Way of Hunyuan

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 “My own experiences in my time working with Master Chen include feeling like I’m suddenly standing on ice; The floor bounces me upward like I’m on a trampoline; A two-ton weight is pressing me down; I can’t lift my feet; My knees go weak; I’m shooting through the air as if launched by a cannon. I have also felt a tap of a punch blow right through me and a tap to the belly makes me want to vomit.” Yaron Seidman, martial artist and Chinese medical doctor, New York, 2000.

“Master Chen is indeed incredible-He is like a whole wall coming at you!”  Angela Banaag, Dallas, Texas, 1998.

“In my 16 years as a NYC police officer, I have seen it all. As a long time Karate Sensei, I have never seen martial skill like Master Chen.”Michael Calandra, NYC, 2003

T’ai Chi is a Chinese martial art that evolved and developed through a period of over 3500 years. It was originally designed to combine long hours of martial training with health-building exercises.  Its practices harmonize, focus and integrate the body, mind and spirit.  It is a way to improve quality-of-life and enhance personal development.

In a south side studio, Chen Zhonghua teaches this oldest form of Chinese health, healing and self-defence system. He is a 19th generation master of a line of unbroken transmission. Trained at an early age in China, he is one of the best tai chi masters in North America. People from New York, Dallas, Arkansas, Okalahoma, Seattle, Atlanta, and across Canada come to him for private instruction. With amazing powers in both healing and in martial arts, he is indeed the embodiment of the union of mind, body and spirit.

Edmonton Examiner Educational Section Editorial
August 19, 2003

I have always been inactive physically in my life. As time passed, I began to feel that my body was not as agile as before. I had heard for a long time that Taijiquan is good for health. With the recommendation of a friend, I entered the door of Hunyuantaiji Academy at the end of Spring last year. Since then, I have been learning Chen Style Taijiquan. This has given me the opportunity to know a true master of Taijiquan, whose ability matches his reputation. This is master Chen Zhonghua. 

According to historical record, Taijiquan was created by Chen Wangting of the Chen family. Chen Zhonghua is a direct lineage holder of this style of Taijiquan. He learned it from Hong Junsheng and Feng Zhiqiang. Both in turn learned it from Chen Fake. Chen Fake is a 17th generation lineage holder of the Chen Family Taijiquan. 

I was like a first day kindergarten student in the realm of Taijiquan. I was truly in a state of "wuji", knowing nothing. When I started, Taijiquan was both new and novel to me. After a year and a half of mimicking with hands and feet; the patient explanations of the master and the guidance of the senior students; I, the untalented, most of the time still in the middle of confusion, started to have a glimpse of Taijiquan.

I have learned about spiral movements; sinking the elbow and dropping the shoulders. But I have no idea how to do these things. During this time, to my surprise, I found out that this little man Chen Laoshi is knowledgeable in martial arts and is a learned person. Whenever he was talking about the theories of Taijiquan, he was always eloquent and methodological. His gongfu has reached the level that he can physically demonstrate all the theoretical points. During class, he would continuously push hands with dozens of students for demonstration purposes (several of the American students more than double his weight). The students would always try everything within their power on him but he is forever like a deeply rooted tree. He would simply sink and turn his body and defeat his opponents. This scene of "Four Ounces Overcome a Thousand Pounds" is repeated in the studio everyday, until all students are totally exhausted.  However, he was still teaching and talking as though nothing had happened. 

I had tasted the fist of Laoshi many times. I had also been effortlessly "Sprung Out" far distances by him, landing flat on my back.  He always used power appropriately so that no one was injured. As each time, I really didn't know what happened, the only thing that remains in my mind is that his power is overwhelmingly strong. It shook my body and soul. At the beginning, I suspected the he had a "gadget" hidden in his body or he was  using "black magic". Gradually through learning and practice, I realized that this is the "mystery of Taijiquan". My view on Taijiquan now has surpassed the view that it was only good for health. 

However, the wonders of Taijiquan do not come out of nothing. It is not something that people are born with either. There would be no Taijiquan if not for the perseverance, hard work, persistence and research of the creators and inheritors of Taijiquan. Chen Laoshi possesses unusual ability in Taijiquan but he said modestly that there is nothing unusual about Taijiquan. There are no secrets. As long as one follows the rules and practices persistently, one can produce the special ability of Taijiquan. Indeed, the attitude required for Taijiquan learning is that of "Where there is will, there is way!" This is also the secret of success in life. 

"Ten thousand feet of building starts from the foundation!". In Taijiquan learning, we must practice the most basic element "positive and negative circles". This is the movement that Chen Laoshi puts the most stress on. This is encompasses most of our basis training exercises. Every time before we start the routine, we always spend a lot of time "drawing these circles". Chen Laoshi also spends a lot of efforts demonstrating and correcting our circles. The circles appear to be simple, but in reality, they are the most difficult moves in the system.  Within these circles, lay the intricacies of Taijiquan. If we can have our feet on the ground and precisely draw these circles without tossing and swinging for dozens of years, we will, without any doubt, reach the highest level of Taijiquan practice. 

I am an untalented student. Till now, I have not produced any real gongfu. However, since I started Taijiquan, I feel that I have improved my health greatly. Especially in the severely cold winter months, I often practice till I am soaked in sweat and the blood rushes through my body. There is an indescribable good feeling in this practice. I used to have cold hands and feet. They are now always nice and warm. I can sleep much sounder at night. During the day, I feel so high spirited that life appears to be so much brighter. 

I say to myself. I love life and of course I love the Taijiquan that give riches to life! It is my sincere hope that Taijiquan will be adopted by more people worldwide so that it can enrich everyone's life!

Lawrence Lee
March 15, 2003
Edmonton

John Brown
De Moires, Iowa
August 15, 2004
Review of the Bentonville Two-Week Intensive Course
by Chen Zhonghua

As an avid practitioner of Chen Style Tai Chi for the past 7 years, my constant quest has been for quality instruction for maximum progress. This is always a challenge since I live in the midwest, and most of the top masters of the discipline seemed to live in China. So the best option available has been to attend workshops, seminars, or sometimes longer "intensives" offered when the top masters visit the US a few times each year. This option has its limitations. Generally, the workshops offer lots of instruction on practice, and or refinement of the forms. Also perhaps a little bit of work and practice on push hands. But after 7 years, it becomes clear that the desire for a truly complete appreciation of all the components of this beautiful martial art cannot be fulfilled by that approach.

How to get experience and understanding of the applications, for real natural usage in push hands and fighting? How to see up close live demonstration of someone who really owns these skills, and can communicate clearly and teach how to learn and practice them? How to get instruction on what I have to do, with what drills or practice regimen, to get my body develop the structural integrity, co-ordination, flexibility, and whatever else is necessary to gain the skill to execute the techniques? How to really learn from someone genuinely qualified, how all these variables fit together, to see clearly how I can progress to get there eventually myself? The wish list can be even more demanding, to seek all these ideals and find a way to gain access to them, all within the means of my meager budget! How to learn without all the expense and hardships, language barriers, health risks, etc., associated with the option of study in China? (Did I mention my meager budget? Along with home lifestyle requirements, the last one is not really an option.)

Guess what? No hyperbole, no exaggeration, all the ideals on that wish list, and much more, are all available right here in North America. Now for the second time, since last summer, I have enjoyed another "summer intensive" workshop with Joseph Chen (Chen Zhonghua) in Bentonville, Arkansas. These two-week programs package the ultimate in knowledge and experience, with practical, applied, useful training in hands on Chen Style Tai Chi. Joseph's skill level is absolutely top notch, world class. Everything he says or teaches, he backs up with hands on demonstration and instruction. That alone makes the program worth its weight in gold. You get lots and lots of opportunities every day to push (or struggle or whatever) with a top level master of the kinds of "magical" or "mysterious" skills of push hands and applications that are confusingly or romantically written about in Tai Chi magazine or similar publications. Only with Joseph, everything is made quite concrete and scientific, based on structure and mechanics all clearly laid out in the training, along with the means to develop these skills. It is also significant that nothing is ever held back or kept secret. Joseph is the best in his ability to communicate (in perfect English as a bonus) here to fore complicated principles. He does this with patient repetition of the physical actions, patient positioning and repositioning of students' body parts required for execution of maneuvers, along with patient receptivity to all the endless questions of students--------with careful detailed answers, always backed up by the more meaningful hands on demonstration of concrete applications. Each individual student gets lots of personal attention, and all questions answered. The students get to practice everything with each other, and Joseph is always there jumping in to correct, clarify, demonstrate, and repeat over and over again-------so everyone really gets a taste of the right action, for every principle, technique, drill, application, or whatever is being studied. How do you put a value on two weeks of this constant personal interaction with someone with consummate mastery of the art?

It is really difficult to convey the depth, richness, and completeness of this program. It offers a tremendous opportunity for any serious student of Chen Style Tai Chi at any level of experience. (As I clearly observe when I see fellow students, after one year with Joseph's program, who seem to be a lot farther along than I was after one year! And I always practiced at least 3 hours per day.) The constant emphasis on real "hands on", "what works", based on "doing it" approach is really rewarding and inspiring for working hard to gain further progress. So, even if the techniques seem a little too advanced for current skill levels, some experience working with it is still gained, and the steps to make it better in the future are grasped. This seems to me to be the ultimate in terms of a teaching and learning process to guarantee maximum progress in the shortest amount of time. It is made possible because the teacher has the highest level of skills, and the great skill of teachership, along with the commitment and generous nature to share it freely with his students. I would strongly encourage anyone who wants to be a serious student of Chen Style Tai Chi, as a truly practical method, to take advantage of this great opportunity to study with Joseph, in one of the extended training programs in Edmonton, Canada, or wherever the opportunity becomes available.