Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

Chen Xiaoxing Gives Private Push Hands Lesson in Chen Village

chen family taijiquan chen tai chi training chen taiji training chen xiaoxing push hands Oct 20, 2015

This video shows Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing giving a private push hands lesson to my former teacher, the late Mark Wasson, in the early 2000s.

Mark was on one of his many visits to train with the Chen family in Chenjiagou, but it was a cold winter day and in those days, the village was still without heat in most of its buildings. So Chen Xiaoxing graciously came to Mark's hotel room to train him.

Mark died in 2013 after a long battle with Crohn's Disease. He helped to popularize Chen Taiji in the United States, sponsoring or arranging sponsors for Chen Xiaoxing and others to visit the U.S. for workshops, and Mark also took several Americans to Chen Village to train.

When I studied with Mark, I sponsored Chen Xiaoxing's visa for his 2006 visit to the United States. In return, Chen Xiaoxing stayed in my home for a week and we practiced like this every day. I learned a lot and, after being thrown to the ground so many times, got a brand new perspective of my basement carpet.

This is p...

Chen Xiaoxing and Xinjia Yilu -- A Good Workshop in Chicago

chen family taijiquan chen tai chi training chen taiji training chen xiaoxing tai chi workshops Apr 01, 2013

Chen Xiaoxing coaches me through a movement from Xinjia Yilu in Chicago, March 31, 2013.

This weekend, I attended a workshop held in Chicago by Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing, who was teaching Xinjia Yilu. I've received some instruction on the form, including a little information from my friend and teacher Jim Criscimagna and also a short private lesson with Chen Xiaoxing's son, Chen Ziqiang. I still had questions about how to perform certain moves.

Chen Xiaoxing -- who just turned 60 (and so did I) -- is the younger brother of Chen Xiaowang. He stayed in our home for a week when Nancy and I sponsored his visa in 2006, allowing him to come to the U.S. for a series of workshops. He held one in the school we owned at the time, and trained with me in our basement for a week. It was a lot of fun and I got some great insights. He didn't speak a word of English and I didn't speak Mandarin, but we managed.

He recognized me on Saturday and we had a brief exchange through the interpreter at t...

With the Internal Martial Arts It Has To Be Shown

chen family taijiquan chen style taiji chen tai chi chen xiaoxing tai chi training Aug 14, 2007

I've studied several arts since 1973 -- Shaolin, wushu, taekwondo, boxing -- and attained ranks in Shaolin (brown belt) and TKD (green belt) before finding the internal arts.

The internal arts that I practice -- Hsing-I, Chen Tai Chi, and Bagua -- are the most difficult arts I've encountered. For a beginner, it's impossible to learn them properly from books, photos, or videos.

It Has To Be Shown (IHTBS).

My first encounter with top-level internal arts instructors (those with training in actual internal body mechanics) was Jim and Angela Criscimagna in Rockford, Illinois. They also introduced me to the Chen way of training and masters such as Chen Xiaowang and Ren Guangyi.

I met Jim and Angela after reading internal arts posts on the Internet that I didn't understand, using terms I'd never been taught. One hour after training with Jim for the first time, I drove away from Rockford realizing that I had to start over.

Not everyone can make that decision. We invest a lot of time, mo...

Chen Xiaoxing One Year Later

chan style tai chi chen family taijiquan chen xiaoxing push hands May 15, 2007

It's been a year since Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing stayed in our home for a week. He came to Moline partially as a favor, because I sponsored his visa to visit the U.S. and teach seminars around the country. He held a 2-day seminar on Laojia Yilu at our school and I received some good private training in my basement. It was fascinating to host a man like this and to see a true master up close and personal.

Grandmaster Chen is in charge of all tai chi training in the Chen village. He has trained some talented young masters. We're about the same age. He's the younger brother of Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang. He's the uncle of Chen Bing.

It was difficult for us to communicate, since he doesn't speak English, but when he trains, no words need to be said. One day we did push hands in my basement for a while. Each time I tried to attack him, he relaxed and suddenly, I found myself on the floor. We were both laughing--I was laughing because it was amazing to feel what he was doing but still be un...

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

Chen Xiaoxing Gives Private Push Hands Lesson in Chen Village

Chen Xiaoxing and Xinjia Yilu -- A Good Workshop in Chicago

With the Internal Martial Arts It Has To Be Shown

Chen Xiaoxing One Year Later

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