Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

Chen Xiaowang Says to Defend From All Directions -- What Does That Mean?

awareness chan style tai chi chen style taiji chen style taijiquan chen xiaowang taijiquan Jul 21, 2025

Chen Xiaowang put a student into a good posture, one of the positions in "Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds Mortar." When he put the student into the proper stance, Master Chen stepped back and said, "Now, he can defend from all directions."

At the time, I wasn't sure what he meant. Now, I think I have a clearer idea.

360-Degree Dynamic Awareness. One of the things we cultivate in this martial art is a state of awareness. When Chen Xiaowang puts you into a standing posture, you aren't just doing qigong. He tells you to "listen behind you." This means to be aware of everything around you at all times. In daily life, this means taking your eyes off your cell phone and being present at all times -- walking across a parking lot at the store, driving in the car, or when you are in a potentially dangerous self-defense situation. And when you come in contact with an opponent, you are aware of his energy and where it is being directed.

Sensitivity and Responsiveness. Awareness then applies...

A True Story about the Ultimate Self-Defense Skill

awareness chen xiaowang self-defense zhan zhuang Jan 27, 2019

In March, 2013, Chen Xiaoxing came to Chicago to do a workshop on Xinjia Yilu. Nancy and I stayed for the weekend in a hotel downtown.

After the first day of the workshop, we took a walk from the hotel onto Michigan Avenue. We wanted to do some shopping along the Magnificent Mile and enjoy dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

March in Chicago can be very cold, but we got lucky. This was the warmest day of the year in Chicago after a cold winter.

The photo above shows Nancy as we are beginning our walk. The Magnificent Mile is behind her down the street.

As we got into the shopping area, the sidewalks became more crowded. I was enjoying the people but I noticed there were a lot of young people in their teens to around 20, maybe 21 or 22. We kept walking and there were more people. The young people were scattered through the crowd, in groups of two or more.

As we got deeper into the area, the crowds got a little heavier. I have been in crowds before. New York City is one...

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

Chen Xiaowang Says to Defend From All Directions -- What Does That Mean?

A True Story about the Ultimate Self-Defense Skill

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