Chen Xiaowang Seminar October 6-10
Brochure is ready for the October 6-10 GM Chen Xiaowang Seminar in Miami Shores, Miami. Go to chineseboxing.com to check out the brochure.
Chen Bing
Chen Bing has a nice video promo done by zerowoods at Vimeo. We just had Chen Bing in TN, GA, and FL for tow weeks in June. He is a great Chen Style practitioner and Teacher. He has his own school in Chen Village in Henan Province where one can go and study. Check out our recent photos of the seminars on chineseboxing.com. Click the link Taiji Chen Bing below to view this well done clip.
Taiji Chen Bing from zerowoods on Vimeo.
Chen Xiaowang Tribute
Another Chen Xiaowang tribute on youtube.
Recent Chen Xiaowang Youtube Clip
Various groups put together nice clips of Chen Xiaowang and his many activities. Here is a pretty good one.
Vanderbilt Tai Chi Symposium 2009
Last week, Vanderbilt University hosted a Tai Chi Symposium. It drew around 500 or so participants over the week. CBII had four in attendance as Joe Rea Phillips, Earl Morgan, Maxie Green, and Mark Yates enjoyed watching the demos and participating in the many of the classes that were offered.
Chen Zhenglei represented the Chen Style, Yang Zhenduo (grandson of Yang Chenfu) represented the Yang Style, Wu Wenhan represented the Wu (Hao Style), Ma Hallong represented the other Wu Style and Sun Yongtlan represented the Sun Style. You may want to go to the web page to check out what it was about… http://www.taichisymposium.com/
New Film on Chen Village
Jon Braeley who we met last year at our seminar in South Florida with Chen Xiaowang has done a new film about Chen Village. Here is the trailor below.
Chen Bing Seminar
South Florida CBII and Open Gate School just completed hosting Chen Bing, 20th Genereation Chen Family Tai Chi Chuan. Master Chen lives in Chenjiaguo and travels several months out of the year to the US, Europe and Asia spreading Chen Family Tai Chi. We just completed a week which climaxed with a seminar on Laojia Applicationa and Push Hands Application. Below is a pictorial of a few of the moments.
Yang Style Tai Chi Studies
I have put some links below that should be interesting for those who practice Yang Tai Chi. They involve contrasting some of the different Yang methods.
Comparative Study of Yang Style
Small Frame Chen Taiji
One of the best in China at Small Frame Chen Tai Chi is Chen Boxiang. One of our guys found these clips on the youtube of a small frame teacher. The first clip is the form and the second is some fajing demonstrations.
On Application
As a teacher one is expected to teach application of the movements being in Taught in Tai Chi, Pakua, Hsing-i, or any of the external arts. If one is teaching Tai Chi for health maybe it is not expected, but some teachers have found that by showing small things about application, it can give the non martial student an idea of the physical movement they are trying to learn.
Anyway, application is a little difficult to teach to the beginner because no matter what you demonstrate, it would be difficult for the student to do who has no fighting experience. Even walking through responses and applications may have some value, but is a long way from equipping one for fighting skill.
Self Defense classes offer the same problem, but the important thing is teaching a particular level student honestly what he/she can expect to do at their skill level. In self defense one can learn to respond when grabbed by striking with the free limb directly to a high level target of opportunity. This may create a temporary escape and will buy one a little time to get away, but is not necessary useful in winning a real or extended fight. Most instinct responses people have are wrong in that they fight force which only works when they are the more powerful party. Going directly to the eyes or another high level target is far better percentage than starting with anything else. If the encounter begins with a fighter approaching from a distance with a strike, it is more difficult for the inexperienced as greater skill is required and longer training and experience is needed. This is not a popular thing to express but it is probably the honest approach.
Wang Shu Shen has been quoted to have said when asked what one of the Pakua moves meant in application… “that it would be easier for me to tell you what it doesn’t mean”. I think the point here is that movement should not be limited to one thing in your mind. The entire body movement should be considered as well as the 360 degrees surrounding. I have often said that even if you gave me a series of ballet movements I could come up with applications for these movements based on how I would orchestrate the attackers actions. Of course I would want to apply a different energy and body state to the movement rather than that of a ballet discipline.
For students who hang around, I have several outlines of application study that I teach.
1. Block/Evasion, Strike, Grapple – Every motion can be a block, strike, or grappling action. This may not be entirely true and it is likely that there is a best one of the choices, but this begins to allow the student to expand his thinking a little bit. Maybe only the experienced fighter can see these things at first, but is is a good mental exercise and a need expansion of one’s thinking on the subject rather than… this always means this etc.
2. The List : Some arts like to make a list of every kind of attack possible and then study how one technique could apply to each of these attacks. To me, one would need endless time for this sort of thing, and may be useful to the person who has already knows how to fight and just wants to go very extensive into thinking about these things.
2. Offense, Yield and Counter, Stop Hit - This method is one of the best for the intermediate and advanced student. This one applies in particular to the Chinese Boxing theory that we incorporate with CBII. If an art is more than just a collection of techniques then it has a logical theory or strategy of fighting. This strategy then must be supported by technique and not in reverse. So we take something like a Whiphand strike (open hand back of fingers, hand, or forearm) and ask the question, “How can this be used in attacking”. There are many particulars and skills in launching a high percentage attack, so that is assumed that one understands. Then the Whiphand is applied to an offensive strategy. The Whip Hand is then studied in the Yield and Counter strategy as well as the Stop Hit strategy. Each assumes a certain amount of knowledge and skill, but this is probably the most common way we study application in Chinese Boxing and the Internal Arts.
Most masters demonstrate application with a student respectfully attacking and then showing an action. The attack is often not one of a skilled person, but simply a raw attack that is meant to let the master just show an application. Against a skilled attacker there is a lot more to consider in the application because a skilled attacker can change quickly and is not over committed.
This article is not to say what is right or wrong as each teacher will make up his mind based on his own experience, but this is only to share some thoughts on the subject. Often I will hear students say that they saw this guy in the movies and they were really good. In movies we are looking at dancing and numerous takes in order to play to a camera a certain way. There is no indication how good someone is at fighting. We can say they have great speed or coordination, but to put it into a fight with timing and the other attributes necessary is a different thing. Although there is such a thing as a beautiful technique or awesome looking technique, most skilled and unskilled real fighting is not that ascetically attractive.
Copyright 2009 CBII ©
Early Yang Style
Maybe as one sees the Yang style closer to Yang Lu Chuan it looks closer to Lao da Jia.
Elite Bicycle Kung Fu
Some days you just have to sit back and tip your hat.
Chen Xiaowang Receives New Award
We are pleased to inform you that Grand Master Chen has been awarded the 9th Duan Wei ranking by the China’s Wushu Association. This is the highest ranking in Chinese Martial arts awarded to only a few people who have made substantial achievements in their respective martial arts and made great contributions and impact on Wushu development. We offer our warmest congratulations to Grand Master Chen.
The previous blog contained a clip from a London school advertising the new Chen Xiaowang book. I have replaced it with one I made myself if you would like to re-look at it.
Yang Style Art
Those interested in Yang Style Tai Chi and also like art may want to look at this site… http://www.arttaichi.com/index.html. It has paintings of the postures of Yang Tai Chi.
Chen Xiaowang New Book
Below I have put a clip that I put together after taking a few shots of the book.
If you are interested in ordering a copy of the book I have a supply and you can order from
CBII (Chinese Boxing Institute International)
by sending a money order to:
CBII P.O. Box 666957 Pompano Beach, FL 33066
The book is large and has 344 pages and weighs 8 pounds. It cost $125.00 plus $15 shipping which is Media rate plus insurance and handling. Send $140. Make Money Order Payable to Kai Sai Alliance Inc. Media rate states a shipping time of 7 days to 10 days. Most of the time it will be quicker, but that is what they state.
If you have questions please email me at cbii@mac.com
Recent Taiji Research
For those interested in Tai Chi research… check out this link.
http://centerfortaiji.com/newsletter/March2009/ResearchReview4.html
Chen Style Two Section Staff
In 2006 we saw the kids in Chen Village practicing with the two sections staff. Take a look at this blog to see its use.
Information on Taiji Spear
Check out this blog for basic info on the Spear!
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