ANOTHER GREAT WORKSHOP WITH CHEN XIAOWANG
Ken Gullette studied for two days with Chen family tai chi Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang in Washington, D.C. on July 26 and 27, 2003. Out of several CXW seminars Ken has attended, this was his favorite. Master Chen focused on the body mechanics and principles behind rou, or the softness in Laojia Yilu, and fa-jin, the explosive power that Chen tai chi is known for. The photo at left was taken on Sunday at the conclusion of the seminar.
Softness in Chen tai chi is the function of proper body mechanics. Laojia Yilu, according to Master Chen, is useful in training proper structure and the "One Principle, Three Techniques of Movement." The One Principle is "when dan t'ien moves, entire body moves." The three principles of movement are the various directions that the dan t'ien rotates during movement -- side to side, forward and backward, and a combination of the two directions. These principles and techniques, incorporated into silk-reeling, form the basis of rou.
"Once you learn the One Principle and Three Techniques," he said, "and you learn to apply them to one movement, you can then apply them to all movements."
There were around 36 students at the workshop, which was hosted by C.P. Ong (you've seen many articles translated by C.P in Tai Chi Magazine. C.P. and his wife, Mahla, are wonderful people and very gracious hosts. The students came from all over the United States, and engaged in spirited and beneficial discussions during breaks.
Laojia Yilu is part of traditional tai chi training in the Chen village, which begins with standing, and progresses with silk-reeling training and Laojia Yilu. Master Chen focused on the first section of the form to teach the principles of structure, silk-reeling and the One Principle and Three Techniques.
On Sunday, students practiced fa-jin, which Master Chen described as the application of the basic principle, techniques and body structure, but as in driving a car, you "put on the gas" in order to explode with power. He demonstrated punches, elbow strikes and shoulder strikes, leaving the students gasping and applauding. Then each student was corrected and coached personally by Master Chen.
He also corrected students' postures in various Laojia Yilu movements, and he corrected each student in standing posture on both days, when students held the position for over half an hour after lunch.
In doing fa-jin, Master Chen says "form and balance are most important."
In doing tai chi, he says "good kung fu is proper structure and balance, not low stances."
He did a lot of coaching on keeping movements simple, and not making large circles or moving the feet in a large circular way when stepping. "Natural is best," he says.
Master Chen was in fine spirits -- this was the first workshop in his current U.S. tour. He told many jokes and stories, and laughed with the students. One particular story had the moral of not following your teacher blindly. He told the story of an old man whose children sat at the dinner table and didn't move until the old man did (they were very well-behaved). One night he took his chopsticks and stabbed a meatball, but it fell to the table accidentally. He tried to pick it up but the table was slippery, so the old man appeared to be pushing the meatball around the table. The children looked at each other, then each child dropped a meatball on the table and began pushing it around with their chopsticks. Master Chen laughed loudly at this story.
He also answered many student questions and explained that people misunderstand the term "double-weighted." Many tai chi students think being double-weighted means having the weight 50/50 on both legs. This is not what it means. It means that your posture is incorrect, and you put yourself in a position so that you are locked and can't move properly to counter an opponent. Anytime your structure is off, your stance isn't centered, and the dan t'ien isn't able to move freely, you are "double-weighted."
Master Chen advised against putting too much stock into things that you read in books. "There are three languages in tai chi," he said. "Reading or telling, you can only learn a little bit. Showing is much better. Hands-on showing is best." His words echoed the famous saying in internal arts -- It Has To Be Shown (IHTBS).
One thing that is obvious after attending a workshop on fa-jin with Master Chen, is that fa-jin is often misunderstood. Some people believe that since it means "issuing energy" that in order to do fa-jin you must learn to shoot chi force out of your body. Not so. Any punch delivers force (the laws of physics will tell you this). Fa-jin is the delivery of force using the proper internal body mechanics, which are learned through standing, silk-reeling and the One Principle, Three Techniques. It's a physical skill that comes from hard work, practice and understanding. That's why they call it kung fu, right? :)
Please check back to this website. It is being re-designed, and soon will reopen with much more information on the internal arts, most notably Chen tai chi, and it will include training tips, quotes from the masters, and new video on various techniques, movements, and fighting applications. This site is evolving into one that is devoted to bring you Chen tai chi and internal arts information in a way that few other sites do. Ken Gullette, the website administrator and the "owner" of Kung Fu Quad Cities is only a student, but hopes that this site will be successful in attracting more students to this amazing and powerful martial art, and in supporting good Chen tai chi teachers across the nation. Big changes are coming very soon.