Mr. Steve Long first witnessed the practice of Taijiquan on the beaches of Southern California during the early 1970's. He had hopes that one day he would get the opportunity to practice this graceful art.

Early in 1972, while attending the University of California at Los Angeles, Mr. Long received a formal exposure to the martial arts when a classmate introduced him to the study of Uechi Ryu Karate.

Mr. Long studied this form of Karate for nearly two years until a move and subsequent transfer to the School of Business Administration at Arizona State University ended this association in 1974. Mr. Long remained in the Phoenix area for several years during which time he briefly investigated Yoga and Transcendental Meditation.

After moving to Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1980, Mr. Long spent several years working in the health related fields associated with employee assistance programs. In 1985 he began his career in commercial real estate as a project manager with a local shopping center developer. He joined the Fletcher Bright Company in 1989 and continues to work in the areas of commercial real estate that are related to the shopping center industry.

On a Sunday afternoon in August of 1998, Mr. Long and Dr. Zibin Guo met at a gym that Mr. Long co-owned and they talked about putting together a Taiji program in the Chattanooga area. With this discussion Mr. Long began the serious practice of Taiji that he had promised himself nearly thirty years earlier.

Mr. Long was formally certified by Dr Zibin Guo to teach Taijiquan on August 17, 2001 and offers instruction at various locations including World Gym, the Chattanooga Lifestyle Center, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.