太極,太極拳,太極班,陳式太極


My Kung Fu Stories

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Recognition From The Grandson of Chen Sheng San

One evening my Sifu took me to visit another member of the Chen family.  He often took me to visit villagers and different family members so that I could learn as much as possible about the Chen family but it was always in the evening and that puzzled me.  I did however like going at  night, it felt a little like I was a character in one of the traditional chinese martial arts novels!   As we walked my Sifu told me that we were going to visit Chen Li Fa who was the Chen Village Elder of the Chen Family Council.  His grandfather Chen Sheng San who was a famous master. My Sifu and Chen Li Fa had known each other since they were children.

When we arrived at the entrance of the village there was a small store, I bought some cigarettes and chinese wine.  Holding the jug, I followed my Sifu across an old muddy alley to the house of Chen Li Fa.  It was a very dark night, as we walked up to the house Chen Li Fa greeted us in front of the main door of his house.  The villagers were always patient and kind, as we sat down, Chen Li Fa's wife immediately brought hot tea to warm us.  They started to chat and then after a while they started talking about me.  At the time, I did not quite understand what the purpose of this visit was for but it came to me later.  The Chen Family Council wanted me to be the inheritor of Chen Style Tai Chi and Chen Li Fa was to be the host of this ceremony.  This is the evening that my Sifu wanted me to meet Chen and to show him my Tai Chi skills.

I had learned both the old and new style frame of Tai Chi and Chen Li Fa wanted to know where I had learned it.  The big and small style frame from his family had been combined and modified by his ancestors.  This was a common practice, Chen family members from different parts of the village would exchange their experiences and styles mixing them so the movements would become slightly modified.  This took place over several generations.  All forms of Tai Chi were linked together because of this, however each family still had its own unique and slightly different style.  Whatever method a person chooses to study the most important thing was to make sure that the foundation was correct. 

After speaking to Chen Li Fa about my history.  He asked his grandson to do a short demonstration.  The boy was only about 6 or 7 years old but even at that young age I could see that he was very good and had a solid foundation.  He remembered every step and his movements were smooth.    This was the birthplace of Tai Chi so, not surprisingly, the 2-3 year old children also learned martial arts. 

After the performance Chen Li Fa asked me to show him what I had learned.  My Sifu had always asked me to perform when there were visitors so I was used to this and therefore not frightened when asked to do this for Chen Li Fa.    I started with the old frame doing soft movements then I looked at my Sifu and said Sudden Thunder Frame?, he replied with a nod and asked that I do some of the movements with explosive power.  I nodded back and then after a few minutes I started the demonstration.  From soft movements I quickly transferred to internal power, I wanted it to appear like an unexpected storm.  I heard Chen Li Fa's wife say, "Oh, he's got internal power! He's got internal power!".  I glanced at my Sifu and found that he was smiling.  When I finished the performance I also saw that there was a smile on Chen Li Fa's face.