Li Tianjin · Tai Chi
Direct disciple of Grandmaster Wang Xi'an
Former bodyguard to Jack Ma · National push hands champion · Former head coach of Tai Chi Zen Garden
Founded Hangzhou Li Tianjin Tai Chi Culture Co., Ltd. in 2025 — dedicated to Tai Chi transmission and teaching
From Chenjiagou to Independent Founder
Li Tianjin
Born in 1979 in Zhaobao Town, Wenxian County, Henan Province, Li Tianjin began martial arts training from a young age. He started Tai Chi at age 8 and at 14 became a direct disciple of Grandmaster Wang Xi'an — one of the "Four Diamonds" of Chen-style Tai Chi and a first-batch national intangible cultural heritage inheritor.
In 1998, at age 19, Li Tianjin won the 5th China Wenxian Tai Chi Annual Tournament Push Hands 65KG championship and title holder, as well as the Tai Chi First Prize. He went on to win consecutive championships at various national martial arts tournaments. In the martial arts community, he is formally recognized as an expert in Chen Tai Chi internal power and all fist routines, especially in Tai Chi free sparring (san shou), inheriting his master's style of "sharp, fast, precise, and fierce."
From 2010, recommended by Grandmaster Wang Xi'an, he served as personal security assistant to Jack Ma. He later became head coach at the Tai Chi Zen Garden in Hangzhou's Xixi area (co-founded by Jack Ma and Jet Li), serving students who were primarily business executives and successful professionals.
In November 2025, Li Tianjin founded Hangzhou Li Tianjin Tai Chi Culture Co., Ltd., independently pursuing Tai Chi teaching and cultural transmission. The company is located in Xianlin Street, Yuhang District, Hangzhou, with business scope covering Tai Chi training, sports competition organization, cultural and artistic exchange, and sports health services. Assistant instructor Li Pengju is a company partner.
Dong Jin is not a concept — it is a bodily perception
"From familiarity with techniques, one gradually comprehends Dong Jin;
From understanding energy, one advances toward spiritual illumination;
Yet without sustained practice over time, sudden breakthrough cannot occur."
— Wang Zongyue, Tai Chi Chuan Treatise
Many practitioners train for years. Their form is smooth and flowing — yet they have never truly "understood" energy. Because Dong Jin is not a concept but a bodily perception. You cannot "think" your way into understanding what Lie Jin is — it must be explored in the body, with guidance.
Breaking the Form Barrier
Practicing only the external shape can leave the arms moving while the body stays still — round on the outside, with no spiral inside. Breaking the "form barrier" opens the body's channels for transmitting internal energy.
Breaking the Force Barrier
Holding with muscular force tends to block movement — the harder you try, the easier it is to go stiff. Relaxation means "not stiff," not "not using." Transform clumsy force into internal energy. The force barrier is often the most stubborn.
Breaking the Intent Barrier
The brain "knows" but the body has not yet experienced it. Using high-frequency somatic feedback, practitioners are guided from "conceptual understanding" into "bodily perception," giving the mind a channel to travel through.
This Cohort: Lie Jin Training Camp
Tai Chi Dong Jin Training Camp · Lie Jin
Years of practice — how do you bring internal energy into the body? Two days in person, one single energy method: somatic perception, paired feedback, and transfer into your own form. Taught by Li Tianjin; 16 seats per cohort.
- M1 Reconsidering Dong Jin: after all these years, where are you stuck?
- M2 What Lie Jin is: rotational splitting among the Eight Gates
- M3 Body reorganization: opening the channels for Lie Jin
- M4 ★ Lie Jin entry: first guided contact with Lie Jin in paired practice
- M5 Q&A and experience sharing
- M6 Lie Jin deepening: from "touched it" to "stabilized it"
- M7 Lie Jin in push hands: active stepping and four directions
- M8 ★ Lie Jin in the form: bringing the camp back into your routine
- M9 Comprehensive assessment: can you produce Lie Jin now?
- M10 Graduation: your path forward
- Perform the foundational paired exercises of Lie Jin
- Identify the main breakpoints in your own form
- Take home practice recommendations tailored to your foundation
- Understand how to bring the camp's work into your familiar routine
Progress varies with each individual's foundation and post-camp practice. The goal of this course is to establish a correct starting point and method — not a one-time, permanent result.
From Beginner to Advanced — For Everyone
Tai Chi Beginner Camp
Never practiced Tai Chi? Start from standing meditation, silk-reeling exercises, to Chen Tai Chi fundamentals. Li Tianjin's team teaches step by step. A two-day Saturday–Sunday format; graduates can directly enter the Lie Jin Training Camp.
Lie Jin Training Camp
Two-day intensive, focused solely on Lie Jin. Somatic perception-oriented teaching, original form-transfer design. All styles welcome; 3+ years of practice or completion of Beginner Camp required.
Peng Jin Training Camp
Peng is "containment" — arms rounded, internally expanding. The mother energy of Lie Jin; mastering Peng gives all eight methods a foundation. Lie Jin graduates receive priority registration.
Tai Chi Online Academy
Can't attend in person? Online courses cover Tai Chi fundamentals, silk-reeling, standing meditation, and form analysis. Watch anytime, review repeatedly. Free online preview courses for in-person camp students.
1-on-1 Form Diagnosis
Master Li Tianjin personally diagnoses your form, identifies internal energy breakpoints, and customizes a cultivation pathway. For school instructors and advanced practitioners. In-person or via video call.
In their words, a direct experience of "energy"
I practiced Yang-style for eight years and always felt "empty." On the day of the camp, Master Li had me put hands on him — one turn of the waist, and my force was spiraled away. I froze. Years of practice, and for the first time I had a direct experience of what "energy" is.
I run a Tai Chi school. When students asked "Teacher, what is internal energy?" I'd feel uneasy. After the Lie Jin camp, I went home and found 3 Lie Jin positions in my own form. Now I practice them every time. Finally, I can give my students a real answer.
Everything you want to ask, right here
Who is Li Tianjin?
What is Dong Jin (Understanding Energy) in Tai Chi?
What is Lie Jin (Spiral Splitting Energy)?
Who is the Dong Jin Training Camp for?
What is the relationship between Li Tianjin and Jack Ma?
What is Li Tianjin's lineage?
What is the instructor team for the training camp?
How do I register and what are the fees?
Inquire About This Cohort
Lie Jin Training Camp · November 14–15, 2026 (Saturday–Sunday)
Add the assistant instructor on WeChat to ask about the schedule, fees, and fit.
Limited to 16 seats per cohort — first come, first served.
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