Newsletter issue 51 March 2006

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the www.taichido.com newsletter. If you're in the UK then whilst you're waiting for the winter to end (spring equinox was apparently yesterday,but not much sign of spring...) so that you can get out and do some tai chi outdoors, cast an eye over this month's meanderings. Gary announces the return to teaching of Ray Wood, 7th Dan Kyushindo master and his (and mine, but at different periods) teacher and a huge influence on us both. For myself, in the second article looking at other styles I explore the Chen style, the original tai chi form.

Mark
webmaster taichido.com, taichidoshop.com, editor Taichido Newsletter

DO THIS A THOUSAND TIMES AND IT BECOMES YOURS

My text contribution to this month's newsletter may be less than on most previous occasions - but this is only so because I am using it (as planned and announced a couple of months ago) to make sure that you are the first to be told about the simultaneous publication of two new much larger pieces @ www.taichido.com and www.wheelswithinwheels.net.

Initially I draw your attention to "Do This a Thousand Times and It Becomes Yours" @ www.taichido.com is; a 1,077 word article about the process of learning the Yang Long Form from the beginning and the math's of why it takes so long to 'master' it all (from beginning to end).

Next I draw your attention to updates to the www.wheelswithinwheels.net homepage, particularly the notice at the top that announces the commencement of monthly 'master classes' to be presented here in my home dojo in Southampton by Ray Wood, 8th Dan Hanshi.

There is a link from that notice that opens a page detailing the relevance and relationship that Ray has had with Mark and I (as taichido) for many years. It is testament to his inspiration that taichido.com has become what it is now.

On that page I also give dates and explain just exactly why this activity added to the dojo diary will be known as "kyutaichido night".

This newsletter is written with those in mind who are the last that I expect to be able to ever come here in person to my little dojo here in St. Mary's, Southampton UK, let alone on a monthly basis, so there is no real need for you to visit that page. I understand this - and this exactly why I am pleased to now be able to use this publication to just bullet point relevant new stuff posted online and quote when pertinent - as follows:

Way back in 1975 my tai chi teacher (Ray Wood, 8th Dan Hanshi) registered his martial art instruction system as "KYUTAICHIDO" (KYU-TAICHI-DO). That name then fell into disuse until the mid nineties - to only then be revived in portion as the domain name "TAICHIDO" with exclusive copyright etc. in the names of myself and Mark Allan (i.e. taichido.com).

Inspired by Ray's example, I now teach and practice professionally - here 'in person' at my home dojo and 'virtually' via distance learning media (CD-ROM's, DVD's etc.), taichido.com and the World Wide Web.

So, whilst I can say that I am able to teach the Form in some detail I have, since Ray went into semi-retirement about 5 years ago, not had the good fortune to come across any one to replace him. If I had it my way he would not have gone into semi-retirement in the first place!

Therefor I am absolutely delighted that, following his moratorium Ray has agreed to teach 'in person' again and to present on going "Master Classes" in Tai Chi, Pushing Hands and Martial Application of Tai Chi postures here in my little Home Dojo in St. Mary's, Southampton UK. His generous offer coincides with the completion of the first phase of learning the Yang Long From of half a dozen or so under my tutelage.

These master classes will be open to anyone and I suppose that there might be one or two here in this part of the world that may click on this page advertising such and want to attend, but I doubt it. That's not the purpose of the exercise anyway. What I am hoping for is a broadening of my own experience and facilitate ongoing stimuli for the handful of students that I have managed to teach the complete Form - from beginning to end.
I toyed with the idea of calling these master classes "What Next?" if only to prove that I do now really believe it's true when they say that in tai chi there is "no beginning and no end"!

In the last few months we have put online a couple of other pages that were either instrumental or consequential in the revival of Ray's personal relationship with Mark, myself and the 'no need to name' here @ taichido.com. They are:

"Meandering Through the Void". @ wheel.net
Alternate presentation "Tai Chi Meanderings" @ taichido.com

This piece is based upon handouts that Ray produced for tai chi classes that I attended about 10/12 years ago. This somewhat philosophical piece is I think, relevant to the practice of tai chi from the very begging through to push hands and the sensing, accumulating and dispersal of energies (or "chi").

"Within … Budo" @ wheels.net.
Put online between the Feb/March newsletters.
The text content is taken from a CD-ROM of Ray musing on a wide range of martial arts specialties. He presented me this disc upon the occasion of one of first reunion meetings.

This is the first in a series of pages planned to gather under the banner "Within". Those to follow are "Within Push Hands" and "Within Chuan" - and these will be based upon notes taken at Ray's future master classes.

So again - and to use this newsletter to its full potential I do end now by asking you for your comments and feedback … and remind you … there is no beginning and there is no end!

Gary Robinson

THE CHEN STYLE OF TAI CHI - the original tai chi form

Of all the different styles of tai chi, Chen appears to be the oldest. In fact on closer inspection it looks to all intents and purposes to be the case that all the other styles are derived from this style. Chen Wangting, born in 1600 is given the credit with inventing tai chi chuan. From the village of Chen Jia Gou (literally translated as Chen Family Ditch) in the Henan province of China, he was a scholar and a general during the changeover from the Ming Dynasty and the Ching. A combination of renowned fighting ability, deep understanding of ying/yang philosophy and medical knowledge led him to spend years researching and developing a type of kung fu martial art that was based more upon the softer and more internal Taoist monasterial philosophies than other martial arts that had gone before.

This was taijijuan (tai chi chuan), based upon the philosophy of yin and yang, both for exercise and health and for fighting – often considered ‘grand ultimate (tai chi) fist (chuan)’ as a translation – although it is not clear that at this time as a martial art it in fact had such a name at all, tai chi chuan being attributed at a much later date. Prior to this, many martial arts relied upon strength – and the strongest generally won. With tai chi chuan we see relaxation and softness to overcome brute strength, often using the strength of the opponent against them by yielding (and thus overbalancing them). Another aspect of this is that when the body relaxes, the meridians open and chi flows much faster, allowing faster and more fluid movement in combat...

For over a hundred years, tai chi chuan was a strictly guarded secretive martial art, practiced only in Henan by the Chen clans. In the nineteenth century, the first outsider was taught Chen tai chi by Chen Changxing (born in 1771) under oath of secrecy. That outsider was Yang LuChan, who kept his promise not to divulge the secrets of the Form but moved to Beijing under the Manchus and created his own style based upon Chen- the Yang Form. There is some evidence to suggest that Yang’s form was deliberately much softer than the Chen so that the Manchus would not use it as a means for fighting, but as exercise and fitness; whilst the Chen village continued to practice the much stronger form in case they were attacked. Possibly this is correct, as the Manchus were seen at the time to be the oppressive foreign regime imposed on the Han province, but then again possibly not.

There are a number of Chen-style Forms that are still practised today. The original Form that Chen Wangting created is now generally referred to as the Old Frame style, which had five routines known as the 13-move chuan. He also developed a later form called the Cannon (Pounding) Form, derived (I think) more from the Shaolin Temple tradition of kung fu than the Taoist temples. During the eighteenth century one of Chen Wangting’s descendants – Chen You Ben – simplified down these Forms into what has now become known as New Style. Chen Ching Ping (the nephew of Chen You Ben) then created a variation of this New Style called the Small Frame Form.

Although many tai chi practitioners of Yang and Wu styles would look at any of the Form lists for the Chen styles and find some very familiar things there, the Chen styles are somewhat different. They are more ‘external’ to these other styles, and are practised at a lower centre of gravity – a lower position- than Yang and Wu. The Chen is much more varied in its pace: slow sections of the Form gradually build up and store chi, and then faster overtly martial and external section explode into sequence. There is a higher characterisation of more powerful stances, more overt coiling and build-up movements and stamping and explosive releases of power following circular paths that are in general absent from the later Forms and is a far cry from both the Chen Man Ching style of Yang Form that we (Gary and I) practise and the Wu Form. In many ways Chen style emphasise the ‘soft and hard’ aspects of tai chi in a much more obvious way in a highly structured ‘symphony’ of movement.

Keep a look out on the website for the Chen Form lists on the website as I compile them.

Mark Allen

Bibliography:
www.chebucto.ns.ca/philosophy/Taichi/Chen.html
Academy of Tai Chi and Wushu www.taichiacademy.com/chen.htm
Master Liu Yong www.taichicollege.supanet.com/index6.html
www.chinavoc.com/kungfu/taiji_style.asp
Tradiitonal Chen Taiji (Sifu Loren Chin) www.geocities.com/lorentaiji/history.html
http://martialarts.about.com/od/lowimpactstyles/p/taichi.htm
www.shenwu.com/taichi.htm

 Regular references:
Newsletter Back Issues
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NetGuide
[http://www.soton.ac.uk/~maa1/chi/menunetguide.ht]
interactive learning media packages
[http://www.wheelswithinwheels.net/taichidoshop/taichidoshop.htm]