The 8 Tigers style of Tai Chi is derived primarily from the Wu Family style modified by the Eight Step Praying Mantis school over the last three generations (who no longer has permission to use the Wu family name).

In the Northtowns, 8 Tigers Style is taught with some influence from Japanese-style martial arts as well as understanding body energy in light of the newer discipline of Reiki.  This is due to the background of Scott Himenz, founder of 8 Tigers, as well as other founding practitioners.

In the Southtowns, the style is taught with more of a "return to its roots" approach, based on the experience and research of Ken Stuczynski, who had varying degrees of exposure to various other styles, such as Taoist Tai Chi, Yang, etc., but has studied, experimented with, and taught chi and chi theory, as it was central to the way he performed Chinese-style martial arts for over a decade.