I spent the weekend studying withĀ MasterĀ Chen Huixian in Madison, Wisconsin. We worked through the entire Chen Straight Sword form in six hours of training on Saturday and six hours on Sunday. The workshop was sponsored by her student, Patrick Rogne, the owner and instructor at Ancient Root Taijiquan in Madison.
I have been practicing this form for 13 years, and I originally learned a different version, but except for a couple of major differences in the opening movements, most of the movements follow the same order. There are different angles and different flourishes and transitions, but essentially it is the same form.
Chen Huixian's form is similar to the form of her uncle and primary teacher, Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei. She is an "in-chamber" disciple.
Over two days, she demonstrated each movement a few times, then led the students through the movement, carefully explaining which leg is solid, where the weight is shifting, when you should sink, how to hold the sword, how to do th...
I recently shot applications for the entire Chen Tai Chi Straight Sword Form for my website. I've always believed that if a student is going to learn a weapons form, he should know how it is used in combat. For each of the weapons forms that I teach in Chen Taiji, Xingyiquan and Baguazhang, I teach the body mechanics and fighting applications, too.
This is a very short video showing two applications from two movements in the form -- "Ancient Tree Entwines its Roots" and "Hungry Tiger Searches for Food."
The straight sword was a popular weapon on the battlefields of ancient China. Fighting with a straight sword was a high-level skill. These two sword-fighting applications involve deflecting, sticking, following, controlling your opponent's blade and thrusting.
The video of all the sword applications is available only on my membership website, along with over 700 other video lessons covering the three internal arts and Qigong. There are also ebooks for members to download as part of t...
50% Complete
Thank you for subscribing. I promise not to pelt you with constant messages that do not provide value. You will learn about internal arts news, inspirational posts, new videos, and other messages designed to help you in your martial arts journey.