Yang Yang Biography
		View Bio Video Master Yang Yang Curriculum Vitae Yang Yang was born in 1961 in Henan province near the Chen Village in China. At the age of 12, he began studying Taiji because of a congenital heart defect. He credits his practice of Chen Style Taiji with curing his heart condition and allowing him to pass the physical exam required in China to enter the universities. Master Yang studied for six years with three local teachers, Wu Xiubao, Yuan Shiming, and Zhang Xitang before going away to Shanghai to attend the university. During the next few years, he met and studied with Gu Liuxin, Chen Zhaokui and Feng Zhiqiang, all famous eighteenth generation masters. Yang Yang's dedicated Taiji practice was rewarded in formal competitions. He won first place in the Shanghai University Kungfu Tournament for three straight years (1981-1983) and in 1983 was voted Best Overall Martial Artist. These accomplishments earned him a job as an instructor with the Shanghai Chen Style Research Association. In 1985, he went to law school in Beijing, in large part so he could study on a regular basis with Master Feng. He formally became a disciple of Grandmaster Feng in 1988. To understand the power and mechanics of Taiji and Qigong beyond traditional explanatory frameworks, Master Yang completed a doctorate degree in kinesiology at the University of Illinois. His research focuses directly on the mechanisms and benefits of traditional Taiji/Qigong, and he has published several scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals. Yang's detailed study of Taiji/Qigong from these commanding points of view - as a master practitioner and as a scientific researcher – uniquely enable him to clarify and/or demystify what are often obscure points of theory and practice and to serve as a bridge between the Eastern/traditional and Western/academic fields. His traditional training also allowed him to distill the essence of various aspects of traditional Taiji training into an evidence-based program suitable for persons of all ages and physical abilities. Currently residing in Manhattan, Dr. Yang is the founder and Director of the Center for Taiji and Qigong Studies in New York City. More information about Yang's Taiji training, including personal stories of his experiences with the 18th generation Masters of the Chen Style, is provided in the magazine and journal articles.
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