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!
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As master Chen requested, I am posting my raw notes from the Bentonville workshop. This was 4 days worth of notes. Read more
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
Length: 56 min. In: Chinese Year: 2010 Difficulty:3/5 At:Weifang, China
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!
I will be traveling to Iowa to give a work along lecture on Qigong on the 26th of February. This lecture will be an Introduction to Qigong and how it can help people maintain their health in this stressful society. The lecture is to be held at Waverly Public Library, 1500 West Bremer Avenue, Waverly, IA 50677 and will start at 10:00AM
http://m.google.com/u/m/xuc0bY. I will be assisted in the lecture by John Upshaw. This event is open to all. No experience needed. Call +1 319-404-3962 for more information.
In the afternoon we will be holding a mini Practical Method Workshop in Cedar Falls at University of Northern Iowa: Wellness & Recreation Services, 2301 Hudson Road, Cedar Falls, IA Read more
1. Beginning. 2. Introduction. 3. A demonstrative explanation. 4. Relation to other concepts. 5. Application of Contact. 6. Student experiment. 7. Summary. 8. Describing “Contact”. 9. “Contact” drills.
Author: Chen Zhonghua Length: 32 min. In: English Year: 2010 Difficulty:4/5 At:Edmonton
I will be offering a Children’s qigong class on Saturday afternoon February 12th starting around 1:00 PM at Zablocki Library in Milwaukee, WI. Parents and adults are invited to attend and join in on the play.
Fill it in, then add one.
- Get in – Loose – get into position, set it up, dissipate the opponent’s force. Two ways: Receive (a push from) the opponent. OR, Move into the opponent without pushing. (large circle) Read more
In this video, Master Chen Zhonghua taught a few applications and push hands moves. Master Chen also allowed himself to be a practice dummy for students.
Author: Chen Zhonghua Length: 29 min. In: English Year: 2010 Difficulty:2/5 At:Maple Ridge, B.C. Canada
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.
Yang Xishou, professor of Shandong University, was born in 1939. He is a martial art enthusiast. During his teenage years, he studied Tongbei. When he attended Shandong University, he was a member of the Shandong University Wushu Team. Read more
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.
85 minutes of private workshop in Langford, Victoria, B.C. Canada on theory and applications of the Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method. Author: Chen Zhonghua Length: 82 min. In: English Year: 2010 Difficulty:2/5 At:Victoria, Canada
1. beginning. 2. Where is the energy in the body? 3. Points of reference. 4. Primary stance. 5/6. Moving drill. 7. Stepping drill. 8. How to borrow power? 9/10 Friction help with energy. 11. Method for sensitivity. 12. Hips. 13. Open the kua. 14. Structure as power. 15. Cut the shoulder off: no shoulder. 16. Touch with many spots. 17. Body part requirements. 18. “Relax”. 19. Focus on one stationery spot. 20. Open. 21. Negative Circle.
Author: Chen Zhonghua Length: 86 min. In: English Year: 2009 Difficulty:2/5 At:Puerto Rico
Just one brief observation i made sunday during PH with Martin – i think he will attend the WS in Freising too, since he is starting to appreciate your Taiji-wisdom. First, i led him push with both hands my pelvis-bones and i could resist his push by cennecting both contact-spots to my feet. Read more
Old analogies – Taiji is like a rolling log (in water).
Theory Method
Back silk knot Silk reeling Read more
On Feb. 3, 2011, Chinese New Year, Levi Sowers of Iowa City, Iowa, USA became Master Chen Zhonghua’s 80th indoor disciple in a ceremony in Bentonville, AR. USA. Read more
1. beginning. 2. Hunyuan Qigong training. 3. Hunyuan Qigong lecture. 4. Size of internal movements. Read more
- 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
