Mike Garofalo's Notebook on Learning the Chen Style of Taijiquan

Readers can email me with comments, answers, suggestions, encouragement, or criticism. I live in a small town in Northern California, Red Bluff, and learn and practice Chen T'ai Chi Ch'uan on my own. I use books and DVDs by Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei, and his students, as my "virtual teachers." Thanks!

April 22, 2012 #7

I sprained my knee while hiking on rough terrain in the Cascade Mountains. Chen Taijiquan stances are a bit difficult for me to do right now. Therefore, I will shift my focus to practicing a less strenuous form of Taijiquan. I will practice the Sun Taijiquan Standard Competition Form of 73 movements. The higher and closer stances of Sun Tajiquan are easier for me to do right now. I must be patient, flexible, practical, and seek healing for my painful and wobbly knee.

April 13, 2012 #7

Back to practicing Tai Chi, walking, weightlifting, and teaching fitness classes. Steady progress.

"When practicing Taijiquan, the requirements for proper practice are as follows: keep the head erect naturally (as if it were suspended by a string attached to the top of the head), stand naturally upright, relax the shoulders and drop the elbows. Bring the shoulders slightly forward and lower the waist. Let the internal energy (qi) descend, and breathe naturally. With the hips relaxed and the knees bent, round the crotch, i.e., the legs should form a rounded shape. With solid and empty clearly separated, the upper and lower parts of the body move in harmony with each other, blending hard and soft, fast and slow movements smoothly. External movements of the body should describe an arc (i.e., should follow circular paths) with the internal energy within the body following a spiral path. With the waist as an axis, movement of the torso leads the movement of the limbs, with a spiraling or twining type of movement. Gradually, a type of internal energy is produced which is seemingly soft yet not soft, seeming hard but not hard, and which can easily change between extremely heavy or incredibly light action. Your movements appear outwardly soft but are inwardly firm, like iron wrapped in cotton. If in the entire set of movement there are not any breaks in the continuity of movement or any motions that don't follow a smooth circular line, then that is the correct way."
- Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei, Chen Style Taijiquan, Sword and Broadsword, p.64

April 6, 2012 #6

Add quotations to the subject of movement, exercise, and mind-body movement arts in Movement

"Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical, emotional, and mental states."
- Carol Welch

"Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do."
- Bruce Lee

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."
- Alan Cohen

We don’t "really learn” Tai Chi by listening to, imitating, and following a live Tai chi instructor, or reading Tai Chi books, or watching Tai Chi instructional DVDs. The “learning” comes from practicing Tai Chi, playing Tai Chi, moving by Tai chi, and feeling Tai Chi. We move from being awkward and uncomfortable to moving gracefully, fluidly, easily, confidently, and beautifully. Live and virtual Tai Chi instructors provide us with information and ideas about what Tai Chi has been for others and could be for us, its rich history, and provide us with a model of how a "form" might look and be realized as expressed by their body-mind. Our instructor's "mind" set or intention is important - depending, for example, on whether they emphasize martial applications or they are a New Age energy arts dancer. Likewise, our own progress in "learning" will depend upon our own "mind set" of intentions, dedication, toughness, the courage to go beyond our limitations and failures, and our willpower. Learning Tai Chi is always a complex matrix of interactions, lived experiences, daily training, and accumulated muscle memories. Less thinking and more practice, training, and doing will result in the greatest learning. Repeated movements are the foundation for Tai Chi learning.

I can see how the movement of the hands in silk reeling can help with moving the hands when doing the form. I don't understand or feel the "internal" aspects of silk reeling movements yet but we shall see after 90 days. Right now, it is just getting the correct movements from the "external or outside" aspects in my body-mind memory.

Is breathing a natural diaphragmatic pattern (inhale through nose and relax abdomen, exhale through the mouth and slightly tighten abdomen) or is it reverse diaphragmatic pattern?

April 1, 2012 #1

Because of the three surgeries on my upper left leg because of a tumor, and the amputation of part of my right middle toe because of a diabetic ulcer, during the period of June 2011 until February 2012, I was unable to make much progress on learning and practicing the Old Frame, First Form. My health has improved and I am now dealing with the aftermath of problems in my left leg. Fortunately, I am now walking four miles on four days of each week, practicing Tai Chi and Qigong daily, lifting weights, and teaching yoga and taijiquan again.

I am quite comfortable now with practicing the short 18 movement Chen Taijiquan form developed by Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei which I learned a few years ago.

Last week I updated a number of my webpages on the Chen Style of Taijiquan by adding new links, book citations, and made some changes in the formatting of those webpages.

My primary "virtual" Chen Style of Taijiquan teacher is Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei. I carefully study his five English language books, his DVD lectures, and his instructional DVDs. I use two specific books and two specific instructional DVDs for learning the Old Frame First Form (Lao Jia Yi Lu). I have never met Chen Zhenglei in person, but I hope to someday attend one of his workshops in the Northwest, USA. I also read many other books by other authors and view other relevant instructional DVDs on the Chen style of Taijiquan.

Chen's Tai Chi Old Frame One and Two. By Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei. Translated by Jack Yan. White Bench Publications, Toronto, Canada, 2011. 396 pages. ISBN: 978-0-9866756-2-1. This book is entirely in English. It is well illustrated with black and white photographs of Chen Zhenglei.

I am now reviewing and practicing Sections I-V, Movements 1-15, of the Old Frame, First Form.

Silk Reeling exercises and standing meditation are considered an essential foundation practices of the Chen style of Taijiquan. I will speak about silk reeling in a later notebook entry. All of Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei's books and DVDs include presentations on silk reeling exercises.

I plan to keep a Notebook to record my progress in my studies of the Chen Style Taijiquan.

Red Bluff, Tehama County, North Sacramento Valley, Northern Central California, U.S.A.
Cities in the area: Oroville, Paradise, Durham, Chico, Hamilton City, Orland, Willows, Corning,
Rancho Tehama, Los Molinos, Tehama, Proberta, Gerber, Manton, Cottonwood,
Anderson, Shasta Lake, Palo Cedro, and Redding, CA, California.

Bibliography	Links	Chen Blog
Short 18 Form	Old Frame, First Form	Old Frame Second Form
Sword	Staff	Saber
Spear	Pole	Ruler
Standing	Silk Reeling	Ball
Qigong	Internal Training	Relaxation
Cloud Hands Blog	Cloud Hands Website	Cloud Hands Index
Yang Style Taiji	Green Way Research	Valley Spirit Center
Mike's Notebook	Chen Taiji Quotations	Home

Notes, Research, and Studies by Michael P. Garofalo Red Bluff, California

April 22, 2012 #7

April 13, 2012 #7

April 6, 2012 #6

April 1, 2012 #1

Notes, Research, and Studies by
Michael P. Garofalo
Red Bluff, California