco's Chinatown:
The founder of Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan. Known as "Yang the Invincible," he learned Chen Style Tai Chi in Chenjiagou village and transformed it into the Yang Style that would become the most widely practiced form of tai chi in the world.
Son of Yang Lu-chan. Refined and softened the Yang Style, making it more accessible while maintaining its martial effectiveness. Known for his extraordinary sensitivity in push hands.
The great popularizer of Yang Style. Yang Cheng-fu standardized the form, published influential books, and trained the generation of masters who would spread Tai Chi across China and eventually the world. His large-frame style became the standard for Yang Tai Chi worldwide.
Direct lineage disciple of Yang Cheng-fu. Fellow student alongside the legendary Cheng Man-ch'ing. Also studied under Chen Wei Ming. Emigrated from China to San Francisco in 1939 and established the Taijiquan Academy of the United States — making him the first person to bring Tai Chi to America. Father of Master Choy Kam Man.
Son of Choy Hok Peng. Began learning Tai Chi from his father at age 14. Emigrated from Hong Kong to San Francisco in 1949. Taught traditional Yang Style Tai Chi at the San Francisco Chinatown YMCA for decades, from the 1960s through the early 1990s. Also studied Chow Gar (Southern Praying Mantis) Kung Fu under Grandmaster Yip Sui in Hong Kong, becoming a martial artist of superb strength and versatility.
Paul Walhus studied directly under Master Choy Kam Man in San Francisco. Master Choy's lineage runs through a remarkable cohort of fellow students — teachers, artists, theater-makers, poets — who carried the Yang Style forward in their own directions:
5th Generation Yang Style • San Francisco
Master Choy Kam Man (also known as Johnny Choy) was born in 1919. He began learning Tai Chi from his father, Choy Hok Peng, at the age of 14. His father was a direct disciple of the great Yang Cheng-fu himself — meaning that when you learned from Master Choy, you were only two teachers removed from the man who standardized Yang Style for the world.
After his father's death in the late 1950s, Master Choy carried forward the family's mission of teaching authentic Yang Style Tai Chi in America. He taught primarily at the San Francisco Chinatown YMCA (the Chinese YMCA), where his classes became legendary. Students would gather in the courtyard for hours of training, followed by semi-monthly Saturday "Club Meetings" where 30 to 40 students would surround the master for intensive practice.
He also taught at the VFW Hall in Chinatown, in Berkeley, at UC Davis, at the Sacramento YMCA, and in San Jose. His teaching spanned roughly three decades — from the early 1960s through the early 1990s — during which he trained generations of students who would go on to establish studios and teaching practices across the country.
Master Choy was conservative in demeanor but fierce in his art. He was a martial artist of superb strength who carried the full weight of the Yang family tradition on his shoulders — and he shared it generously with anyone willing to learn.
Beyond his Yang Style Tai Chi mastery, Master Choy also studied Chow Gar (Southern Praying Mantis) Kung Fu under Grandmaster Yip Sui in Hong Kong during the 1950s, becoming Yip Sui's chief disciple. This gave him an unusually deep martial arts foundation — combining the soft, internal power of Yang Tai Chi with the explosive, close-range techniques of Southern Praying Mantis. He was, in every sense, the real deal.
Master Choy was also acquainted with Bruce Lee, who shared similar tensions with the traditional martial arts establishment in the Chinese community.
1919 (some sources say 1920)
1993/1994, San Francisco
Choy Hok Peng — direct disciple of Yang Cheng-fu
Chow Gar (Southern Praying Mantis) under Grandmaster Yip Sui
San Francisco Chinatown YMCA courtyard
~1960s through early 1990s. Three decades of instruction.
The Complete Yang Style Curriculum
Master Choy taught the complete traditional Yang Style curriculum, centered on the 108 Movement Long Form — the "Choy Family Form," his family's interpretation of the sequence passed down from Yang Cheng-fu through Choy Hok Peng.
The 108 Long Form is the heart of Yang Style Tai Chi. It takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes to perform and contains every principle, technique, and energetic quality that defines the art. Each movement is a meditation, a martial technique, and a health exercise simultaneously.
The complete Yang Style form as transmitted through the Choy family. The foundation of everything.
Created by Master Choy Kam Man — a condensed version of the Long Form for students with limited time.
The traditional Yang Style straight sword form. Develops precision, extension, and refined energy.
The Yang Style broadsword form. Develops power, spirit, and dynamic movement.
Two-person sensitivity training. The laboratory where tai chi principles are tested against a live partner.
Standing and moving energy cultivation exercises. Master Choy focused increasingly on qigong in his later years.
The Choy family style emphasizes the classical Yang principles:
The Father of Tai Chi in America
Choy Hok Peng (also romanized as Choy Hak Pang) holds a singular place in martial arts history: he is credited as the first person to bring Tai Chi to the United States.
Born around 1885 in China, Choy Hok Peng was a direct lineage disciple of Yang Cheng-fu — the great master who standardized Yang Style Tai Chi for the modern world. He trained alongside the legendary Cheng Man-ch'ing (who would later become famous in his own right for bringing Tai Chi to New York in the 1960s). He also studied under Chen Wei Ming, another prominent Yang Cheng-fu student.
In 1939, invited by the San Francisco-China Trading Company, Choy Hok Peng emigrated to San Francisco and established the Taijiquan Academy of the United States — the first known Tai Chi school in the Americas. The academy operated from 1939 to 1947. This was two decades before Cheng Man-ch'ing arrived in New York and more than a decade before most Americans had ever heard of Tai Chi.
Choy Hok Peng died in the late 1950s, but his legacy lived on through his son, Choy Kam Man, who carried the family's mission forward for another three decades in San Francisco.
Before Cheng Man-ch'ing, before the 1960s boom, before Tai Chi became a household word — there was Choy Hok Peng, teaching in San Francisco in 1939. The Choy family brought Tai Chi to America.
c. 1885, China
c. 1957
Yang Cheng-fu (direct disciple)
Cheng Man-ch'ing
Founded the Taijiquan Academy of the United States (1939) — first Tai Chi school in America
The "Father of Tai Chi in the Americas"
This extraordinary video, filmed in the early 1970s at the San Francisco Chinatown YMCA courtyard, shows three generations of the Choy family performing traditional Yang Style Tai Chi:
Narrated by Frank Choy, Master Choy's son. This is one of the only known video recordings of all three generations of the Choy family performing together.
Master Choy's students migrated across the country and established studios and teaching practices that continue to this day:
Studied with Master Choy from 1968, authorized to teach 1973. Founded Gilman Studio in Port Townsend, WA (1981). Author of 108 Insights into Tai Chi Chuan.
Senior disciple. Taught the Choy Family lineage interpretation in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Master Choy's son. 6th generation. Continues teaching the Choy family tradition in the Bay Area.
First non-Chinese student in Chinatown. Founded Silver Tai Chi of Utah.
Teaches traditional Yang Family Style in Davis, California.
Studied directly under Master Choy in San Francisco. Now based in Austin, TX. This website preserves the tradition.
Paul Walhus studied traditional Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan directly under Master Choy Kam Man in San Francisco. Learning from Master Choy meant learning from a man whose father had trained under Yang Cheng-fu himself — a direct, unbroken chain stretching back to the founder of Yang Style.
Paul is also the builder of the WholeTech Network — 108 websites spanning AI, tech, real estate, entertainment, and more. The number 108 is no coincidence: it's the same number as the movements in the Yang Style Long Form that Master Choy taught. 108 websites. 108 movements. The symmetry is intentional.
This website exists to ensure that Master Choy Kam Man's style of Tai Chi is not overlooked or forgotten. The Choy family brought Tai Chi to America before anyone else. Master Choy taught it with integrity, depth, and generosity for three decades. His students carry it forward. This site is part of that carrying.
Master Choy Kam Man, 5th generation Yang Style
Yang Lu-chan → Yang Jian-hou → Yang Cheng-fu → Choy Hok Peng → Choy Kam Man → Paul Walhus
108 movements in the Long Form. 108 websites in the WholeTech Network. The number of completion.
This website is a precursor to an upcoming biography about Paul Walhus and his journey through Tai Chi, technology, and three decades of building on the web.