A little knowledge is a dangerous thing!

This is the section where Master Chen Zhonghua offers online information and classes on Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method. There are mini lessons, discussions and student evaluations.

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Application Articles Body & Posture Common Errors Glossary and terms Principle List Principle, Techniques Principles in general Quotations Routine Names Routines Videos Stories Taiji Apparatus Taiji FAQ Workshop Notes

Learning taiji online is impossible, but not impractical.  The key to getting the most benefit outside of the classroom involves understanding what can be achieved and what can not be achieved and through this understanding develop goals that are obtainable.  Read more

Thanks to 鸣谢:

  1. Kelvin Ho 何家伟 http://ktaiji.blogspot.com/
  2. Frank Ding 丁建平 http://www.dynamictaichi.blogspot.com/
  3. All who attended the open house in Toronto.

greetings from Australia…fantastic site!…just wondering if the routines you teach are old frame or Chen Fake’s new frame?…thanx…peace
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A: I would like to avoid the confusion (becomes more and more confusing later on) by saying that what I teach is what Hong Junsheng learned from Chen Fake from 1930 to 1944. Whatever that means without a name is more accurate than putting it under a category.

**This is a short piece I wrote in the mid-90s about a way to define martial arts ** The martial arts are systems of combat developed for the purpose of either offense, defense or mass combat. However, these arts also have many goals beyond combative ones. There are countless reasons to decide to study the martial arts.

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In the last few months, I have been trying to follow the rule of “elbow in, hand out”. In my practice and teaching I have observed something that needs further verification, but that seems correct. “Elbow in” means: initiate the arm rotation from the upper arm. Conversely, “hand out” means: initiate the arm rotation from the hand. There are a few possible explanations for this. First, I will say a few words about the “elbow in” part of rule, then I will suggest an explanation of the “hand out” part of the rule. Read more

For those who attended Master Chen’s workshops, we all have this experience. When Master Chen demonstrated any push hand technique, he executed it crisply clean and looked so simple. Then, everybody tried to copy the technique, but didn’t work. In my recent classes, I start to realize the techniques are only valid (or more efficient) when you have the split of Yin and Yang.

Progress stages 9

by Chen Zhonghua on 2012.01.25

You are on the right learning path. The path is very long and at different stages you have to do different things. Usually a person goes through three stages/plateaus. Each one is longer than the previous one. Read more

有道是“学拳容易改拳难”,与其学错了再改,不如一上手就学对的。练太极,尤其是在初期,要把自己的非太极动作改掉,改就是提高。 Read more

This is a circle correction by Master Chen Zhonghua for Michael Winkler of Germany. The circle is used for energy alignment training.

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Twisting the Towel 18

by admin on 2012.01.21

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The Gearbox 3

by matbeausoleil on 2012.01.18

When the body becomes accustomed to moving through the forms in a connected way, the structure of the body will naturally begin to tighten up. As a result, the over exaggerated stretching movements previously used to open up and recondition the body should be adjusted and made smaller and tighter. Read more

Twisting the towel is one of the foundational exercises of the Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method system. it is also called the four-cardinal yin yang split.