When practicing on a very slick surface the integrity of the stance is under attack as there is nothing on the ground to hold onto. In this situation the only thing keeping the shape of the stance and the upright
“Gene” Chen Jinhong was a pioneer of Chinese martial arts in the United States. He was one of the first to bring Chen Style Taijiquan to the west at a time when China was closed to outsiders and the art
Welcome to the applications laboratory. Here is where we play, consider, experiment and assemble. In this method, Chen Taijiquan applications are not stored in eroding antique books or museums, or the rarified hands of ordained “masters”, but in the
by ‘ChiBelly’ (Marshall Rosenstein) As a beginner practicing Taijiquan, your teacher may have told you “do not raise your qi.” But what does this mean? If you are told not to raise your qi, you are probably not at the point
It is the unfortunate state of affairs that modern Taijiquan culture and instruction worldwide is trending heavily towards performance, health, or sport competition. The true traditional (old) way is being lost. The vast majority of interested students and practitioners
All of the body’s joints turn in harmonious efficient sequence. A deeply wound coil anchored by the foot in the earth is twisted tightly and unwound guiding the ebb and flow of core and limb actions. When the body
One of the special qualities of Taijiquan gongfu, is the ‘through the looking glass’ aspect of the practice. Regardless of the ever-ongoing debate about the meaning of ‘internal’ in internal arts, there is a very obvious and easy to grasp
Writing from Beijing, again. Revisiting old friends, old places, old feelings, and rekindling and examining old thoughts. Something as simple and powerful as a smell can return one to the root and seed of gongfu acquisition, if that is how
As the cold season comes on strong, the urge is to be indoors, warm and comfortable. Of course this urge is a survival instinct, because where we are located without the SUV’s, mechanical heating and other benefits of modern technology,
Last one in this series, covering Practice flow, creative drills sanshou variations: This video touches on a subject that is both sensitive, and one that I have been working on privately for over ten years; how to bridge the gap
