Chen style Tai Chi Chuan: Encyclopedia - Chen style Tai Chi Chuan

Chen style Tai Chi Chuan

The Chen style (陳氏) is considered to be the senior branch of the five main Taijiquan family styles and the third in terms of popularity. The Chen style today is known for its low postures and vigorous martial art training. While there are many hundreds of schools teaching Taijiquan around the world, the Chen family styles are said to go the farthest in maintaining the martial art style of teaching (as opposed to health focus) that has been normative for Taijiquan instruction for most of its history. Beside from empty hand training, Chen style uses several weapons like staff, saber, double edged sword, spear and Halbard among others. When perfoming Chen the body is generally kept upright all the time and motions is slow interlaced with short fast outbursts of speed. It is also not uncommen to perform Chen forms in high speed.

Chen style Tai Chi Chuan - History

Historically documented from the 1600s, the Chen family originates in Chen Village in Wen County, Henan Province.(溫縣陳家溝). Their best known teacher was Chen Changxing (陳長興 Chén Chángxīng, Ch'en Chang-hsing, 1771-1853). Chen Changxing started teaching the famous Yang Luchan in 1820. Yang went on to found the Yang style Taijiquan, and from there all the other main styles of the art. Chen Changxing is also traditionally associated with a teacher known as Jiang Fa (蔣發 Jiǎng Fā), although it is no longer clear if their relationship was a teacher/student one (or even who was senior) or if they were colleagues. Some traditions teach that a disciple of Zhang Sanfeng named Wang Zongyue (王宗岳) taught the martial art later to be known as Taijiquan to the Chen family, but this cannot be confirmed. On the other hand, some in the Chen family claim that it was Wang Zongyue who learned Taijiquan from them.

Chen style Tai Chi Chuan - Chen Quan – Chen's fist

For a long time, the Chen family was known for their reputed superior fighting style Chen Quan. This was a Shaolinquan derived style, and the family who practiced it was sometimes called the thunder Chens, due to the ferocity of the style. Shaolin Quan at later stages can be considered semi internal, in the fact that it trains neigong for the body to be able to use internal power. This power was used to better resist damage and hit harder. But it was not internal in the sense that the style heavily employed internal fighting and movement principles, most notable the principle of avoiding to meet force with force.

Chen style Tai Chi Chuan - Chen Quan becomes Taijiquan

How Chen Quan became an internal style is not very clear and very disputed. It is largely attributed to Chen Wangting (1600-1680) who created a style he called "The first method". Chen Wangting is said to have incorporated theories from a classic text Jixiaoxinshu (new book of effective techniques), which described martial arts from 16 different styles. Many scholars also believe that Jiang Fa was a monk from Wudang mountain and came to Chen village and taught internal fighting practices to the family. Then again many believes the Taijiquan from Wudang mountain as something created recently and based on the five main Taijiquan styles. It is generally accepted that the Chen family is the first to be known to practice pushing hands, those are two person drills that teaches internal fighting practices. They are believed to originate with Chen Wangting. When the name Taijiquan was first used to describe the Chen style is not very clear, many believes Yang style to be the first to use the name, others believe Taijiquan from Wudang has been using the name for centuries.

Chen style Tai Chi Chuan - Today

Chen style has become well recognized internationally in recent years, due mostly to the efforts of Chen Fake (陳發科, Chén Fākē, Ch'en Fa-k'e 1887-1957), who taught for many years in Beijing. Many direct descendants of the Chen family and their students are still teaching Taijiquan around the world.

Chen style Tai Chi Chuan - Variants

Chen style Tai Chi Chuan - Lao Jia – Old frame

Lao Jia is the style taught by Chen Fake in Beijing and it is very fluent, uses slow large motions interrupted by occasional outbursts of very fast movements. Old style is called that because it was traditionally regarded as being older in origin than Xin Jia, this view is especially very predominant is Western literature, however in China many think they have coexisted as the same style, Xin Jia being a more advanced version not taught in public, which explains why people saw it as a new art when it was revealed by Chen Fake. No literature of Chen style before 1932 mentions anything about new, old, big or small styles.

Chen style Tai Chi Chuan - Xin Jia – New frame

This style was first seen practiced by Chen Fake and many regard him as the author of the style. The main difference to Lao Jia is that the movements are smaller and more twisting (chansijin) is employed. In fighting there is less hitting and more manipulation, seizing and grappling (qinna).

Chen style Tai Chi Chuan - Xiao Jia – Small frame

This style was until recently not publicly known. Although it recently has gotten the term 'small frame' attached to it, both large and small motions are used. Small motions is considered more advanced though. Many claim small frame to be older in origin than old and new frame. In addition to the two main forms Yilu and Erlu, practiced by all Chen Taijiquan variants they also practice an old 108 movements form, which might be the lost Long fist 108 boxing form, a remnant of Chen Taijiquans more Shaolinquan-like past and mentioned in old Chen poems.

Chen style Tai Chi Chuan - Xinyin Hunyuan

This style is much like Lao Jia with an influence from Shanxi Xingyi. It was created by Chen Fake's most senior student Feng Zhiqiang.

Chen style Tai Chi Chuan - 赵堡 Zhao Bao

Some claim this newly discovered style from the Zhao Bao village to be an old version of Chen Taijiquan. No none knows for sure, but its Shaolin Quan roots is much more evident than in Lao Jia, which does add authenticity to the claim. It is said to be created by Chen Qingping.

Chen style Tai Chi Chuan - HuLei Jia – Thunder frame

This style was just recently discovered. It was created by Li Jing Ting and has origins in Zhao Bao.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Chen style Tai Chi Chuan", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki