Testimonials
Comments and reviews of Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method, workshops and Master Chen Zhonghua.
There couldn’t be better occasion than the one organized by Master Giuseppe Bon’s Kung Fu and Taijiquan School to make us moving to the best of our ability along the path that we began to follow last March. Read more
My name is Jeff Higgins. For those of you thinking about studying with Master Chen Zhonghua I would like to share my background and experience taking a workshop. Read more
Steven Chan at the Canadian National Championships after three months on Daqingshan.
by: Bill Vanderhall
Well, to start with, the first time we met Master Chen Zhonghua ( we know him as Joseph Chen ) was at a Martial Arts Tournament in Vancouver, about eight years ago, 2001. My friends and I help out with judging the Taiji section, so we had seen quite a lot of good and poor Taiji. At the end of the tournament, Joseph gave us a demonstration of his Chen Taiji and blew us away. Read more
Originally written by: Helen Kita
This is the third year I have taken Master Chen’s workshops. I have enjoyed his teachings and have learned many skills and know I am on a long journey to understand the principles of tai chi. Read more
Originally written by: Dina Kerr
After 7 years of Maple Ridge workshops once a month, it never gets old. Each workshop is new and exciting. Its like meeting my family, brothers and sisters that I haven not seen for a while. There is joking and laughter intermingled with pushing and shoving, then in comes Daddy Chen, we must behave now. Read more
As every time I receive instructions from my Shifu, Chen Zhonghua, I understand more that what he has always talked about is one principle that is applied in countless ways. Read more
Originally written by: Lyle Little
Subject: comments
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:41:17 -0600
From: Lyle & Bonnie Little Read more
Originally written by: Lyle Little
I would like to thank Norm Magee and his wife for all the hard work and extras that they did on our behalf. Camp Shawnigan is a beautiful location nestled on Vancouver Island. Read more
Originally written by: Andy Hosler
All things considered I would say it was a better venue than camp thunderbird. The food was awsome and the kitchen staff really went the extra mile for us. The dorms were comfortable with lots of room for personal gear, even closets. The only thing lacking was expresso for the italian contingent…..
Originally written by: Mossimo Neresini
Dear Gordon,
first of all thanks again for everything.
I am writing also on behalf of Master Bon and Daniele and we would like to tell you that the Victoria experience met all our expectation; so we learnt a lot from the great Master Chen. Moreover we appreciated a lot Bill’s and your availability and experience in looking after us. As to the Camp accommodation everything was fine: food was excellent and in great quantity, fab fellows and comfortable bedrooms. Read more
Originally written by: Vanessa Hammond
Hi Gord,
I learned a lot and enjoyed my time.
Camp feedback:
The food was good, plentiful and nutritious.
Thanks for moving the evening meal to a later time. Thanks for accommodating for the stronger coffee for those who enjoy a stronger brew.
Rooms and bathrooms clean.
Master Chen Feedback:
I really appreciated the individual attention that Master Chen was able to give during the drills and practice time.
I am looking forward to receiving the DVD and and link to the website to follow up and consolidate the learning from the week.
Originally written by: Daniel Kahn
Hey Gord,
As I said, I had a great time. Even the weather contributed to the focus on taiji 😉
Here are four thoughts that occur to me. All are minor.
1) laundry facilities would have been welcome. Read more
Originally written by: Michael Iverson
Food good.
More ilu for beginners + applications. Could prob. Split some of the teaching up – you, Jay, Ping to give people more one on one time with Master Chen.
That’s about it. Awesome all round experience!
The camp facility is super. The dorm is comfortable, the gym is larger enough to hold 40 plus people, and most important, the food was great, tasty, lots of variety. The staff were very friendly. The lake is beautiful. I wish we could do some canoeing. I’m from Phoenix, AZ. The weather was a bit different. I didn’t mind rain and cold. Really enjoyed the fall vibrant color of Victoria. I’ll come back again in the future. Hope we stay at the same camp. Read more
Originally written by: Jay Smith
I recently spent a week at Camp Shawnigan and I was pleased with my stay there. The overall Facility was clean and well kept with beautiful scenery surrounding it. At one point I noticed a toilet was out of order and within a few hours it was repaired and back in working order.
The food was fantastic, great tasting with a good variety daily. One day I fell asleep and missed lunch by about 1/2 hour and went to the cafeteria to grab a piece of fruit to hold me over till supper time ( fruit is left out for us to help ourselves) one of the cafeteria staff asked me I was hungry I told her I missed lunch and she Quickly offered to get me some leftovers, I told her no thanks and she then offered to make me a sandwich, she seemed genuinely concerned that I had missed lunch, I was impressed.
I found Norm to be very friendly and helpful when we required some supplies for our classes and great to work with.
I hope we are lucky enough to have our annual gathering at Camp Shawnigan next year, looking forward to staying there again.
Regards,
Originally written by: Grace Gentili
If the impressions of a complete novice can be of help, I would like to say that the one day I spent at the Taiji Traditions camp was of great benefit to me. It was an amazing learning experience on many levels.
It was an eye-opening experience to watch Master Chen as he demonstrated applications of the postures and then gave detailed explanations of the moves to clarify what could not be seen at the speed of their execution. His teaching style is very compelling. He explains the concepts with clarity, energy, and intensity and shares such a great volume of information, at a rapid pace, that it required my very focused attention, in order not to miss anything. By the end of the day, I had had as much of a mental workout as a physical one and I loved it.
Furthermore, the friendliness, warmth, encouragement and helpfulness of all the participants that I knew or had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with, made that one day at camp very special. The experience of being surrounded by a gym full of very dedicated, hard-working and focused participants was incredibly energizing. I look forward to going back next year.
As I was only one day at Camp Shawnigan, all I can say is that I very much enjoyed the two meals I had on that day. The food was delicious, the choice of items in the buffet was great and the dining area was welcoming and nicely organized.
Grace Gentili
Originally written by: Bruce van Slyke
Howdy,
I had a great time, I just wish I did not have to leave early. Ironically enough, because of a huge snow storm in Denver, I ended up spending Thursday in Victoria (not a bad thing, a few pints at the Bard and Banker sat rather well with me) but I ended up flying home on Friday after all! Oh well… Read more
Originally written by: Jeff Higins
My name is Jeff Higgins. For those of you thinking about studying with Master Chen Zhonghua I would like to share my background and experience taking a workshop. I have been studying various Chinese martial arts since for the past 8 years. Read more
Originally written by: David Rivera
Dear Joseph:
I have a slight mixup with the multiple email addresses for you and the school. If its
ok with you I will continue to use this one. I located it as you can see from your first
visit to Puerto Rico. Read more
Originally written by: Jesse Thoma
Dear Master Chen,
Encouraging getting to work out with you after such a long absence. Training everyday for over 6 months in 2004 under your mentorship was very developmental. Each one of those sequential days spent on the same subject, you may not see big changes in tai chi that are occuring in you. To be able to revisit so many concepts you emphasize was refreshing. Hearing your teachings about “additions, giving your opponent the feeling that you have one more arm than them. 3 part foot, 1 part hand. Catching with the upper body, then arching power from below. Not tossing in the circles which is a type of retreating, yes? Read more
Originally written by: Paul Hutcheson
Master Chen Zhonghua conducted a two evening workshop on July 29 and 30th, in Iowa, USA. During the day he conducted several private teaching sessions. The workshops were sponsored by John Brown. Over twenty people came to the workshop and private sessions.
This is a review of the 2008 Workshop with Chen Zhonghua from the viewpoint of the host. Read more
Originally written by: Jerry
It was great to come to the work shop. I am starting to really appreciate the special knowledge Master Chen has ………The special personal opportunity to study with him directly………………….to learn from such ancient traditions…………. It really is something to see him in person ………..
Jerry
Originally written by: Gene Hess
Private lesson with Master Chen Zhonghua during the Fairfield Workshop:
I have been to a number of Master Chen’s workshops in the past and have always gotten a lot out of them and I will enthusiastically continue to attend. This is the first time, however , that I have ever scheduled a private lesson with Master Chen. As the time drew closer, I looked forward to my lesson. I had a list of questions and a set of specific goals that I wanted to address during the lesson. When it started, Master Chen asked me what it was that I wanted to work on. I described my goals and he immediately began to lead me through a focused, step by step process of postures accompanied with in-depth explanations. As one idea became clear, he would start explaining the next part to me. Master Chen would demonstrate a posture and then have me copy him, correcting me so I replicated his examples as precisely as possible. He would add extra information at just the right time, as if he could sense when I understood a new concept and was ready for more. This created a nonstop experience of learning for me that was organized and complete. It definitely increased my understanding of Taiji.
I am very glad that I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to schedule a private lesson with Master Chen. Because of it, I was able to return home and immediately begin to improve the way that I practice Taiji. What a great thing!
Many thanks to Master Chen for offering these private lessons! I’ll look forward to the next one.
Gene Hess
Originally written by: Tim Duehring
Another great workshop given by Joseph and Richard. It seems that every time I go to a basic introduction workshop I end up with information overload. We worked on circles and I gained some new insight. Some day in the future I may be able to do one almost correctly.
It was good to get reaquainted with some old friends and make some new ones. Richard and his family were wonderful hosts and Master Chen continues to amaze us with his ability to make this mysterous art understandable.
The only bad thing for this Northern boy was the heat and humidity.
While the complete workshop is still fresh in my memory I’ve immediately
started to put my experiences on paper. It is only a personal
description of my experience these are not my notes (I’ll will mail my
notes as soon as I’ve worked them out). Please keep in mind that my fellow
attendee’s will have had different experiences and probably different
opinions regarding the workshop. Read more
The Victoria Workshop was held from March 29th to 30th. It was sponsored by Gord Muir and was held at Ted Truscott’s Karate Dojo in Langford, Victoria. Read more
Another excellent workshop! We concentrated on the”Martial” & striking aspects of Chen Taiji. Master Chen worked us very hard on Saturday, a GREAT workout.
Thanks to Master Chen, Brother Gord & Sister Barb and their Victoria school sibblings 
had a great time.
Regards,
Jay
This year’s Hunyuan World Seminars event was relatively smaller than previous years. The highlight of the 4-day event is the special lectures on Qigong and Yiquan by Master Kenneth Cohen.
Participants to this event were quite diversified. They are seasoned Hunyuan World veterans like Charles Paoletti and David Hilburn, who have both attended all the Hunyuan World events thus far. We also have a number of new people attending for the first time, such as Hallie Bruce and Kathy Massey.
It appeared short (4 days) for people to come all the way from as far as New York or Puerto Rico. But there was something for everybody.
Kim Allbritain is a 7th Dan Black Belt in Karate. He had 35 years of experience in martial arts by 2003.
Wudang Warrior, Summer, 2007, page 7
Throughout the workshop, we were exposed to concepts that are simultaneously very simple and yet infinitely complex. Read more
