Master Jou, Tsung Hwa: A Tai Chi Legacy Through the Eyes of Dr. Painter

Recently, I had the honor of interviewing Dr. John Painter about Master Jou, Tsung Hwa, a Tai Chi legend of the 20th century. During our conversation, Dr. Painter shared some delightful stories about Master Jou, vividly illustrating his persona and passion for the healing art of Tai Chi. These stories included Jou learning the Tai Chi technique Fa Jin from a cat, which taught him how to quickly release energy, giving commands to his pet rooster, pushing hands with a goat named Happy, teaching Tai Chi to a highway patrol officer after being stopped for speeding, and many other cherished memories from Tai Chi Farm.

Approximately a quarter century ago, when I began my Tai Chi journey, YouTube did not exist, and Amazon did not yet sell any Tai Chi books or instructional videos. Hungry for knowledge about this healing art, I finally got a copy of “The Dao of Taijiquan: Way to Rejuvenation.” This was one of three books authored by Master Jou and was considered a Tai Chi bible at the time. Born in China, Jou suffered from frequent illness due to malnutrition. Despite this, he was brilliant, writing numerous mathematics textbooks and becoming an acclaimed math professor in China. However, he nearly died in his 40s due to several intestinal and cardiac problems. On the recommendation of others, he diligently learned Tai Chi and Qigong, fully restoring his health within five years. Later, he immigrated to the U.S. and began promoting Tai Chi through teaching. Unfortunately, he was hit by a car at the age of 81. The emergency room doctor was shocked to learn his age because his skin and organs were as healthy and strong as those of a middle-aged man. He certainly died too soon.

Dr. John Painter of Texas is a highly accomplished martial artist and a respected teacher of Qigong and other energy modalities. He has a long history of working and training military tactical trainers, FBI, DEA, and special police forces, and was even commissioned as an honorary Texas Ranger. Similar to Master Jou, Dr. Painter had an auto-immune issue, and his parents were told he would not live beyond the age of 15 or 16 when he was only 13. Encouraged by his parents and driven by his own curiosity, he learned the healing art from his neighbor, who was actually a master of Chinese martial arts. This experience dramatically altered the trajectory of John’s life. He became well-versed in the theory and philosophy behind Chinese martial arts and healing arts, particularly the ancient “Yi Jing’, or “the Book of Changes” Master Jou was also deeply engaged in researching the “Yi Jing”, and their shared interest led to a lifelong friendship despite their age difference.

Master Jou’s family ran a successful silk business, which provided them with financial comfort. In 1984, he acquired over 100 acres of land in Warwick, New York, and developed it into Tai Chi Farm. There, Jou continued to cultivate his health through diligent practice and taught many students. Once a year, he invited Tai Chi masters from both China and the West to teach at the farm. The annual event, called the Zhang San Fang Festival, honored the legendary Daoist monk Zhang San Fang, who was credited with creating the internal martial arts. In addition to Tai Chi, other internal arts like Qigong, Yi Quan, Xin Yi Quan, Baguazhang, and others were showcased and taught there. The list of instructors read like a Who’s Who of the global Tai Chi community at the time, and everyone was treated equally. Each year, hundreds of enthusiasts attended the festival for free, with many camping out at Tai Chi Farm. The event typically started on Friday and ended early Sunday afternoon, featuring 15-20 workshops led by masters simultaneously. It was a Tai Chi Camelot. Many instructors attended the event to deepen and broaden their knowledge of the art, inspiring others to learn and teach Tai Chi. Tai Chi Farm was instrumental in developing a new generation of Tai Chi instructors.

At the request of Jou’s daughter, Liz Jou, Dr. Painter spent six months collecting precious photos and teaching videos of Jou, as well as videos of celebrations at the Zhang San Fang Festival, instructional videos of masters at the festival, and exchanging and verifying information with friends. He wrote and edited all the web pages, creating a special section on the website that contains newsletters Master Jou published and mailed to his students and followers. Master Jou authored most of the articles but also included contributions from other writers. Thanks to Dr. Jay Dunbar for collecting and preserving most of these newsletters, we can now better understand Tai Chi’s principles and techniques from Master Jou. One particularly precious edition is Vol 1 No. 5, where Master Jou interviewed then 102-year-old Tai Chi Master Wu Do-Nan. I highly recommend everyone visit the website to be inspired and learn.

Dr. Painter has a great wealth of knowledge and a good sense of humor. I thoroughly enjoyed my time chatting with him. You can watch our entire conversation here.