My first book 《Chen Style Taichi Training: Silk Reeling and Striking》 will be released soon. For readers outside Hong Kong, you may contact me if you are interested to purchase.
This book consists of three chapters：
Chapter 1 – Key elements of Chen Style Taichi： There are already many materials on the Internet about the historical background and development of Chen Style Taichi. This chapter mainly focuses on 5 important concepts of Chen Style Taichi: the core power “PENG JIN” (掤勁), the silk reeling movement “CHAN SI” (纏絲), the explosive power “FA JIN” (發勁), the body posture “SHEN FA” (身法) and the internal kungfu “NEI QI” (內氣).
PENG JIN and CHAN SI (Silk Reeling) are 2 special terms of Taichi. They are also two important elements of Chen Style Taichi: The intangible “PENG JIN” is the power from the body (internal power); while the tangible “CHAN SI” is the arc-shaped movement driven by the internal power.
Through the training of PENG JIN and CHAN SI (Silk Reeling), we can develop an elastic soft power. With this accumulated soft power, we further develop a loose, agile, elastic and vibrating explosive power FA JIN. Then, we can head to the stage of intergrating “hard” and “soft”, i.e. “GANG ROU XIANG JI” (剛柔相濟).
Chen Style Taichi is a martial art that trains our body both externally and internally. In this chapter, I also introduce posture requirements of Chen Style Taichi on each part of the body, i.e. SHEN FA, and how to develop NEI QI through dantian breathing, and how to consciously guiding the NEI QI inside the body.
Chapter 2 – Silk Reeling Training of Chen Style Taichi: My teacher Master Zhang Dongwu proposes 6 stages of systematic training of Chen Style Taichi: 1. “Learn the form” (understand the patterns and become familiar with the forms); 2. “Correct the form” (master the requirements and show the characteristics of the forms); 3. “Polish the form” (adjust every posture to the correct position); 4. “Smooth the form” (perform the forms naturally and highlight the style); 5. “Break the form” (master the application of the moves in the forms); 6. “Settle the form” (finalize the forms with perfect moves).
The first stage is “Learn the form”. Chen Style Taichi is all about Silk Reeling (CHAN SI), and hence through learning Silk Reeling Exercises (“CHAN SI GONG” 纏絲功) and the forms, we can understand the unique Silk Reeling moving patterns of Chen Style Taichi, i.e. “CHAN SI JIN” (纏絲勁). Silk Reeling Exercises are the most important basic training of Chen Style Taichi.
This chapter details the 9 commonly practiced Silk Reeling Exercises taught by my teacher Master Zhang Dongwu.
Chapter 3 – Strike Training of Chen Style Taichi: After a period of training, when the forms and moves are well mastered, and when entering the stage of “Break the form”, it is necessary to include Strike (“DAN SHI FA JIN” 單式發勁) training. This involves choosing particular moves (DAN SHI 單式) from the forms and independently practising striking (FA JIN 發勁). This training helps to strengthen the practitioner’s explosive power. Furthermore, in traditional Chen Style Taichi forms, most moves are practised on one side, i.e. either on the left or right side. However, the Strike training allows us to train both sides to achieve better balance.
This chapter delineates 9 sets of selected Striking exercises.