What Tai Chi Style Should I Study
Chen, Yang and Sun Style Tai Chi: What Is the Difference?
If you have watched a group practising Tai Chi in a park, you may have wondered which style they were practising—or whether all Tai Chi is essentially the same.
The major styles share the fundamental principles of Tai Chi: relaxed movement, upright posture, coordinated weight transfer, mindful attention and continuity. However, each style expresses those principles differently.
Chen, Yang and Sun are three of the best-known styles. Understanding their differences can help you choose a form that suits your body, interests and reasons for learning.
Chen Style: Powerful and Dynamic
Chen is generally recognised as the oldest of the major family styles of Tai Chi. It combines slow, controlled movements with quicker actions and occasional bursts of explosive power known as fa jin.
Typical features include:
- spiral or “silk-reeling” movements
- changes between slow and fast movement
- lower and wider stances
- kicks, stamps and more visibly martial actions
- greater demands on leg strength, mobility and coordination
Chen style can be adapted, but its traditional practice is generally more physically demanding than Yang or Sun style. It often appeals to people interested in athletic movement, martial applications and the development of coordinated whole-body power.
The Tai Chi for Health Institute describes Chen style as containing contrasting slow and soft movements alongside fast, hard movements, explosive power and low stances.
Yang Style: Slow, Open and Graceful
Yang style developed from Chen style and is now the most widely practised form of Tai Chi internationally.
Its movements are usually slow, smooth and continuous, with large, open shapes and an even rhythm. The explosive actions seen in Chen style are generally less obvious.
Typical features include:
- slow and evenly paced movement
- broad, graceful postures
- clear forward, backward and sideways weight shifts
- bow stances in which the feet usually remain separated
- a calm and meditative appearance
The popular Simplified 24 Form is based primarily on Yang style. For this reason, Yang is probably the style you are most likely to see people practising together in Chinese parks and in public Tai Chi groups around the world.
However, appearance alone is not always enough to identify a style. Short health forms, competition routines and teachers’ individual adaptations can look similar from a distance.
Yang style is accessible to many people, but some of its longer steps, wider stances and periods of single-leg control may need to be modified for beginners or people with restricted mobility.
Sun Style: Upright, Agile and Accessible
Sun style was created by Sun Lutang, who was already an accomplished practitioner of Xingyiquan and Baguazhang before studying Tai Chi. His system combined Tai Chi’s softness with elements of the stepping and body methods found in those arts.
Sun style is characterised by:
- a relatively high and upright stance
- smaller, comfortable steps
- an agile “follow-step” method
- smooth movement at a generally even pace
- frequent opening-and-closing movements
- a strong emphasis on internal awareness and Qigong principles
In many Sun-style movements, when one foot steps forward or backward, the other foot follows. This reduces the time spent in a long, fixed stance and allows the practitioner to remain mobile and well organised.
Sun style should not be dismissed as an easy or diluted version of Tai Chi. Its footwork, coordination and internal principles contain considerable depth. Its higher posture simply makes those principles more accessible to a wider range of people.
Dr Paul Lam’s comparison notes that Sun style generally uses higher stances, an even tempo and fewer forceful kicks or punches than Chen style. These characteristics have contributed to its popularity among older practitioners and people practising primarily for health. Read Dr Lam’s comparison.
The Three Styles at a Glance
| Style | Common characteristics | Often appeals to |
|---|---|---|
| Chen | Lower stances, spiralling movement, changes of speed and explosive power | People interested in athletic practice and overt martial expression |
| Yang | Large, slow, graceful movements and clearly extended postures | Beginners, traditional practitioners and people seeking a widely taught form |
| Sun | Higher stance, compact movements, follow-step footwork and strong Qigong emphasis | People seeking mobility, balance, accessibility and health-focused practice |
These are broad differences, not rigid rules. A skilled teacher can adapt any style, and every major Tai Chi style contains both health and martial principles.
Which Style Is Most Common in Parks?
Yang style is the most common and widely recognised style of Tai Chi. The Simplified 24 Form helped make Yang-style movement accessible to large groups, schools and community programs.
When people imagine Tai Chi in a park—rows of people moving slowly through broad, flowing postures—they are usually imagining Yang style or a simplified form derived mainly from it.
Sun style is less commonly seen in general park practice, but it has become increasingly important in health, arthritis and falls-prevention programs.
Why Shang Tai Chi Mainly Uses Sun Style
At Shang Tai Chi, our purpose is not to identify one style as superior to every other. We mainly use Sun style because its characteristics closely match the people we want to help and the way we want to teach.
Our focus is on helping people:
- move with greater confidence
- improve balance and coordination
- maintain mobility
- practise without unnecessarily deep or demanding stances
- adapt Tai Chi to their current capabilities
- develop a practice they can continue as they age
Sun style’s higher stance can reduce the physical demand of maintaining deep knee flexion. Its smaller steps and follow-step method allow students to explore weight transfer while regularly bringing the feet back into a more manageable position.
Its upright posture, controlled stepping and opening-and-closing movements also fit naturally with our focus on balance, breathing, body awareness and calm, coordinated movement.
Sun style is therefore an excellent main teaching vehicle for Shang Tai Chi—particularly for mature beginners, people returning to movement and those concerned about balance or restricted mobility.
We Are Not Limited to One Style
Using mainly Sun style does not mean ignoring the value of other systems.
Yang style provides an important foundation for understanding the spacious, continuous movement most people associate with Tai Chi. Chen style provides valuable insight into spiralling movement, changes in tempo and the martial origins of the art.
Each style can teach us something. Our approach is to use the methods that best support safe learning, sound Tai Chi principles and meaningful progress.
The objective is not simply to memorise a sequence. It is to help each person move better, feel better and develop a form of Tai Chi they can continue to practise throughout life.
Which Style Should You Learn?
The best style is not necessarily the oldest, most athletic or most popular. It is the style that matches your goals, physical capabilities and access to a capable teacher.
If you want dynamic movement and visible martial power, Chen style may appeal to you. If you prefer broad, slow and graceful movement, Yang style may be a natural choice. If you value an upright stance, agile stepping and an accessible health-focused practice, Sun style may suit you particularly well.
At Shang Tai Chi, you do not need previous experience, exceptional flexibility or a high level of fitness. We begin with standing, posture, safe weight transfer and simple movements before building them into a complete practice.
Move Better. Feel Better. Live Better.
Visit Shang Tai Chi to explore our lessons, articles and beginner resources.