Minute yet profound

A friend asked me if I had pics to share from my training with CZQ in France and that’s when I realized that I have not been taking pics. I’ve been listening carefully to what he is saying and practicing the corrections he gave me. My understanding of his family’s art has deepen with each correction. He told me that it is easy to mimic what looks right, it is more difficult to know what right is inside. He said not to think too about what the outside looks right. When the inside is correct, the outside with be correct.

The saying about when the student is tardy, the teacher will appear is so accurate. I can take pictures and videos all day long (which one student did) but to truly understand, I have to watch, listen and reflect. I need to discover within myself what’s right and what’s not and ignore what others are seeing or what I’m seeing.

Someone at the seminar asked me how long I’ve been practicing taijiquan and I said I started in 1990 (the year I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease). That’s 33 years ago!!! He said ‘oh, you must be good’. I said  ‘No’. I said, ‘I only get corrections 1 or 2 times a year whenever I get to see CXX or CZQ. The rest of the times I practice the same mistakes again and again.’ Some people think they just need a workshop and they know what taijiquan is. Or, they are upset that we couldn’t finish the form during the 3-day workshop. Pour moi  – only 1 jin gang is enough. Hands on corrections are the best form of corrections for me. I owe CZQ and CXX a lot for my progress.

Yesterday’s correction was minute but profound! At the end of the class Master CZQ asked – how has it changed your form. I said the  changes are huge and I’m now applying that knowledge and feeling to the rest of the movements.

Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Grateful to Master CZQ

Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Good documentary on Chen Village and Chen Taijiquan

https://www.facebook.com/1042240652/videos/296192672811564/

Sorry this is only through FB.

Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Class Schedule

Tuesday morning classes at Village Cohousing Community (1104 Mound St, Madison, WI 53715), hosted by Barbara and Don MacCrimmon, led by Kathryn. $10 per class. Please contact Barbara at bardonmacc@gmail.com or 608.260.9363 so she can also keep you on her email list.

9:00 am- 10:00 amBasics (silk reeling exercises) + Form (Lao Jia Yi Lu)

Thursday morning classes at Fitchburg Senior Center (5510 Lacy Road, Fitchburg, WI 53711). Call 6082704290 to reserve your spot at the beginning of each month.

9:00 am- 10:30 amBasics (silk reeling exercises) + Form (Lao Jia Yi Lu)

Saturday morning classes at McKee Farm Park, meet near the main shelter. Weather permitting and begins in April, usually ends in early October.

9:00 am- 10:30 amPractice what you already know or learn something new. I will there to do corrections and teach.

Private lessons are still available. Contact me to make arrangements.

Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Chen Village – where it all began

Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

New book available in Amazon

This book is now available on Amazon. I’ve mine, go get yours today.

Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Online Taijiquan Basics

Due to the extended Safer At Home initiative, Fitchburg Senior Center offered me the opportunity to make a video of our weekly warm-ups and silk reeling exercises and because the space is small and tight. I’m only doing the stationary portion of the silk reeling exercises.

The video is available at http://factv.fitchburgwi.gov/CablecastPublicSite/show/12329?channel=2 as well as scheduled air times. I hope by the time we get back together in person again, we can add on standing corrections, moving steps , and do the forms together. Until then, please stay safe, protect not just yourself but others through social distancing, earning masks etc until we are sure our healthcare system is ready for us to get the coronavirus. It is not “IF” but “when” we will get the virus.

Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Direct from Chen Village

To all my taijiquan friends:

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, taijiquan friends from all over the world have sent us a lot of greetings of concern. Under the leadership of my government, the epidemic in China is now under control and the crisis situation is easing. Today COVID-19 has spread on a global scale, and each of us is just an ordinary member of the global family. Although we are not all able to be fighting the virus in the frontline like medical and hospital staff, we can all contribute to our country’s effort by protecting ourselves.

My friends, following the outbreak in my country, I wish to convey to you China’s valuable experience and the measures taken to prevent the spread of the contagion. You must treat the virus outbreak very seriously and protect yourself well!

1. Stay at home as much as possible

2. Wear a mask when you go out

3. Keep distance between people

4. Avoid crowds

5. Avoid touching things; don’t rub your eyes

6. Be sure to wash when you get home

7. Leave outdoor coats and shoes at the door

8. Avoid bringing the virus into your home

9. The house should be ventilated every day

10. Keep regular hours and eat a balanced diet

Remember to practice Taijiquan every day! Enhance your immunity!

Friends, please protect yourself. I look forward to meeting you again!

Chen Ziqiang

致我的太极拳朋友们:

自新型冠状病毒爆发以来,世界各国的太极拳朋友给了我们很多关心和问候,在中国政府领导下,我国的疫情目前已经得到控制和好转。现在新冠肺炎疫情在全球多国暴发,而我们每个人都只是全球大家庭中普普通通的一员,我们没有能力像医护工作人员一样冲锋在前,但是保护好自己,就是为大家为国家做贡献,我的朋友们,经历了我国的这次疫情,我希望把我们国家在疫情防护中的重要经验转达给你们,请你们一定要慎重对待此次病毒疫情,保护好自己!

1、尽量在家不外出

2、外出必须带口罩

3、与人之间有距离

4、搭乘电梯避人多

5、少触碰、勿揉眼

6、回家一定要清洁

7、外套鞋子放门口

8、防止病毒带家中

9、居家每天要通风

10、作息要按时饮食要均衡

一定记得每天要练拳,增强免疫力,朋友们,保护好自己,期待与你们再次相见!

陈自强

Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

News from Chen Village

Hi friends: a very powerful message Kim Ivy received from Chenjiagou on WeChat, from Cui Bing, CZQs wife, CXX’s daughter-in-law. (WeChat has a translation feature).

Hello! Kim, how’s it going? How are you and your family? The news shows that the number of sick people in the United States has increased a lot. Are you all right? Hope all is well! This virus is too cunning, at present in addition to stay at home, there is no other way to resist, must not go out, do not contact with others. It took us many days at home to get this virus under control. Be sure to take care of your body! You must be careful! Try to avoid going out and practice tai chi every day at home, because China is in the process of treating and fighting viruses. Many health care workers and experts working on the front-line are advocating taijiquan to improve their immunity, enhance heart and lung function, and resist the invasion of viruses while treating the virus with medicine at the same time. Wish you and your family peace!

Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

平静 (Píngjìng) Calmness, quietness

As we all stay at home for the people we care about, practice calming down through the standing posture longer.

Like I said many times, the first stage of standing is to calm the mind. Really, there’s nothing better to do now but learn to calm the mind. Once the mind is calm, you will find your body, you will find your center. Once you found it, let the mind rest there.

Your body will settle in and the weight in the upper body disappears as each muscle group find its equilibrium state and each part of the body stack on the next part and eventually the upper body just rest.

The quads are burning now, let it burn. Strength is building up. Strength is what we need now to prepare ourselves for the next phase.

Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment