William C. C. Chen was born in Chekiang, China. He started teaching Tai Chi Chuan at the beginning of the 1950s while training as a live-in student of the famous Great-Grandmaster Cheng Man-Ching who preferred to be called Professor Cheng. Besides being the youngest of Professor Cheng's senior student, he was also a favorite disciple. In the 1950s he was involved competitively in the various free-style, Chinese Wushu. In 1958, he won second place in the Taiwan National Olympic Competition.
Grandmaster William C. C. Chen has devoted his life to the study of body mechanics and the effects of Tai Chi Chuan for art of self-defense as well as on physical health, and to the application of the principles of Tai Chi Chuan. His approach is to make Tai Chi Chuan simple, easier, natural, enjoyable and productive.
He has been a teacher since 1952 in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast. In 1965, he established the William C. C. Chen Tai Chi Chuan in New York City's Chelsea area. He is invited to give special seminars on his Body Mechanics of Tai Chi Chuan on a regular basis in Asia, southeast Asia, Europe and throughout the United States.