Taijiquan Chen
Chen style Taijiquan originated in Chenjiagou village in China. It was created by Chen Wangting, 9th generation descendant of the Chen family, in the 17th century, based on the old martial arts that had been passed down within the family. Chen Wangting created five sequences of bare-hand techniques, sequences with weapons (sword, saber, spear, stick, club, whip, etc.), pair training methods called Hand Thrust (Tui Shou) and other techniques, putting in this way to develop a complete martial arts system. In its process of evolution, other styles are derived from Chen style Taijiquan, such as Yang, Wu (Jianquan), Wu (Yuxiang), Sun, Zhaobao.
The practice of Chen style Taijiquan begins with large, relaxed movements, and then reduces the range of motion. The teacher, to help the student learn faster, zooms in on the movements, so that the student begins learning first from the outer, large circles. After a period of practice, when the student has already learned to move in a round, circular way, the large circles gradually decrease, and the spiral force, "force like winding a silk thread" (Chan Si Jin) is transferred along the paths of force (Jin Lu) on the back, arms and legs. Furthermore, the rhythm tends to be more homogeneous and linear in the initial stages of learning, and then acquires the typical rhythm of the Chen style, in which slow, prevalent movements alternate with fast and explosive movements.
PRINCIPLES OF TAIJIQUAN
1. STRAIGHT AND CENTERED BODY.
The body remains naturally straight, round; the "centering" refers to both the physical, postural and psychological aspects.
2. EMPTY AND FULL CLEARLY DISTINCT.
The positions clearly show where most of the weight and strength is.
3. TOP AND BOTTOM FOLLOW EACH OTHER.
The top and the bottom must be coordinated, the upper body and the arms must follow the movement of the lower part and legs.
4. INSPIRATION AND EXPIRATION COORDINATED WITH THE MOVEMENT.
Mindful breathing in all phases of movement.
5. MIND AND BODY UNITED.
The mind, focused and without distractions, coordinates the movement. The study of Taijiquan includes three aspects: Health.
Taijiquan can be practiced with particular attention to the recovery and maintenance of health, it can be considered a form of Meditation, the concentration and calm inherent in the practice of Taijiquan contribute to the maintenance of physical and mental health, Taijiquan is however in its nature completes a martial art, The real test of understanding Taijiquan is the skill of its use in self-defense and combat. Taijiquan is the study of "change" in response to a force coming from outside, the study of "adhering" and "following" the opponent without opposing force to force. The martial aspect of Taijiquan requires a lot of training.
THE SKILLS OF TAIJIQUAN
1. FANG SONG.
Release tensions in the body to relax the joints.
2. PENG JIN.
Strength of support outward, the basic skill of Taijiquan.
3. DING JIN.
Straight and erect.
4. CHEN.
Rooting.
5. CHAN SI JIN
The skill of "wrapping the silk thread".
These five basic skills should be considered the first steps in learning Taijiquan. If these basic skills were not internalized along with the changes that result from this process, a student would be left out of true Taijiquan. They are learned through exercise and through the process of understanding and training the basic sequence of Taijiquan.