Resume on Discipleship of Master Chen Zhonghua
Background Read more
Chen Zhonghua Taiji Academy
Pavel Codl, Michael Winkler, Henrik Bruck and I drove from Freising, Germany to Valdagno, Italy in April to my Italian Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method workshop. Here are some photos of the trip and activities in Italy outside of the workshop. The workshop was sponsored by Master Bon and Massimo. Read more
Thank you Michael Winkler, Henrik Bruck, Pavel Codl for making my stay in Munich so pleasant.
Most people talk about the difference between internal and external and in recent years, people have been proud to call their style “internal”. In reality, there is no such a thing as internal martial art or external martial art.
10:00 am-1:00 pm and then 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. This is the only place I have a schedule like this but it actually is quite good with a long break in the middle.
Day one March 26, 2011. Foundations in the morning we only worked on positive circle. Lots of explanations and drills. In the evening we worked on the 13 moves of Yilu. Didn’t quite finish it yet but people were able to follow through it. A bit a adjustment for now and I am pretty sure tomorrow we will learn a bit faster.
Day two on March 27, 2011. During the foundations session this morning, we reviewed the positive circle and added negative circle and double positive circle. Lots of explanations. During the forms session in the evening we reviewed 13 moves.
Day 3, March 28, 2011. Morning finished all Basic Foundation exercises. Reviewed Yilu 13 moves. Evening 13 moves explanations. Applications and paired exercises.
Day 4, March 29, 2011. Morning. Foundations review. Theory. TV Station Interview. Afternoon Yilu 13 moves. More applications. In with Elbow and out with hand exercise. Block Touching Coat Application.
[nggallery id=97]
“Am I creating all this cold weather or am I just following the cold weather in the world?” was the topic of discussion over supper last night in Helsinki. Apparently people have been following my travels this year of the snow storms in New York, Arkansas, Daqingshan, etc. Read more
To know the history of a people, one needs to see the museums. Tomi took me to the Finnish National Museum yesterday.
[nggallery id=95]
Just arrived in Helsinki, Finland. It is much colder here than in Iceland yesterday. Checked into Scandic Hotel downtown. Had a brief private with Tomi after supper. Here are the main points on basic movements. I am trying to set the rules out for the initial Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method workshop in Helsinki. Read more
It is Iceland after all. It snowed early in the morning again. I had a walking tour of the city during the warmer lunch hours. Here are some photos.
[singlepic id=2436 w=320 h=240 float=] Read more
Got in at 9:00 am. On the first tour in the afternoon.
[singlepic id=2389 w=320 h=240 float=] Read more
The real taiji is invisible to the naked eye; wrong things are the easiest to learn. From a traditional point of view, taijiquan is not about comfort, flow and natural. It is an art that requires the student to practice according to certain rules. In doing so, the student will not be used to the practice at the beginning and will not feel comfortable. Through long time repeat training, the student will start to feel natural. This NATURALNESS is not the normal naturalness. This kind of training is not within the realm of normal human sport training.
Nona
Perrie
James Tam
In taijiquan, there are only two basic movements: pull and push. When pushing, one needs to make the body behave like a stick so that the energy transmits through. When pulling, one needs to make the body act like a rope in order to transmit power. Different actions require different body shape and movements.
I had to make an emergency visit to Daqingshan. True to my tradition this year, I brought cold whether. Daqingshan had an ice and snow storm. Read more
Photo of porcelain from Longquan, Zhejiang, China
With Mr. Shen Peixin, THE sword maker in China!Longquan is about 4 hours south west of Hangzhou. I managed to fly to Hangzhou via Beijing on Feb. 26, 2011 after my flight from Vancouver. After spending the morning in Hangzhou, my friend Zhao and I started our drive to Longquan. As I do not have a driver’s license in China, the burden of driving fell squarely on Zhao. Read more
Hangzhou stop-over on my way to Longquan.
Arrived in Vancouver in the evening. Had supper with Gary, Jody and Wilkin. It was cold outside. We came to Wilkin’s for a practice. Showed how to create a “Stick” in the torso. This is a vertical stick that must be present at all times. It “awaits” the opportunity to act. It is half of the applications puzzle. The other half a similar “stick” in the arms. The arm stick works in the open while the torso stick works in the background. Read more
Vancouver tonight. Dinner and practice. Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method in the park in Vancouver.
I am going to Longquan to source some nice custom-made swords. I will make some for Daqingshan and some for my school in Canada. Any one with suggestions? I decided to make a whole bunch because the swords they make are getting really high quality now.
I am going to Longquan to source some nice custom-made swords. I will make some for Daqingshan and some for my school in Canada. Any one with suggestions? I decided to make a whole bunch because the swords they make are getting really high quality now.
Some photos of the workshop. Read more
Some photos of Jesus and Hilda’s discipleship ceremony in San Juan. The ceremony was held at the training location which is the Puerto Rico Sport Center. We had to make do with what we had: no chairs or tables. It was the thought that counts. Both Jesus and Hilda are serious students of Practical Method and are sincerely people. I am very happy to have accepted them on the recommendations of Raul, Xavier and Rafael.
Thanks, Raul and Veronica for taking us to Cindy’s after the workshop. It was a beautiful dinner in old San Juan!
[nggallery id=81]
It’s nice to be back in San Juan, especially after a horrendous snow storm in Arkansas! It was only hours ago that Richard Johnson and I were cold getting in and out of his van. Now I am in the hot sun of Puerto Rico! Good to see Todd Elihu who came from Athens, GA to join us. Raul Pujol and Xavier Santiago both came to the airport to pick us up. I am grateful. Here are photos of our walk this afternoon. After that, Raul and Todd both showed me their Yilus in Raul’s living room. Great progress, both of them! Read more
Sitting in the airport in Charlotte, NC enroute to San Juan, PR. Free internet here too! It's getting warmer and warmer. We had no water this morning in Little Rock as the pipes were frozen in the airport. Even the washrooms on the plane were closed. Some Yilus in the warm old San Juan this evening will be good!
Last year, I was stuck in Helsinki, Finland. A heroic trekking trip took me over 3 days to travel from Helsinki to Italy via many cities in Sweden, Norway, Germany, Czech Republic, and Austria. It was my disciple Pavel Codl who rescued me in Europe. This year, I am stuck in Bentonville, AR., USA on my way to sunny and warm San Juan, Puerto Rico. My disciple Richard Johnson drove me to the airport only to find it closed. It took two hours for something that should be done in 2 minutes over the phone. I guess no airports or airline can be trusted in times of snow storm. Thanks Richard! Here are some photos I took along the way.
Four Points in Actions:
- Establish 2 Points. These are objects.
- Find/decide or establish a central dot that does not move. This is called the demarcation or demarcation line.
- Action must be on a line. Same as 1 but this point stresses the movements, not objects.
- The actions must be on a line, moving in opposite directions.
