- Hinge
Chest must move like a hinge in order to link. (Shifu Chen puts the ends of two bottle together and shows them bending and sliding off each other in various ways.) - Split
Do the form with a center split. Then learn to split at any point in the body. This is the same as the demarcation line discussed earlier.
Some photos of the first two days of the workshop. Read more
Saturday PM session
Practiced first 13 movements of the Yilu
“Pole dancing”
Use pole to practice getting on the line. Practice with pole against arch of far (rear) foot slanted diagonally and against wall horizontally.
(Most of this session was spent in hands-on practice, so not many notes.)
Start with 3 or more contact points and add points. Drop strainght down. (Brush Knee)
Contact points, Far points. Read more
In taiji like in other practices, we tend to want to take in all the material at once. This is impossible as the requirements of taiji are extremely difficult to put into practice. The problem is that if we focus on too many things at once it become too difficult to negotiate all the rules.
It is actually better to work on one rule or one lesson at a time, until it is ingrained. When the body assimilates the rule, it is time to add a further one.
Friday PM session – Form instruction
Repetitions must be done to make the form go into the body. This can be done with 10 yilus/day for 3+ years, 25/day for 1 year or 60/day in 3 months. Read more
There will be an Edmonton Taiji Seminar starting Monday February 14 to Friday Feb. 18. Topics covered will be Foundations leading to certification, Yilu corrections and Push Hands Drills. This is an excellent opportunity to get expert Taiji instruction during the cold winter – warm up your brain and body! This Seminar is suitable for beginner to advanced.
Monday and Tuesday classes will start at 8:30 am to 4:30pm, while Wednesday to Friday will be 9 am to 5 pm. Instruction will be by Allan Belsheim on Monday and Chen Zhonghua the rest of the week.
Register now!
Shifu Chen asked me to post my notes, unedited, to our web site. This is not because I am such a great note taker, but it is part of transmitting the knowledge of Taijiquan. Read more
Wednesday Night Class in Phoenix
I have trained several times with Master Chen over the years now and have long accepted that he possesses a skill that is frankly light years beyond my understanding. Read more
I want to thank Michael Calandra for hosting Master Chen Zhonghua who presented an extraordinary seminar. Most interesting to me is that Master Chen never changes his form. It is the same every time I’ve seen him for the past 8 years. Within his near perfect taiji structure, what is continuously changing/improving is his technical precision. He is the living embodiment of true taiji principles. To the next 50 years together!
1. Beginning. 2. Tornado Kick Questions. 3. Structural Explanation of the Vertical Line. 4. Neutralization Without Absorption. 5. Neutralization with a bite. 6. Transfer of Weight on legs. 7. How to Get the 3 Vertical Lines? 8. Movement With a Center. 9. One Leg Movement in the Form. 10. Tornado Kick Explained. 11. Step Back to Whirl Arms. 12. White Ape Presents Fruit. 13. Rub Feet. 14. Kick with Heels.
Author: Chen Zhonghua Length: 25 min. In: English Year: 2010 Difficulty:2/5 At:Edmonton
This is my 12th year in New York. Without exception I brought heavy snow with me (see pictures).
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- 5 of 8 Features of Practical Method:
- Eye fixed on the target.
- Concave circle.
- In with elbow, out with hand.
- No dynamic power, only structure power.
- Half horse stand, one third, one third, one third
Author: Chen Zhonghua Length: 1 min + 1 min. In: English Year: 2010 Difficulty:2/5 At:Edmonton
This lesson further illustrates the concept of issuing energy in practical method system.
“In the form it is slow but in usage it is much faster.” Read more
A clip of demonstration common in Master Chen workshops.
http://practicalmethod.com/2011/01/maple-ridge-workshop-jan-15-2011-online-video-trailer/
Master Li Chugong was born in 1936 in Gaomi, Shandong province. Read more
At the January, 2011 Maple Ridge Workshop, Master Chen talked about the levels of skill in push hands.
Author: Chen Zhonghua Length: 36 min. In: English Year: 2010 Difficulty: 3/5 At: Maple Ridge, Canada
1. Beginning. 2. Structure of the Dang. 3. Movement vs tranquility. 4. Principles of energy alignment. 5. Where is your center? 6. How does this relate to the circle? 7. What is front and what is back? 8. Foundation drills. 9. Cut the corner off. 10. Direction of energy. 11. Practice with variations. 12. Hold the body and move the finger. 13. The vertical line in turning the body.
http://www.silveryhat.com/learn-to-learn/#more-462
I remembered Master Chen telling us similar stories.
Author: Li Chugong Length: 53 min. In: Mixed English & Chinese Year: 2010 Difficulty:2/5 At: Daqingshan Mountain Resort for Taiji
1. Beginning. 2. Lecture at the Grandmaster’s exchange session. 3. a silent clip showing Canadian students applications. 4. Li Chugong and Cai Shengye working on technique while reminiscing on Hong Junsheng. 5. Li Chugong and Cai Shengye teaching Hong Sen. 6. Li Chugong and Cai Shengye working on applications. 7. Li Chugong and Cai Shengye teaching Hong Sen applications. 8. Teaching Charlie Gordon. 9. Teaching Niko Biermann. 10. Teaching Byron Lerner and Wilkin Ng. 11. Teaching Lee Hrappstead. 12. Teaching Kham Serk Yawnghwe. 13.Conversation with Wang Deyou. 14. Yilu Demonstration.
This is the wushu demonstration put on by the Zitongshan Martial Arts Academy for Daqingshan International Taiji Training Center students. After the demonstration, Zitongshan students also exchanged and demonstrated taiji.
Master Chen Zhonghua’s private lesson with Qi Yucheng group. Master Qi is a disciple of Grandmaster Ni Yuanhai. He was a gold medalist for the 65 kg class at the Chen Village push hands competition.
1. Positive and Negative Circles hands on corrections. 2. Adding space. 3. Foot is faster than the hand. 4. Demarcation line. 5. Don’t leak out.
Author: Chen Zhonghua Length: 10 min. In: Mixed English & Chinese Year: 2010 Difficulty: 3/5 At: Daqingshan Mountain Resort for Taiji
Master Chen Zhonghua’s private lesson for Paul Hutcheson at John Brown’s house. Mainly he taught the basic foundations and applications.
Author: Chen Zhonghua Length: 27 min. In: English Year: 2009 Difficulty:2/5 At:Fairfield, IA, USA
