Chenjiagou Taijiquan GB Newsletter

Transcription

1 Chenjiagou Taijiquan GB Newsletter June 2013 Volume 3, Issue 2 Meeting with Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei Contents Meeting Chen Zhenglei 1 Chen Ziqiang Seminar 2 USA Workshops 3 News/Announcements 4 Grange Report 5 Borneo It was nice to meet up with Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei in Manchester's Cloud23 restaurant. It only seems a short time ago when we met him for the first time in Zhengzhou, China in Over the years we trained with him a number of times in China and the UK, including joining his first International Advanced Chen Taijiquan Training Camp in Hebei Province in Chen Zhenglei is known as one of the "Four Buddha's Warriors" of Chen Taijiquan and is a renowned practitioner of Chen family Taijiquan. We spent some enjoyable time reminiscing about the early days and catching up since our last meeting. Chen Zhenglei spoke of a recent convention he attended in the USA alongside leaders from the other four traditional Taijiquan systems. While the uninformed often argue about the merits of the different styles and which one is better, the heads of the systems are united in their mutual respect. Each of the major styles have their own unique characteristics, but all are built upon the same principles - song, rou and man (looseness, pliancy and slowness). Chen Zhenglei took out his iphone to show us film of himself and Ma Jiangbao, head of Wu style Taijiquan, pushing hands together. Really we only need to distinguish between good and bad Taijiquan. Do we know and are we following the correct principles or not? Upcoming Events UK visit of Master Chen Ziqiang CWA Grading

2 Page 2 of 6 News CTGB Newsletter Chen Ziqiang 2013 Workshops June We will be away for the next few weeks accompanying Master Chen Ziqiang during the French, Spanish, Polish and Slovenian legs of his European workshops. Chen Ziqiang will be visiting again at the end of June for a series of workshops. He will lead four days of training, no doubt in his inimitable style. This is a great chance to train with the chief coach of the Chenjiagou Taijiquan School and to get some pointers from him before he returns to China. The mission of our school is to preserve the practice of traditional Chen Taijiquan; by travelling to China to train at its birthplace and by bringing teachers from China to the UK so that students of the school have the opportunity to train with the best. We would strongly recommend that you put these dates in your diary. Preserving the practice of traditional Chen Taijiquan CHINA 2013 October Train in Chenjiagou with Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing Chenjiagou Taijiquan GB s 8 th training trip to the place where it all started

3 CTGB Newsletter News Page 3 of 6 USA Workshops Our second teaching trip to USA was in April. We were in the West coast of America, the first stop in South California close to the Mexican border and then to the north near the Canadian border. San Diego was a comfortable temperature in springtime compared to the near 40 deg C last August. The welcome from the hosts and students of the Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego was warm as before and it was good to see familiar faces as well as some new ones. The first day of the seminar was a lecture on how to train in the correct way and what aspects of training to focus on. The 3-hour lecture and the question-and- answer session was filmed so that students can use it as a reference for their study. The following three days was dedicated to the Chen Taijiquan foundation form Laojia Yilu and an evening working on the second and third methods of tuishou. This is a very good way to consolidate study and understanding. Quality over quantity! The climate of Seattle is very similar to the North-West of England. No shortage of rain! Embrace the Moon Qigong and Taijiquan School had a full programme for us over four days - from foundation practice to Laojia Yilu posture corrections to tuishou and applications. All sessions were well attended and the students of the school were keen to learn and not afraid of hard work.

4 CTGB Newsletter News Page 4 of 6 Beginner's Laojia Workshop The first beginner's Laojia workshop was held at the Croft Hall and it was great to see so many people from the different branches of the school. These extra sessions allow us to go deeper than regular classes allow, with more time for posture correction and explanations Sunday Workshops Push Hands & Applications Jul 28 th Birchwood Leisure Centre 12-4pm Sabre Form Aug 25 th Croft Memorial Hall 1-5pm Beginner's Laojia Yilu Sept 8 th Croft Memorial Hall 1-5pm 42 Fajin Sept 22 nd Croft Memorial Hall 1-5pm Spear Form Nov 24 th Birchwood Leisure Centre 12-4pm An Introduction to Chen Style Taijiquan by Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim & David Gaffney The Essence of Taijiquan by Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim & David Gaffney Sunzi The Art of War 10 CTGB Cultural Influences on Taijiquan Vol. 1 Sunzi Asian Martial Arts: constructive thoughts & practical applications - Journal of Asian Martial Arts Recommended Reading Theory of Taijiquan - Lecture DVD As part of our USA seminar programme we gave a lecture at the Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego on the Essence of Taijiquan. The lecture covered aspects such as "the three correct and the three incorrect ways" to practise Taijiquan. The importance of loosening the body and the different benefits (we counted eighteen different benefits) we get from looseness. What we mean by "harmonising" the body... The lecture was professionally filmed and is available in a 2DVD set for 12

5 CTGB Newsletter News Page 5 of 6 CTGB Newsletter News Page 4 of 5 The Grange Weekend From 17-19th May we were at our tenth annual Taiji residential weekend at the Grange Country House in Shropshire. As usual it was a full house and we all enjoyed the wonderful facilities of the place. This year we worked on the New Frame First Form, which was devised by the 17th generation Chen ancestor Chen Fake. It builds upon the Old Frame foundation form, with more complex and smaller spiral movements, more obvious applications, qinna and sudden changes of speed and direction. We were really lucky with the weather and did all the sessions outside. The one thing we always worry about at the Grange is the possibility of rain and the lack of proper indoor space. This might soon change as The Grange is in the process of building a large indoor training hall. Please register your interest for next year's residential early to book a place. Watch this space for announcement Chinese Wushu Association Grading Good luck to all of you who are taking the grading in July. The last batch of students of the school to grade did so in Luhacoviche in the Czech Republic in This is the first time we will be doing it in the UK. The grading panel will consist of David and Davidine who both hold 6 Duan grades with the CWA and the main examiner will Chen Ziqiang, Chief Coach of the Chen Village Taijiquan School. People often associate the grading system with the Japanese Dan grade system. The CWA was founded in 1958 for the purpose of promoting both traditional and modern Chinese martial arts. The grading certification used by the CWA was established in 1998 and goes from 1st to 9th Duan. The Duan certification is based on 3 aspects: 1. that the applicant has understood the martial virtue - respect for the teacher, respect for the art and respect for fellow students. 2. Passing a theoretical examination - lower grades answer a set of questions; mid-level grades are also required to submit an essay on an aspect of wushu; 3. a technical exam. Those taking levels 1 and 2 are assessed on a hand form. From levels 3 and above candidates are assessed on 1 hand form and 1 weapon form. Everyone about to take the grading has put in more than the required time and has shown commitment in their art over time, We are sure you will all do well!

6 BORNEO March Promoting traditional 2014 Chen Family Taijiquan CTGB Page 2 Newsletter of 5 Upcoming News Sunday Events Workshops News CTGB Recommended Reading We re Page Newsletter on Page 3 the of 3 Web! 7 of 5 Facebook: Chenjiagou Taijiquan GB CTGB is pleased to announce a 10-day Taiji Holiday in Kota Kinabalu in Borneo in March Formerly British North Borneo, it is a land of great natural beauty and has a fascinating cultural mix made up of the Indigenous People, Chinese, Indian and Malay. Besides taijiquan practice in a magical environment, experience the headhunter village, pristine rainforests, off-shore islands, probiscus monkeys and orangutan If you want to join the holiday please register in class as soon as possible. Spouses are welcomed. Date 19 th - 29 th March 2014