Jul 1, 2013 ... Annual Chen Taijiquan Xuexiao magazine with news, events, profiles, training
tips etc from the Chen Village Taijiquan School. • Bi-monthly e- ...
Chenjiagou Taijiquan GB Newsletter Special Edition J u ne 2013 Vol u me 3, I s s ue 3
Editorial
Contents Editorial
1
Official Branch
1
On tour with Chen Ziqiang
3
UK Seminar
5
CWA Grading
6
Taiji for Peace
8
Sunday Workshops
8
CTXX-UK Application
9
Borneo 2014
10
This is an exciting time for our school. In this newsletter we report on the inauguration of Chenjiagou Taijiquan GB as the official UK branch of the Chen Village Taijiquan School in China. It really is a momentous occasion that recognises our long association with the Chen Village School. To put this into perspective, we are the only school in the country and only the second in Europe to be recognised this way. We also celebrate
the achievement of our students who took part in the Chinese Wushu Association grading, the first time we have organised this in our school. We report on the wonderful workshops Master Chen Ziqiang’s conducted in the UK as well as his European tour, during much of which he was accompanied by David and Davidine, who acted as his assistant and interpreter.
Official Branch of the Chen Village Taijiquan School Upcoming Events
Introduction to Push Hands Workshop
Chenjiagou Training Trip with Grandmaster Chen Xioaxing in October
On 1st July 2013 Chenjiagou Taijiquan GB (CTGB) was recognised as the official UK Branch of the Chen Village Taijiquan School (Chenjiagou Taijiquan Xuexiao). During the inauguration ceremony David Gaffney and Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim, founders of Chenjiagou Taijiquan GB, and Chen Ziqiang, Chief Coach of the Chen Village Taijiquan School, signed an agreement formally acknowledging Chenjiagou Taijiquan GB as an extension of the main school in China. Taijiquan was created and has been practised for four centuries in Chenjiagou (Chen Village). In the village the oldest and most famous school is the Chenjiagou Taijiquan
Xuexiao. The Honorary Principal of the school is Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang, the present recognised head of the family system. The village school is run by is brother Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing who is the Executive Principal and his son Chen Ziqiang, who acts as Chief Coach as well as the deputy principal. CTGB has a long association with the Chen Village School. The first time David and Davidine visited Chenjiagou was in 1997 and over the years we have been back on numerous occasions. In the winter of 2003 CTGB took the first British group to train intensively in the village. The first group spent 19 days under the watchful eye of Chen Xiaoxing and lived in very basic conditions, as it was those days!
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CTGB recognised as an extension of the Chen Village Taijiquan School
News Since then many CTGB students have trained there during our annual visits. In 2008 David and Davidine were awarded instructors' certificates by the Chen Village School – to date the only people in the UK to have been awarded this qualification. In the UK, as well as hosting Chen Xiaowang a number of times, CTGB organised the first visits to the UK of both Chen Xiaoxing and Chen Ziqiang., both of whom are now familiar and welcome faces in our school. From the outset CTGB is committed to preserving and teaching the traditional and art and to bring the best teachers to raise the standard of all practitioners. It is the only school in the UK to have hosted three of the “Four “Buddha’s Warriors” of Chenjiagou - so named as they are recognised as the best practitioners of the 19th generation. The long relationship is now recognised with the appointment of David and Davidine as the official representatives of the school in the UK and 20th generation of the Chen Family Taijiquan. This is a great honour for the school that brings with it the responsibility of continuing the legacy that has been passed down over the generations. It is up to all students, especially the senior/advanced students, to live up to this in terms of their training and practice and working to understand the principles, philosophy and history of Chen Taijiquan. Now, for the first time people (both students of our school and any other individuals with an interest in traditional Chen Village Taijiquan) are eligible to apply for individual membership of the Chen Village School that give them access to many benefits including: training advice, reduced seminar cost, regular e-newsletters… Application form for membership is on page 9.
CTGB Newsletter
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News
CTGB Newsletter
On Tour with Chen Ziqiang France - Spain - Poland - Slovenia - UK As partner-organiser of his 2013 European seminar programme, David and Davidine travelled with Chen Ziqiang for the best part of a month in June. The first stop was France where Terry Ryan hosted the Laojia Yilu seminar. Terry was an established member of our advanced class and longtime Taijiquan practitioner until he retired from work and emigrated to Bressuire in France. Two years ago he set up a branch of the school in his area. This was the first time Terry hosted one of the teachers from China and he did a great job. The group is fairly new and inexperienced, but everyone knuckled down and trained well, including a reporter from the local Le Courrier newspaper who concluded that proper Taijiquan is definitely not as easy as it appears!
The next stop was Valencia in Spain where the host was the HeRen Chen Taijiquan and Wushu School headed by Paco and Montse Serrano. The first seminar was the Eyebrow Stick Form, one of Chen Taijiquan's mid-length weapons. As the name suggests the length of the stick is level with one's eyebrow. This is one of the weapons of the system that had fallen into disuse in recent generations. After researching the weapon from the archive and consulting one of the respected elders of Chenjiagou, Chen Dewang, who gave him the names of the form and advice on the characteristics of the different movements, Chen Ziqiang recreated this form. It was refreshing to see some youngsters taking part in this session including a very large and strong twelve year old nicknamed "The Rock"!
The next session focused on the Long Pole Form. The Long Pole is one of the oldest weapons in the system. Between 3.5 and 4 metres in length, it is used both for body conditioning and as a long range weapon. Throughout Taijiquan's history the long pole has been used many times to defend the community around Chenjiagou. 17th generation Chen Fake, Ziqiang's great grandfather, used this weapon to impale and kill the leader of a gang of brigands - the "Red Spear Gang" - who had ransacked a number of towns and were threatening to attack Wenxian town, the capital of Wen County in which Chenjiagou is situated. The bandits turned tail and fled after seeing their leader slain. Two generations earlier sixteen year old twins Chen Zhongshen and Chen Jishen used long poles to unhorse a fearsome and exotically named bandit leader called "Big Head Ram" as he raided Chenjiagou and then beheaded him.
The Spanish group concentrated on weapons forms and the next workshop was the single broadsword. The main characteristic of the broadsword form is the emphasis of keeping the weapon close to the body whilst coiling it over the head and back. It also emphasises speed, power and dynamism. It is important to grasp the basic movement principle and method and train those as much as training the form.
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News The final session was push hands and basic qinna (joint-locking). The group worked on identifying the active (yang) and passive (yin) hands. Then training single hand qinna - which makes everyone concentrate more carefully on the route of the movement in order to make the technique effective. Ziqiang explained that when you can do the lock with one hand, adding the second hand will make it even more lethal! The European tour continued to Warsaw, Poland, hosted by Marek Balinski of the Chen Taijiquan Akadamie. Here for 8 days the seminar consisted of a mixed programme which included Basic Training, Push Hands, Single Sword, Single Broadsword and Double Broadswords. Chen Ziqiang acknowledged that the Double Broadsword is one of the most difficult forms in the Chen Taijiquan syllabus. All the technical and physical requirements of the single broadsword are present but with the added complexity of synchronising two weapons whirling around your body at the same time. Every item of the curriculum trains different aspects. For this reason students should not decide that they are not interested or do not want to train in one or other aspect of Taijiquan, be it push hands or weapons etc. Taijiquan is a holistic system and everything is there for a reason. The double weapons for example, train the co-ordination and synchronisation of both sides of the body (hands). A common mistake during handform practice is the under-use of the non-dominant hand, allowing it to become lifeless. Practicing the double weapons compels both sides to work equally. The improved coordination will only improve a student’s performance of the handform. Push hands practice allows a student to develop sensitivity/responsiveness to outside stimuli and is the only way to gauge the effectiveness of one's overall taijiquan practice.
CTGB Newsletter One of the evenings in Warsaw Chen Ziqiang, with Davidine acting as interpreter, gave a lecture at the atmospheric Warsaw Asia and Pacific Museum on the history of Chen Family Taijiquan.
He spoke at length about some of the pivotal figures who shaped the art we practise today: 9th generation Chen Wangting who provided the inspiration for the art's creation nearly four hundred years ago; 14th generation Chen Changxing, a famous merchant guard who codified the Laojia forms we practise today from the original routines of Chen Wangting; and 17th generation Chen Fake, largely responsible for the spread of Chen Taijiquan to Beijing and thence to
the outside world. Chen Ziqiang repeatedly emphasised the true nature of his family martial art, Taijiquan, and the fact that it has been used for centuries in the defence of individuals, community and country. As he explained, every generation until his grandfather had used Taijiquan in mortal combat. Chen Wangting was a general who led troops during the turbulent days of the fall of the Ming and emergence of the Qing dynasty. Chen Taijiquan has one of the oldest unbroken traditions in Chinese martial arts. It is important to have a sense of this history and your place within it as a link between past and future generations.
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News People often listen to history and confine what you hear to some dry and dusty place of little seeming relevance today. However, during the lecture this sense of history felt very alive when you realised that Chen Fake was Chen Ziqiang’s great grandfather and that Chen Changxing was his great great great great grandfather! Chen Taijiquan has stood the test of time. In a world where people are often looking for fast results and easy options that require minimal effort, our school’s
CTGB Newsletter mission is to try to preserve this tradition. And to dispel the many misconceptions that surrounds it. The final leg of our European tour was to Ljubljana the picturesque capital of Slovenia. The workshops were hosted by Biljana Dusic and Dragan Lazarevic of the Slovenian Chen Taijiquan Association. Here it was back to fundamentals as the sessions focused on Laojia Yilu and Push Hands.
Chen Ziqiang's UK Seminar The final stop of Chen Ziqiang’s seminar tour was the UK. This is the fifth year at CTGB with his dynamic teaching style. As usual his warm ups were, as he puts it “challenging”. After all, what do you expect from the chief coach of the most famous Chen Taijiquan School in the birthplace of the art!! At the Laojia yilu form seminar, he broke each movement down to reveal many of the fine details within, and worked everyone hard with repetitions of the form in order for the body to remember these details. Ziqiang emphasised the need to correctly understand the route of each movement and the need to make every movement practical and usable - "discard anything that is not useable and purposeless". This year's seminar was very well supported. As well as our school members, people had travelled in from different parts of the UK. Again it was great to have an international presence with people coming from Norway, Spain and Slovenia to take part. Several people commented that this was the best seminar they've been to! We take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported the event. As we have said before, our school was set up with the mission of preserving and promoting authentic Chen Taijiquan by bringing the very best teachers from China. Without your continuous support events like this would not be possible! Thanks also to the people who threw their homes open for the visitors and those who offered lifts or simply extended such warm welcomes to our visitors. We're extremely proud of you all!
www.chentaijigb.co.uk
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News
CTGB Newsletter
Chinese Wushu Association Grading On 1st July CTGB also held our first Duan Grading in the UK. The last batch of students who graded did so in Luhacovice in the Czech Republic in 2008. The grading panel consisted of Chen Ziqiang, Chief Coach/Deputy Head of the Chen Village Taijiquan School in China and 20th generation direct descendant of the Chen Family Taijiquan, who acted as the main examiner; of Davidine and David who both hold 6th Duan grades with the Chinese Wushu Association (CWA).
being required to submit an essay on some aspect of wushu. The theory examination took place last month and we were very pleased with the results, the candidates having obviously put a lot of preparation in beforehand. The essays were interesting and personal and we are thinking of collating some of them into a handbook. So well done everyone.
For those who didn’t read the last newsletter, the Chinese Duan system is equivalent to the Japanese Dan grade system that people in the West are more familiar with. 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.
4th Duan David Murray
The Duan certification is based on three aspects: 1. That the applicant has understood the martial virtue – respect for the teacher, respect for the art and respect for their fellow students. On the day this is shown by the student’s attitude and behaviour towards the panel, taking the time to learn how to salute correctly, showing up in uniform etc. Also their attitude and behaviour towards the other people taking the examination. Watching and supporting each other and not talking or paying no attention once you have finished. This is one aspect common to all Asian martial arts that the group is more important than the individual. Finally there is the student’s day to day commitment and attitude. Everybody who took the grading more than fulfilled the time requirements laid down by the CWA, with some of the senior grades having trained in martial arts for forty plus years and in Taijiquan for several decades. 2. All those taking the grading had to pass a theoretical examination – lower grades answering a set of questions; mid-level grades also
Congratulations to following students graded:
3. The final part of the grading was a technical exam. Those taking levels 1 and 2 were assessed on a hand form, everybody in this instance doing the Laojia Yilu. From levels 3 and above candidates were assessed on 1 hand form and 1 weapon form, with some people doing sword and some sabre. Again the performances were all of a sufficient standard to pass the grades being attempted. Chen Ziqiang made it clear that the four days of seminars running up to the grading were also part of his assessment on the day. On the evening there were a few nerves flying around, which is perfectly understandable in such occasions. However, everybody did well to keep them under control. After the results were announced Chen Ziqiang gave some feedback to the group. The main issue was to control one's nervousness. One of the most important aspects of Taijiquan is the ability to remain calm under pressure. If we lose this calmness then many of the skills we have trained become less effective - in the case of the grading, less able to show what you're capable of doing.
3rd Duan Mary McGregor Clive Howells Adrian Murray Lee Davis-Conchie Tim Drummond Terry Ryan Lee Karellen 2nd Duan Yvonne Hall Liz Halsey Allan Aldridge Crawford Currie Brendan Kinnucane 1st Duan Carole Howells Mary Johnston Adrian Barry Colin Rodgers Lynne Maxfield Colin Grimes
the who
Some scenes from the grading - well done everyone!
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CTGB Newsletter
Taiji for Peace Week - by Colin Grimes I was a school teacher for nearly 40 years. On retirement, I was told that if I organized my life carefully, I need never see a child again. I failed. I was persuaded back to St Gregory’s High School to deliver 11 Taiji sessions during Peace Week. It is 20 years since the Warrington bombing and during Peace Week the pupils were taken off timetable to reflect upon peace and reconciliation and personal development. Taiji teaches fitness training, martial skills and the calmness necessary in everyday life. I attempted to encompass all three,
Intro to Push Hands The next Sunday workshop will be an Intro to Push Hands on Sunday 28th July in the upstairs studio of the Birchwood Leisure Centre at 12 noon.
with varying degrees of success. The year 7 boys were the least responsive, especially during the Qi Gong exercises. Some of them thought that they were extras in a Kung Fu film. However, things improved dramatically when we concentrated on the first section of the Old Frame. They all benefited from the discipline and rigour of the form. Year 8, 9 and 10 students responded with greater effort and commitment. It was delightful to see their progress in such a short time.
2013 Sunday Workshops 25th August - Single Sabre (broadsword) Form 29th September - 42 Fajin 24th November - Spear Form Suitable for all students
Theory of Taijiquan - Lecture DVD
Push hands (tuishou) is the mutual exploration of internal energies (jin) and is dependent primarily on the sense of touch. It involves 2 people making contact, adhering to each other using the Taijiquan's relaxed spiral movements trained in the form. The workshop is aimed at the study of the method and principle of tuishou in Chen taijiquan - to test the accuracy of one's form, to develop sensitivity, and to train in the fundamental skill of zhan, lian, nian, sui (connect, link, stick, follow) and hua (neutralise). Suitable for all students. £28 for members. members
£35
for
non-
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
Recommended Reading An Introduction to Chen Style Taijiquan by Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim & David Gaffney
£13.50
The Essence of Taijiquan by Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim & David Gaffney
£14.99
Asian Martial Arts: constructive thoughts & practical applications - Journal of Asian Martial Arts £17.50
APPLICATION FOR INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP TO CHENJIAGOU TAIJIQUAN XUEXIAO - UK (Official UK Branch of the Chen Village Taijiquan School) It is now possible to join Chenjiagou Taijiquan Xuexiao UK as an individual member. Benefits include:
Reduced price for CTGB organised seminars in the UK with Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing and Master Chen Ziqiang
Annual Chen Taijiquan Xuexiao magazine with news, events, profiles, training tips etc from the Chen Village Taijiquan School.
Bi-monthly e-newsletter
Access to training trips and competitions in Chenjiagou
Membership Card
Chenjiagou Taijiquan Xuexiao T-shirt
The cost of annual membership is £35 payable to “Chenjiagou Taijiquan GB”
I would like to apply for individual membership of Chenjiagou Taijiquan Xuexiao - UK Name: _____________________________________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Email:
___________________________________________________________
Tel:
___________________________________________________________
Please indicate which t-shirt size you would like: S M
L
XL
Enclose cheque for £35 payable to “Chenjiagou Taijiquan GB” Send to: David Gaffney, CTGB, 14 Clifton Ave, Culcheth, Warrington WA3 4PD
BORNEO March 2014 CTGB Newsletter
News
Sunday Workshops News Page 2Newsletter of 5 Upcoming News Events CTGB Portugal Recommended Reading
CTGB is pleased to announce a 10-day Taiji Holiday in Kota Kinabalu in Borneo in March 2014. 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 19th - 29th March 2014
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Promoting traditional Chen Family Taijiquan
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