Master Chen this email is my thoughts on taiji and other things you have taught me and Read more

Another thing is that everything not just taiji seems to be that you allow each thing to do its part and that is how something greater can be achieved. Read more

Another obsevation I made is that pretty much everyone who has been doing taiji for Read more

In this video, Chen Zhonghua and Gord Muir showed how a structure can bring out power in Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method.
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Fantastic photo slide show of Daqingshan in 2006! Read more

By:   Chen Zhonghua.      Length: 34:50 minutes.      Language: English.   Year: 2004
This video covers the content of dynamic foundations in the form of moving step and how they are applied in push hands and in the practice routines.

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Xu Guicheng i

by Practical Method on 2007/03/14

Master Xu Guicheng started his martial arts career at the age of 6 and a half in 1930 with Jinan master Li Kuixiang. After 8 years of hard training,

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Hong Junsheng’s International Standard Bearer master Chen Zhonghua and Standard Bearer Master Li Enjiu are planning a series of celebrations in North American in 2007 to mark the 100 birthday of Grandmaster Hong Junsheng. Read more

You can generate power by pivoting on your foot. Here is a clip from master Chen Zhonghua’s 2005 Taiji Tradition Camp in Victoria, BC, Canada.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlFW7GjBri4]

Go here for more on this topic:
http://wujimon.com/2007/what-does-a-camera-tripod-have-to-do-with-taiji/
http://hunyuantaiji.livejournal.com/

Note: if you get this post from your bookmark, it is because we have change the website server so there is no chinese content anymore, please update your bookmark to http://practicalmethod.com or create a new one after clicking the home button

In the summer of 2004, Chen Zhonghua took a group of students to visit the Black Tiger Springs Park, where he received his Taijiquan training from Grandmaster Hong Junsheng. This is a brief video clip Read more

Everyone knows how dedicated master Chen Zhonghua is about his teaching. All his students all have stories to tell about being thrown into the bed in hotel rooms late at night or in his basement. When it comes to Chen Style Taijiquan, master Chen Zhonghua Read more

Some Yilu and Cannon Fist moves on the Great Wall in 2004. The video was filmed in the early morning in July.

陈中华老师2004年7月一天早5点在长城。一路和炮捶部分动作。


One of the aims of Chen Style Taijiquan training is to achieve the ability of penetrating power. Read more

These are clips of Chen Zhonghua in 2005 and 2006 demonstrating Cannon Fist and Yilu in Victoria, Push Hands and Fajin in Athens, GA, USA Read more

These are some practice shots of Chen Zhonghua during his 2003 full time training course. Watch out for the following:
Whole body integrity, flow, power does not exceed limits, stops at the right place without over extension, center line always erect and upright, center line does not sway when changing direction of movements.

Half-step is not unique to Xing Yi. It is an integral part of Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method footwork. It serves to integrate techniques so that power is allowed to come out. Most of the “Single Whip” moves start with the previous move stepping in a half-step manner into it.

In this brief video, you can see how “Single Whip” is used in many ways. Mainly it is the interaction betwwen the forearm and the thigh on the same side. Read more

After “Punch to the Ground”, you turn to the right and then double kick. This is the transition to the double kick. The first turn to the right is a right elbow strike. In this case, the previous move of “Punch to the ground” actually dodges the opponent’s punch or kick to the head. You then strike your opponent’s ribs with the elbow.

After “Whirl Arms on Both Sides”, you step forward with right foot (turn to the right) and use both hands to push your opponent out. In this video, the move is done in a more straight forward matter which is more applicable in real situations (it is not possible to engage your opponent on the side as directed in the form).

After the right arm goes out to the right with the hand as a hook, the body turns left to drive the right arm to make a strong negative circle (power). In this video, in order to get into position, the master had to compromise his central equilibrium first. Best done without this loss.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYLblJ73ECU]

Right arm positive circle while the waist turns left to set up. When executing, the waist turns right and then to the right again (two beats) while the right arm is doing one beat with elbow moving to the right in a negative (bottom portion) circle. In this video, the elbow was not physically used but the actions are exactly the same.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8E8GyjHdJo]

This is the second last Single Whip in the Yilu routine. It is different from other Single Whip moves. Before, stepping to the left, the right hand does a deep positive circle and goes way down before coming to the finished position. Hong changed it to this way through his personal experiences. Here is how it is applied. Notice that the left leg did not step forward as required in the form. Read more

You don’t know Taiji

After seven years of studying Yang-style, I thought that I knew Taijiquan – very well. At 6’2” and 200lbs, push-hands came easy. The Yang philosophy of relax and turn fit well with my hippie thinking. But with forms named “Cannon-fist”, Chen-style raised my curiosity. How could this be Taiji?

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On June 19, 2004, Chen Zhonghua was elected among Hong’s major disciples as Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method International Standard Bearer. This election was Read more

This is a video project that students made in 1999-2006. Read more

These are some Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method push hands and applications demonstrated by master Chen Zhonghua and Sensei Michael Calandra. Michael Calandra is an outstanding NY city Read more

This is the text for the 2004 China Trip narration: A Great Wall Read more

Jim Peters is from Regina, SK. Canada. He is a student of Ronnie Yee. Jim was the strongest fire fighter in Regina. He studies Aikiko and other martial arts before. This is what he has to say about Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method and his 2004 trip to China
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHdYJ5gb2Bw]

In a recent class, I was fortunate to get some lower-body corrections from my peers and Shifu on the circles. These corrections and instruction have made a huge difference in kua movement and solidifying connection from toe to finger. Would like to share these learnings for discussion.

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The last workshop I attended with Master Chen Zhonghua had him correcting me on structural positions, and pushing hands positions with an idea that connects with several other, higher level ideas he has previously taught. Read more

John and Dave Dahms

We have been both thinking and practicing. We began by thinking that every part of the body is kind of like a cylinder, and vertically they are strong but horizontally they have no strength. So if everything just moved along its Read more

We constantly work with two aspects of movement: power and structure. On the body the power must be on the outer limbs: Head, finger and feet. In relation to the opponent, the power (physically the outer limbs listed above) must always stay on (point at) the opponent’s center line. Read more

I teach the two systems for two reasons:

  1. Personal bias. You can also call this respect for my two masters. I am a disciple of both systems and therefore, I find in my heart that I must teach both systems. This does not mean that I always teach both Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method and Hunyuan Taiji at the same time. Read more

I cannot tell you THE most important thing to pack. Here is a list from past graduates (no particular order):

  • chocolate
  • lots of socks
  • really good hiking shoes

Sorry we have not included any information on this subject. It will be very easy to live as a vegetarian on the mountain. We are growning our own vegetables this year. If you decide to go, let us know as soon as you can, we will start planting things that will suit you. Lots of soya bean products. We make our own tofu on the mountain too!

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Definitely you can. First of all previous experience is not important for learning our style of Taijiquan. Secondly, what you have learned before is not essential either. Thirdly, how strong you are is not a factor. Read more

This is a very difficult question and yet it is a realistic question. If you want to commit three months of your life to do something so seriously, you want to know how much you can get in return. Fair enough. Let’s look at it in two different ways:

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