History of Tai Chi -- Historic Sites in the Chen Village
This video shows some historic sites in the Chen Village, in Henan Province, China -- the birthplace of Tai Chi Chuan. Among the sites is the wall where Yang Luchan watched the Chen family perform their art. Eventually, he was taught the art and then went to Beijing to create his style of Tai Chi, Yang style.
The video was taken by my former teacher, the late Mark Wasson, who went on many trips to Chenjiagou to train with the Chen family. On this visit, he was accompanied by Bill Helm of the Taoist Sanctuary in San Diego.
Mark was a pioneer, one of the early Americans to visit and train in the Chen Village. He helped bring some of the Chen family to America for the first time, including Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing.
Mark, who died in 2013, narrates this video. Chen Village has changed a bit since this was taken in the early 2000s. The government realized there was money to be made, and facilities have sprung up as tourists began coming from around the world to study the amazing art of ...
Chen Village Girls Practicing Chen Taiji Straight Sword Form
One of my former Taiji teachers, Mark Wasson, visited the Chen Village many times to train with members of the Chen family.
On one visit, he took some great video of the village, the Chen family, and their students.
This short video shows young girls practicing the Chen Taiji Straight Sword form as Chen Xiaoxing watches.
Mark passed away a year or so ago. He took several Americans to Chen Village, introducing them to the Chen family. I have not been to the Chen Village, but through Mark, I met and trained with Chen Xiaoxing when he visited the United States. In 2006, I sponsored Chen Xiaoxing's visa so he could come to the US for a series of workshops.
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Ken Gullette
I have practiced martial arts since 1973 and began studying the internal arts in 1987. My goal is to cut years off your development time by coaching you in the real skills for high-quality Tai Chi, Xingyi, Bagua. To see more about my bio, click the "About Ken" link on the menu at the top of this page.
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