Chen Zhonghua correcting Todd Elihu at the 2016 Iowa Workshop.
When the elbow comes in, the finger must aim onto person. Actually, every move must aim onto person.
When locked at one or two points, utilize another set of points beyond the initial set of points to go over/break out.
Isolation exercise #1: partner holds your arm at the wrist and shoulder. You squeeze the muscles on the body-side of the where he has his hand on your shoulder, then extend the fingers. Each move must be independent from one another. Switch back and forth. Read more
Demonstration and training to develop and understand inside structure during rotation
Presenter: Chen Zhonghua Length: 7 min. In: English Year: 2016 Difficulty:1/5 At:Poland
Six sealing four closing: Must be like inside a round cylinder. Muscle must rotate around bone. Don’t move. Hand must be like inside tube and body must adjust to be aimed correctly. Hand out, elbow in can only be done if front lat goes down to the rear arch and front kua rotates to curve up to connect to the rear shoulder. Pull elbow back to be in alignment. Step in a little bit with just the lower body to fill space. Don’t push. If one part is off it throws the entire body out of alignment.
18 posts in the body… they cannot collapse into each other. Read more
Align backward , never fight forward… feet are too close together, arms are as well. Shoulder needs to stay in the kua.
Full front kua in the line, align the arm . Then open the rear kua… the front kua,is always the filler, the rear kua is always the stretcher…
The end of every move must be totally straight. ” stay on the line”
Day two.
Many years ago when I was just learning Yilu, I had questions about how the “Second Closing” (the move after fetch water) was done properly. I was just imitating the movement, the hand was waving from one place to another place. I had no idea where was the energy alignment in that particular move. Master Chen explained “Second Closing” with its application and tried on me. He turned and I was on the ground. It was that simple. I didn’t know, I could not figure out how Master Chen did. But I did know how powerful the “Second Closing” was.
Workshop Practical Method Chen Style Taichi Quan push hands by Grandmaster Joseph Chen Zhonghua
De Glind 26-27april 2014, Netherlands
These notes are partly chronological and based on how I percieved them. I kept as close as I could to Master Chen’s exact words.
Day one
The workshop started with an introduction. Underlying the art of Practical Method Taiji Chen Style are thirteen dimensions. These thirteen dimensions are divided in two levels. Eight dimensions are related to the air; five are related to the floor.
Demonstration and practice for developing vertical stretch in the body
Presenter: Chen Zhonghua Length: 18 min. In: English Year: 2014 Difficulty:1/5 At:Perth
Most Important: Nobody can see, what Chen Laoshi is doing (except Chen Xu), when he is throwing a stone in the water and waves are appearing, everyone is asking, how to make such waves (form of the waves, etc.), but he just throws the stone
first 13 moves: shovel out, waist cannot go forward, has to be zero, only can go down, to push out
shovel out means to bypass
your opponent is strong in different dimensions, you always wrapping around him
all forward moves you have to lock yourself down
movements must be led by the piece were I and you don`t touch, move as one piece, like one wall going at you, which part is leading is very different