Grandmaster Chen Quanzhong with TCCII [...]]]> Grandmaster Chen Quanzhong (陈全忠) is my Chen Tai Chi (陈氏太极) teacher. Today our students had the chance to meet him in person for the first time. At nearly 90 years old, he is the senior most Chen Tai Chi Grandmaster in China and has practiced the art his entire life.

Grandmaster Chen Quanzhong with TCCII Students in August 2011

He greeted our students and gave them a demonstration of his version of the Chen Tai Chi form. Grandmaster Chen learned from his father and several other teachers. He is the only living master to have learned directly from a 16th generation master.* Because of this it is believed that his version of Chen Tai Chi is the oldest one in existence.

The Tang Dynasty style courtyard of our hotel in Xian.

That afternoon our students enjoyed climbing the Xian city wall. There is nothing quite like doing stairs after several hours of horse stance training, so we took our students to climb the Xian city wall after lunch. Since that wasn’t enough for the hardest core group, they finished off the day with a visit to the Wild Goose Pagoda and shopping at the nearby marketplaces. When the day was done, we enjoyed the peaceful courtyard of our Tang dynasty style hotel.

Here is a three part video series based on the question and answer session Grandmaster Chen had with our students.

* Note: Although Grandmaster Chen Quanzhong learned from a 16th generation master and would ordinarily be considered 17th generation he is called 19th generation because Chen family blood descendants keep their family’s genealogy generation number. He is significantly older than the other 19th generation Chen masters such as Chen Zhengli and Chen Xiaowang.

Emperor Qin (秦始皇) is legendary for uniting China, burning the books, burying the scholars, and building the most impressive tomb for himself in the known world. Our students got to check out a little of his handiwork at the museum [...]]]>

The Terra Cotta Warriors of Emperor Qin were intended to protect him in the afterlife.

Emperor Qin (秦始皇) is legendary for uniting China, burning the books, burying the scholars, and building the most impressive tomb for himself in the known world. Our students got to check out a little of his handiwork at the museum for his terra cotta warrior (兵马俑)  army in Xian (西安). His tomb is close by, but it has not been excavated yet. When asked about it, the official answer is that it is so large and deep, there are too many technical barriers to excavation. But unofficially it is rumored to be well protected with traps and curses. No one seems willing to find out if this is true or not.

After a trip back in time to see the relics of a dead empire, we went to study one of China’s most important intangible cultural heritages. My teacher, Grandmaster Chen Quanzhong (陈全忠), welcomed our group to study Chen Tai Chi (陈氏太极) at his school. His son Chen Xili and his grandson, Chen Bin, performed demonstrations of Chen Tai for our students. Afterwards they held a special private seminar for them.

Enjoy this video of Master Chen Xili demonstrating a combination of old frame (Lao Jia, 老架) and new frame (Xin Jia, 新架) Taijiquan form movements.

Chen Tai Chi Introductory seminar in Washington DC. (陈氏太极拳 Chen Taijiquan)This is Part 2 of the video which answers questions received during the break, including posture principles (无极站桩 Wu Ji Zhan Zhuang) and similarities between Chen, Yang, [...]]]> Here is the second part of our introductory videos taken during our recent Qigong and Tai Chi Certification seminars.

Chen Tai Chi Introductory seminar in Washington DC. (陈氏太极拳 Chen Taijiquan)This is Part 2 of the video which answers questions received during the break, including posture principles (无极站桩 Wu Ji Zhan Zhuang) and similarities between Chen, Yang, Wu, Wudang styles of Tai Chi. Seminar taught in December 2010 by Shawn Cartwright, TCCII Execuctive Director. He is a 20th Generation indoor student of Grandmaster Chen Quanzhong, Xian China.

Chen Tai Chi Introductory seminar in Washington DC. (陈氏太极拳 Chen Taijiquan)This is Part 1 of the video which answers questions received during the break, including difference between Chen, Yang, Wu, Wudang styles of Tai Chi, origins and lineage. Seminar taught in December [...]]]> We’ve created some introductory videos from our recent Qigong and Tai Chi Certification seminars.

Chen Tai Chi Introductory seminar in Washington DC. (陈氏太极拳 Chen Taijiquan)This is Part 1 of the video which answers questions received during the break, including difference between Chen, Yang, Wu, Wudang styles of Tai Chi, origins and lineage. Seminar taught in December 2010 by Shawn Cartwright, TCCII Execuctive Director. He is a 20th Generation indoor student of Grandmaster Chen Quanzhong, Xian China.