Dear Master Chen Zhonghua,
I started following you and Taiji practical method in the middle of 2016, after my friend and teacher Ong Wenming, who we practiced together deferent styles of kongfu, introduced me to your school. Read more
People
People in Taijiquan in the past and present: masters, teachers and students.
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Authorized Instructors Chen Fake Chen Zhonghua Disciple List Feng Zhiqiang Hong Junsheng Masters List Student Resume
Sooyeon Zachrias discipleship Group 2020.09.13
On Sept. 13, 2020, Sooyeon Zacharias became Master Chen Zhonghua’s 372nd disciple in the Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method lineage..
Sooyeon Zachrias discipleship Sitting 2020.09.13
Because of various reason including Covid-19, her discipleship ceremony was postponed several times. Finally on Sept. 12, she drove 14 hours from Litton, BC. to Edmonton, Alberta. The next day, she was inducted as Master Chen Zhonghua’s 372nd disciple in a simple ceremony in Master Chen Zhonghua’s Headquater in Edmonton.
Sooyeon Zachrias discipleship Certificate 2020.09.13
Sooyeon started learning the Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method system in 2018, joining the Maple Ridge practice group. She has not missed one single workshop since then. In 2019, she participated at the 7th Annual Daqingshan International Taiji Competition.
Start learning first Practical Method form in Jan 2020.(Foundations from October 2019)
47 years old, Japanese, Living with Kiwi husband and 2 kids in Arrowtown New Zealand last 20 years.
4 years ago I started learning Yang style Tai Chi at local class, as I felt a Qi strongly and looking for the way to introduce it to my family.
I like been in the high alpine in 4 season, surfing and sailing in the sea with the family.
Sandy Kong
Age 49
Queenstown
Started Practical Method 11 months ago
Tai Chi for 10 months before that
And chi gong for 1 year when I was 36
Michael Roger Menzies. Age 76. Queenstown. Have practiced Practical Method for 9 months. Before Practical Method practiced Yang Style for 10 months. Total Tai Chi experience 19 months starting January 2019.
My name is Mary Jowett. I’m in my early 50′s and I live in Queenstown, New Zealand. I’ve been practicing Practical Method for 4 months with no previous Taiji experience.
Born in Lower Hutt, Wellington. Currently living in Queenstown. Age range:45-50.
Started Practical Method October 2019, love it (but not good at it! find it challenging for my brain and body -which is awesome!) have never done any martial arts or Taiji before (wish i had tho!) I do a bit of skiing, mountain biking, swimming, the odd jog like to be active (when i get round to it!)
Bhargav Khaund
I am an engineer by training, and I work in an energy and chemical company in a senior managerial role within the Supply Chain and business development function covering the Asian region.
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Master Chen Zhonghua always amazes me, whether it is at the next workshop (there is always something new and amazing) or looking back — such as in this video captured during a workshop in Ottawa ten years ago… an easy, seemingly simple, and clean bounce:
What do you see in the video?
John Upshaw: Everything is on a line. He added the right leg to the line…left arm to right leg…
Lou Sacharske: Watch his right shoulder, as he adds the right leg, there is zero deviation to telegraph the execution.
James Tam: I believe the rotation axis is the one joining Shifu’s left shoulder and front foot. And, the stick (effective energy pathway) is from his back foot to Steve’s upper back.
John Saw – My journey from a hotelier, gambler and Qigong Master to a faithful and loyal disciple of Master Chen Zhonghua 5
John Saw at Sydney Chen Zhonghua Taiji Academy – 8 March 2020
John Saw – My journey from a hotelier, gambler and Qigong Master to a faithful and loyal disciple of Master Chen Zhonghua.
I was born in Burma in 1935. I lived there till I was 29, had to leave everything behind as the country was taken over by the military. I swam across the Mekong river to Thailand in 1964. Started work at the Bangkok Hilton and after 6 years, decided to migrate to Australia.
In June 1970, I arrived Sydney with my wife and infant son and started work in a motel. In no time I got involved in gambling. Life was easy and had so much fun that by the time I was 60, I suffered a stroke due to smoking, bad diet and not enough sleep. My left side of the body was affected, my speech was slurred and I lost my balance. Through Qigong, I gained back my health, and I recovered fully after years of hard work.
After 20 years traveling around the world spreading our Qigong system, I felt restless, something missing. Even though I was an International Master of Lohan Qigong, I just couldn’t figure out what’s missing in my life.
Throughout my travels, I’ve met many great Masters and practitioners in Qigong and Taiji, and became friends but nothing really impressed me.
Then in December 2014, I was invited to attend a lecture by Taiji Master Chen Zhonghua at the UTS. I went along as I was free at that time and also curious as to what’s there for me to see. The first time I saw Master Chen, I was impressed by his demeanor, he was a humble man with twinkling eyes. When he started talking about his style called Chen Style Taiji Practical Method, I was a bit hesitant. I thought another Master promoting their style. The minute he explained the technique and showed us why it’s called Practical Method, I was blown away.
Mind you, I’ve travelled a fair bit and met many skillful Masters, but what Master Chen did with one slight movement of his body was incredible, seeing is believing I should say. He let people touch him and let them feel that he didn’t move his muscle. I was very impressed and decided to join his workshop that weekend. There again, I was amazed with his skill but most importantly, it’s his willingness to share his knowledge without withholding anything, thats got me hooked.
Since then, I’ve been to Daqingshan many times and attended his seminars yearly without fail.
I was accepted as a disciple in 2017 and my number is 257.
I went to Bali last Nov 2019 to join his workshop and again in February 2020 in Sydney. Master Chen never stop to amaze me with his willingness to share and spread this wonderful system.
The last day of the workshop in Sydney was my 85th birthday. Master Chen was kind enough to join my family and friends with some disciples to celebrate this special occasion with me.
Thank you Shifu.
Your disciple,
John Saw #257
John Saw – Burma Days
John Saw – Burma Days
John Saw – Gambling Days
John Saw – Qigong Days
John Saw with Master Chen Zhonghua at Daqingshan
John Saw with Master Chen Zhonghua at Zhenbudong Rizhao Taiji Acacdemy
John Saw Discipleship Photo in Sydney with Master Chen Zhonghua
Daqingshan Taiji Flame Torch Bearer 2018
Chen Zhonghua Practical Method Workshop Sydney 2020 February
So we were doing lots and lots of six sealings four closings exercises at the end of the Vienna Workshop. I was leading the group and counting. Then, at #476 something in my hip cracked open. A rush of pure energy run through my body and I felt like a conductor between heaven and earth, and then … Read more
Sun Yang wins Muay Thai Gold Belt 20190222
Top New:News just came from Thailand that Sun Yang has won the 67 kg Golden Belt after many rounds of hard fights at the Golden Belt Finals under the auspice of the Thailand Muay Thai Federation. Sun Yang is a disciple of Master Chen Zhonghua, International Standard Bearer of the Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method system and Dean of the Qingshan Taijiquan and Cultural Research Institute of the Rizhao Politechnic. Read more
Tinh Thai and disciple Brian Chung (June 2018)
Isn’t it incredible how life gives you the things that you need when you need it?
I wanted to learn Chinese martial arts since I was a little girl. Read more
While tumbling to the ground, I have made up my mind to study from Master Chen.
Back in 2003, after watching Master Chen’s Youtube videos, I sent him an email asking if I could observe his class. Among the videos, his demonstration with Michael sticks out. Despite a much more petite statue, tossing Michael around seemed effortless for Master. Later on, I found out that Michael isn’t only a 9th-degree black belt, but he is also a cop who has caught over 200 thieves. Simply put, he is no slouch.
My name is Edward Liaw; I currently reside in San Diego, California. I was accepted as Master Chen’s 283rd disciple during the 2018 North American Practical Method Training Camp in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, alongside Nathan Heintz and Spencer Jones. Every day, I am grateful for being a part of a passionate and supportive community of practitioners, students, and teachers.
Taiji changed my life completely. Up until the day I graduated from college, I was an awkward and introverted person. I rarely exercised and spent most of my time in front of the computer. When I was 22, I began to have migraines with aura. As the migraines became more frequent and intense, I realized that this was not a wise lifestyle choice, so I sought to be more physically active. I began with yoga, then light running, and then I joined a taiji class at the university I was working at. While I enjoyed learning the form, I sought a little more. I joined a local push hands meetup and quickly I realized that I lacked a good foundation and understanding of what taiji really was. However, I could not understand the abstract terms that were often used to teach taiji. I experimented with another local group that practiced Wing Chun, before I found the Practical Method Youtube videos. What made this method unique was that the theory was logical and every exercise had meaning. It gave me a process to understand my body. I believed that to make real improvements requires a period of dedicated study and practice, so I arranged to leave my job and study full time at Daqingshan for 3 months. It was an opportune time for me, as I had few responsibilities and enough savings for a year of practice.
Master Chen often remarks that when I came to the mountain, I was so loose and weak, like a bunch of noodles. Looking back at some of the videos from DQS at the time, I can only agree. I was incredibly uncoordinated. My head was hunched forward from sitting in front of the computer all day. In the push hands ring, I would spend more time on my back than on my feet! Within the 3 months, I was able to gradually work up to doing 20 yilus a day, and listening to Master Chen and the other students helped to solidify the theories of Practical Method in my head. 3 years later, everyone that knows me from before can see that I’ve changed incredibly, and for the better. I practice 5 yilus a day, 2 erlus, and about 100 repetitions of all the foundation exercises. I attend many of Master Chen’s seminars in the US, as well as Ping Wei’s seminars in Irvine. I hope to share Practical Method with the community in San Diego and anyone who is willing to learn. I hope that it can benefit others as much as it has benefitted myself.
My name is Benjamin Benefiel and I live in Phoenix, Arizona, USA with my wife and two young daughters. On January 21, 2018, I became Master Chen Zhonghua’s 259th disciple along with taiji brother Winston Wang. I grew up near Chicago, Illinois before moving to Phoenix area for graduate school in 1999. My appreciation of martial arts began as a child with karate lessons and a love of ‘kung fu cinema’. During my 20s and early 30s, I studied various styles of martial arts intermittently (including Baguazhang, Xingyiquan, and Deng family Sengmenquan, as well as a very small amount of experience with Yang style Taiji which was taught only as a health exercise). Chen style Taijiquan always held a strong fascination for me, but I was never fortunate enough to find a teacher. Read more
Nathan Heintz was accepted as Master Chen Zhonghua’s disciple on July 28, 2018 at the North American Practical Method Training Camp in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The discipleship ceremony also welcomed Spencer Jones and Edward Liaw as disciples. Read more
My name is Vincent den Hengst. I am from the Netherlands, Utrecht, where I started practicing Hunyuan taiji under James Fletcher in 2007. From the beginning, I kept exercising daily. In 2013 I stepped over to Practical Method. In 2014 and 2015 I went to Daqinshan for two months in total and observed several workshops since 2013. I regard Practical Method taiji as taught by Grandmaster Chen as the highest possible region of martial art, so I feel lucky and happy I finalized my life’s queeste to find the one martial art.
- Introduction of Emcee
Todd Elihu
I am Todd Elihu, 20th generation disciple of Chen Style Taijiquan under Master Chen Zhonghua. I am very happy to be here at the 2018 North American Practical Method Training Camp and to have the opportunity to learn from Master Chen, as well as practice and exchange with my disciple-brothers who are present and the other participants of the camp this year. I am very grateful to my brothers Levi Sowers and John Upshaw for organizing these camps and all the hard work that they have put into making such a special event. Read more
I was born in May 1973 in the south of Romania. When I was a kid in the Communist era, I saw a Chinese martial arts movie in the theater.
Read more
Background
In 2001, I started studying Kung Fu. My teacher also taught Chen Style Taijiquan from Chen Quanzhong. Watching my teacher perform Taiji at one of our demonstrations, I thought it was fantastic. I read “Chen Style: The Source of Taijiquan” by Davidine Sim and David Gaffney and thought I should really switch to Taiji, but I chose to continue down the path of Kung Fu since I had already started it. Read more
After becoming a disciple last year I solidified my plans about my future with Practical Method. One result is the foundation of an official association in Austria. After some back and forth with the responsible officials regarding the association rules we, Fabian K. and Pawel M. got the permission to begin our association activities.
Our association is registered as acting globally and not only in Austria. This opens new possibilities for the European community which is emerging now, since people from other countries can become members, too, benefiting from our services.
An association allows us to act as an official entity, like a company. We can now easily access public training space and be official partners for schools, companies and other projects.
It’s exciting. We are eager to begin our work and establish our association in Austria and abroad. It’s a long way, but so is learning Practical Method which equipped us with the right set of tools already through our training: continuous work and time.
We are preparing materials for marketing new events now. There will be new courses in and around Vienna and we’re planing events to promote Practical Method.
Who wants to be part of it? Just send us an email to pawel.mueller@gmail.com.
And the name of our association
Practical Method Taijiquan Österreich
Verein zur Förderung der traditionellen chinesischen Kampfkunst „Practical Method Taijiquan“ in Österreich
In English, please
Practical Method Taijiquan Austria
Association for promoting the traditional Chinese martial art “Practical Method Taijiquan” in Austria.
Name: Mark Hanley
Class: Richmond Hill
Practical Method Start Date: Oct. 15, 2016
Martial Art Experience: Karate Black Belt, and practiced Yang Taiji previously
Name: Bruce Robinson
Class: Richmond Hill
Practical Method Start Date: May 23, 2015
Martial Art Experience: Practiced Aikido and Yang Taiji previously.
Name: Kewei Sun
Class: Richmond Hill
Practical Method Start Date: May 23, 2015
Martial Art Experience: Practiced Iron Shirt when he was young.
Master Chen Zhonghua accepted Charlie Wishon as a disciple on July 17, 2016.
On July 17, 2016, Master Chen Zhonghua accepted Charlie Wishon as his 201st disciple at the workshop held in Iowa City. Todd Elihu emceed the ceremony and many other disciples were present including Levi Sowers, John Upshaw, John Dahms, Brennan Toh, Kelvin Ho, Hugo Ramiro, Xavier Santiago, Jeff Clevenger, Bruce Schaub, Erwin Ramthun, and Chris Dusek. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Master Chen briefly spoke about the privileges, responsibilities, and ethics of being one of his disciples.
Instructor: Hugo Ramiro
Instructor: Brennan Toh
Top/Bottom Separation, Taking Up Slack, Creating a Catch, Rotating Without Moving the Hand.
GM Hong Jun Sheng’s grave was relocated to this new site in Jinan. Carved around the statue are the names of the disciples
John Intervalo <john.intervalo@gmail.com>
Sep 20 (2 days ago)
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The video is in Chinese. Qilu network video reports on Chen Zhonghua’s taijiquan on Daqingshan, China.
深山里的国际范儿太极
http://v.iqilu.com/wdy/wcp/2014/0704/4095036.html
Master Chen has a google+ account with old photos Click thumbnail to go to album. Google+
On the 10th of June, 2014, Master Chen Zhonghua became visiting professor of Taiji at the Handan Colledge in Handan, Hebei Province in China at a simple ceremony held by Prof. Ma Jibin, president of the College. He was also named the official representative of the college for Canada and the United State. Read more
