Chen Style Taijiquan
Old Frame, First Form, Laojia Yilu
Section II, Movements 7 - 14
A Beginner's Notes

Movements:   Seven    Eight    Nine    Ten    Eleven    Twelve    Thirteen    Fourteen  

Research by
Michael P. Garofalo

February 1, 2010

Cloud Hands Website

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Old Frame, First Form
Chen Taijiquan
Section II, Movements 7 - 14
A Beginner's Notes
 

Some General Comments About this Presentation      Bibliography     Home

List of Section I Movements 1-6      List of Laojia Yilu 74 Movements

7a - 7g.   White Crane Spreads Its Wings  (Bai E Liang Chi)

   

White Goose Spreading Its Wings  (Bai E Liang Chi)  [Chen Zenglei]
White Goose Spreads Wings  (Bai E Liang Chi)  [Mark Chen] 
White Crane Spreads Wings  [Jou Tsung Hwa] 
White Crane Spreads Its Wings (Bai He Liang Che)  [Sim & Gaffney] 
White Goose Reveals Its Wings  (Bai E Liang Chi)  [Chen Xin]
The White Crane Spreads Its Wings  [Zhaohua] 
White Crane Spreads Its Wings  [Mike Garofalo]
La Grue Blanche Répand Ses Ailes 
Weißer Kran Verbreitet Seine Flügel 
La Grúa Blanca Separa Sus Alas 
白鵝亮翅  :  Bai E Liang Chi 

Bibliographic Citations for Chen Taijiquan for the Cloud Hands Webpages

A Note on the Source of the Illustrations

7.  Face .
 

The best descriptions of the Chen Taijiquan, Old Frame, First Form, Laojia Yilu, are found in Chen Zhenglei's Chen Style Taijiquan 2003 and Mark Chen's Old Frame Chen Family Taijiquan 2004.  

"Yang cautioned that it is not good for beginners to have the intention to use T'ai Chi Ch'uan for fighting in order to rush the process of learning self-defense. "If you are too brutal, you will lose the quiet of your heart and limit yourself by restricting your spirit and internal energy.  "And you should not treat your practice as if T'ai Chi were a hard-working job. If you do, over time you may create health problems. In China, an analogy is the making of a fine wine. Time and patience are requisites."  He added that in order to capture the flavor of T'ai Chi, a student should pay close attention to Yin and Yang.  "In the Chen style tradition, the term 'double-weighted' is used to describe the mistake of using stiff or stagnant energy as opposed to light and agile movement derived from the interaction of Yin and Yang. (It is not a description of physical weight distribution.)  The outward manifestation of Yin and Yang is perhaps more easily discernible with the Chen style than with other popular styles. Regardless of style, however, the internal aspect of T'ai Chi boxing should always be a dynamic interaction of Yin and Yang."
Another important essential for T'ai Chi practice emphasized by Yang and his teacher, Feng, is the concept of Yang, a character in Chinese that refers to nourishing or nurturing vital energy. It embraces the idea of developing oneself to become stronger in vital energy and is different from the word Yang as in Yang and Yang.  "Even when practicing the form," Yang said, "you must pay attention to the idea of Yang. You cannot always release or explode your energy. Yang is the nurturing of the vital energy. To do wuji (standing meditation), to do the form and even push hands is to nurture energy."  A second way to nurture vital energy, he said, is to eat healthy food. A third way he said is very important is spiritual Yang. "Daily life is very complicated and the ability to control your emotions is very important."
-   Building Skills with 3 Core Methods.   Interview with Yang Yang by Marvin Smalheiser.
 

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8a - 8g.  Slanted Walking   (Xie Xing)

Diagonal Posture  (Xie Xing)  [Chen Zenglei] 
Oblique Posture  (Xie Xing)  [Mark Chen]
Kick Forward and Twist Step  [Jou Tsung Hwa]
Walking Obliquely (Xie Xing)  [Sim & Gaffney] 
Walking Obliquely and Twist Step on Both Sides  [Zhaohua] 
Slanted Walking  [Mike Garofalo] 
Marche Inclinée 
Schräg Gelegenes Gehen 
El Caminar Inclinado 
斜行  :  Xie Xing

8a.   

The best descriptions of the Chen Taijiquan, Old Frame, First Form, Laojia Yilu, are found in Chen Zhenglei's Chen Style Taijiquan 2003 and Mark Chen's Old Frame Chen Family Taijiquan 2004.  

"When you see excellence, you should try to surpass it.
When you see the opposite, examine yourself."
-   Lao Tzu

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9a - 9f.   Brush Knee   (Lou Xi)

Holding Up the Knee  (Lou Xi)  [Chen Zenglei] 
Embrace Knee  (Lou Xi)  [Mark Chen] 
Brushing Knees (Lou Xi)  [Sim & Gaffney] 
Brush Knee  [Mike Garofalo]
Genou De Brosse 
Bürste Knie 
Rodilla Del Cepillo
搂膝  :  Lou Xi

9a.     
 

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10a - 10g.   Stepping to Both Sides   (Ao Bu)

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11a - 11g.   Slanted Walking   (Xie Xing) 

12a - 12g.  Single Whip   (Dan Bian) 

13a - 13g.   Stepping to Both Sides   (Ao Bu) 

14a - 14g.   Covered Fist Punch   (Yan Shou Hong Quan) 

Summary of Section II, Movements 7-14, Laojia Yilu, Chen Taijiquan

Some General Comments About this Presentation on the Laojia Yilu

Students of the Chen Taijiquan Old Frame First Form, Lao Jia Yi Lu, have two excellent print publications which provide detailed descriptions of each of the 74 movements of this form:

Chen Style Taijiquan: Sword and Broadsword.   By Chen Zenglei.  Translated by Zhang XinHu, Chen Bin, Xu Hailiang, and Gregory Bissell.  Tai Chi Centre, 2003.  367 pages.  ISBN: 7534823218.   This book is in English.  Detailed descriptions, with photographs, of the first form, sword form and broadsword form.  An excellent companion to Chen Zenglei's instructional DVDs, with English narration.  Review by Herbert O. Rich: "This is the first translated volume of Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei's three-volume set entitled "A Compendium of Taiji Boxing and Weapons".  Chen Zhenglei is famed as a 19th generation Grandmaster of traditional Chen Style Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan). He is known to Taijiquan enthusiasts the world over for his skill and ability in teaching.  This book is a detailed instruction manual for the basic set (or form) of the Laojia ("old frame") Chen style, as well as the single broadsword and straight sword forms.  Profusely illustrated, it describes basic theory, physical requirements, postural movements, Qi circulation, and self defense applications for each of the postures of the form."   [Chen Zenglei 2003]   Another very good instructional DVD, by Jesse Tsao, Chen Style Tai Chi Old Frame Routine One, with English narration and detailed instructions, is based on the teaching of Chen Zenglei.  The detailed description of each movement in Chen Taijiquan Old Frame, First Form, by Chen Zenglei, with accompanying photographs of Chen Zenglei, is found on pages 65-252. 

Old Frame Chen Family Taijiquan.  By Mark Chen.  Berkeley, California, North Atlantic Books, 2004.  Appendices, notes, bibliography, 246 pages.  ISBN: 155643488X.  The form presented in this book is in the lineage of Chen Qing Zhou, nineteenth-generation successor and disciple of Zehn Zhao Pei.  [Mark Chen 2004]   Chen Qing Zhou has produced a complete set of instructional DVDs for all of the hand and weapons forms in the Chen Style of Taijiquan.  The detailed description of each movement in the Chen Taijiquan Old Frame, First Form, by Mark Chen, with accompanying photographs of Mark Chen, is found on pages 91-180. 

Since these books are readily available and inexpensive, serious students should purchase them. 

I created a List of Movements 1-74, First Form, Old Frame, Chen Style Taijiquan.  This list includes variations of the names for each movement, and translations into English, Chinese, French, German, and Spanish.   12 Pages.   

List of Movements, Laojia Yilu, 2 pages.

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A Note on the Source of the Illustrations

The nice, detailed, and clear line drawings of a person performing the Chen Taijiquan, Old Frame, First Form (Chen Taijiquan Laojia Yilu) were found in Chinese books written by Chen Sin and Shen Chia-Jen.  Jou Tsung Hwa reproduced the illustrations in his 1980 classic "The Tao of Tai-Chi Chuan: Way to Rejuvenation."  Master Jou says "The pictures of the first Lu depict Chen Fu-Ku's son, Chen Chai-Kuei.  These diagrams are reproduced from the most authentic, original sources available, those written by Chen Sin and Shen Chia-Jen." (Jou 1980, p.13)  The reproduced line drawings were organized with around 30 drawings on a page, and numbered to correspond to Master Jou's list of the 83 named movements of the First Form (Yilu). 

Using the drawings published by Chen Sin and Shen Chia-Jen, I have organized 6-12 of these line drawings into a graphic for each individual movement when possible.  Each drawing is numbered  consecutively within each named movement pattern to facilitate a more detailed commentary.  I reduced the size of the graphic, and made the graphic transparent.

Another source for detailed line drawings of a version of the First Form (Yilu) can be found in "The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan" by (Wong 1996).  The original Yilu consisted of 83 movements or patterns (Jou 1980); and Master Wong uses a simplified version of 54 movements; while Maste Cehn Zhenglei says the form has 74 movements.   

The best photographic study of the Laojia Yilu has been published in the instructional DVD featuring Master Ren Guang Yi.  Chen Taijiquan: Lao Jia Yi Lu and Straight Sword.  Demonstration and instruction by Master Ren GuangYi.  Music and narration by Lou Reed.  "Captured in high-definition (HD) in New York's Central Park, each form is demonstrated angles.  Each form is also shown in FlipperVision, a slideshow comprised of nearly 2,000 photos by famed photographer Martin von Hasselberg, so you may carefully study each of Master Ren's postures in detail."  A YMAA production.  90 minutes, color.  ISBN: :1594390819.  Instructional DVD.  2006.  Ren GuangYi's Website.

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© Michael P. Garofalo, 2007-2010, All Rights Reserved

First published on the Internet on February 1, 2010.

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