Having practised Hung Kuen since childhood, Rev. Dominic Chan went on to learn both the Yang and Wu styles of Tai Chi during his seminary years, earning the nickname “Kung Fu Chan”.
In 1974, he taught Tai Chi to foreigners, including two American young priests, at St. Joseph’s Church on Garden Road.
In 1977, he travelled to Japan to experience contemplative prayer with Fr. Oshida, a spiritual master. Rev. Dominic Chan visited the Taizé Community in France in 1978 to explore the spirituality of communion.
In 1983, Rev. Dominic Chan met Master Yeung Wah Biu, a disciple of Wu-style Tai Chi grandmaster Wu Jianquan, and began learning from him. During his practice, he realised that beyond strengthening the body, Tai Chi might also enhance one’s spiritual life.
In 1984, during a 10-day spiritual retreat on Cheung Chau Island, Rev. Dominic Chan experienced a moment of divine insight. As he walked alone one morning, he visualised a vague image of Tai Chi combined with spirituality in the sky. At that moment, the concept of combining Tai Chi with spirituality took form in his mind. He consulted his retreat director, who encouraged him to develop this vision further. After years of prayer and discernment, he and Paul Yiu – a Master with over thirty years of Tai Chi experience – developed and conducted “Tai Chi and Spirituality” classes throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Rev. Dominic Chan has always cherished spiritual practice. In 1997, he studied spiritual theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, delving into the Church’s history of spirituality. After earning his master’s degree in 1999, he returned to Hong Kong to continue his development of Tai Chi Spirituality.