Chen Style

Tai Chi

Remembering Grandmaster Chen Zhaokui

REMEMBERING MASTER CHEN

I started to learn from Master Chen in the fall of 1973. I first learned the Xin Jia Form) from him. Since then I followed Chen, and was his companion until he passed away in 1981. Chen had profound influence in the history of Chen Tai Chi. His Xin Jia is widely practiced in the world nowadays. Before him people seldom heard about Xin Jia. The characteristics of Xin Jia are: low stances, folding of the “Kua” and silk reeling in every movement. In the whole form there is a lot of explosive power (fa jin), jumping and turning. It is a combat oriented form. To beginners it is a very demanding form. Usually one must practice the Old Form(Lao Jia) for several years to prepare and condition the body. However, if one practices Xin Jia seriously, his “Chi” will improve dramatically. However, without the guidance of a good teacher like Chen, it is very difficult to understand the new form and benefit from it.

However, if one is interested in the origin of Chen Tai Chi, one should realize that the so-called “new form” is not new at all. It is related to the Lao Jia (Old Form). Chen would always correct people when they called it the “new form”. He said the new form is actually the traditional form that was passed secretly within the Chen family. If one observes the new form closely, one should discover that Chen’s new form is very different from the Lao Jia (Old Form) passed down from Grandmaster Chen Zhao Pei, another 18th generation Master. Most Chen style Tai Chi practitioners called Chen’s system “new” so as to distinguish it from Chen Zhao Pei’s “old” form.

Grandmaster Chen Zhao Kui was the youngest son of the 17th generation Grandmaster Chen Fa Ke (pronounced fah-kuh). He went to Peiping (now called Beijing) with his father when he was only 4 years old. He started to learn Tai Chi Chuan from his father when he was 7. Under his father’s strict training his skill improved impressively. When he was only 13 he once fought with a dozen youngsters in school and he tossed them around like rag dolls. After he graduated from the Zhicheng high school in Beijing he could not continue his education due to financial hardship. He stayed home and practiced martial arts full time. Later, Chen got a job with the 5th Construction Company. He practiced Tai Chi very hard day and night. He once told his students that if they wanted to succeed they needed to work harder than an average person. His philosophy was that whatever one does, be it Tai Chi or any other endeavor, one must work very hard. This is what he said to his students: “If you have time to practice, then practice as hard as you can; if you do not have time to practice, then squeeze out some time to practice even if it is only a few minutes.” When Chen worked as a ticket inspector with the Public Bus Company in Beijing he came up with a way to practice his Tai Chi: When he was standing he would bend his knees, relax his “kua” (pelvic region) and his entire body. His body moved as the bus moved. He would adjust his posture to maintain his balance as the vehicle moved along. Nobody could imagine the kind of effort that Chen put in when he was young. Chen would say “ If an average person practices once a day then you should practice ten times; If an average person practices 30 times then you should practice 90 or 100 times. If you put in more effort than average people then your results will certainly exceed those of average people. If you are not prepared to sacrifice and endure this level of pain then you should not consider doing martial arts at all.”

Before I came to the United States I worked in Jiao Zuo. Sometimes I was so tied up with my work that I did not have time to practice; so comparatively speaking I practiced a lot less than before. So I asked Master Chen what I should do to develop better skills with a busy schedule. Master Chen replied: “If you want to develop better skills then you must have persistency. You must practice hard but do not practice without thinking hard. You need to practice the techniques and think about them. Your physical condition(height, weight, speed and strength) is also very important. You should develop one or two special techniques that you are most comfortable with. When these special techniques are part of your second nature then you can use them to overcome your opponent with ease when you fight. I followed Master Chen’s advice and I have put a lot of effort into those complicated techniques. I believe that repetitive practice canmake one perfect.

In 1961, Master Chen was invited by Gu Liu Xin of the Shanghai Sports Committee to teach in Shanghai. He taught Chen style Yi Lu (first routine), Er Lu (second routine) and Chin Na (joint locking) to students in Shanghai. His students were very impressed with his Chin Na techniques. Master Chen’s Chin Na was neutralization oriented. When he executed his grappling, he used his Yi (Mind) to lead the body. Every movement was very fluid yet simplistic. From the moment of contact to the grasp movement his technique was one single continuous movement. There were no broken points in his
circles. Nobody could ever escape from his grasp. According to one student in Shanghai, Wan Man De,
there was a heavyweight weight lifting champion named Chang Guan Qun who once wanted to challenge Master Chen. Master Chen let him try to grab his finger. Every time the challenger almost grabbed the Finger Chen would neutralize his force and escape. Whenever Master Chen would demonstrate a form the audience would fall silent to enjoy his spectacular performance. His movements were so natural. His Yi would flow like a stream flows around and over rocks. There was a famous Qigong master named Tung Shi Zha who challenged Master Chen and later decided to follow Master Chen and learn from him.

In 1964 Master Chen was invited by the Nanking Sports Committee to teach in Nanking. At that time there were a lot of famous martial artists in Nanking because Nanking was one of the Kung Fu centers of the nation. A lot of people were skeptical of Master Chen’s skills. They always found opportunities to test him. Master Chen never refused a challenge and nobody ever beat him. Some of these challengers were so amazed that they converted to Chen style Tai Chi. The Qigong master, Tung Shi Zha mentioned above was one of them.

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