Purpose Of This Site

This website provides information on Chen-style Tai Chi practice in Scotland. See also the Links section for further online resources.

What Is Tai Chi?

Tai Chi can be described as a fusion of martial arts, health-preserving and restoring exercises, and meditiation. The practitioner learns how to connect with his or her body at a very deep level, and how to coordinate mind and body in a unique way. The result is a healthier and more relaxed body and mind, and newfound strength and fitness that doesn't depend of slaving away in a gym.

See the Wikipedia articles, "Tai chi chaun" and "Chen style tai chi chaun".

Who practices Tai Chi?

Anyone can practice and benefit from Tai Chi. Different people get different things out of it. Tai Chi is sometimes perceived as an exercise system for "old people". While it is true that the practice can have noticable benefits in older people, its benefits extend to virtually everyone. When practiced to a high level, it can be as vigorous and require as much stamina as any other form of exercise. The key is that it adapts to the student.

What Is Chen-Style Tai Chi?

Chen-family Tai Chi Chuan is the oldest style of Tai Chi (Tàijíquán in Pinyin). It was created at the end of the Ming dynasty in China by a retired general, Chen Wanting. It has been handed down through generations of the Chen family, and until relatively recently could only be found in Chen village, Honan province, or Beijing. Thanks to the efforts of the modern Chen masters, it is now possible to find instruction in Chen-family Tai Chi throughout the world.

What Makes Chen-style Different?

Silk-Reeling

Chen-style's movements are particularly rounded, flowing and smooth, and emphasise moving the body through its full range of motion. The spirals that are characteristic of Tai Chi movement are particularly evident in Chen-style.

"Fa Jing"

While the majority of movements in the Chen forms are slow and flowing, advanced practitioners may choose to test their progress by performing certain movements in the form very quickly, with bursts of focussed energy. The contrast between fast and slow allows for a balanced practice, though these moved are not required, and are discouraged until more advanced stages are reached.

More Than One Form

While most styles of Tai Chi contain routines with traditional weapons, most have only a single empty-hand form. Chen-style has several, reflecting its roots as a martial art in China. However, as with all styles of Tai Chi, everything starts with the basic form.

Hard And Soft Combined

Many Tai Chi styles or teachers emphasise only softness and yielding. While a great many people require this and benefit from it, it is only one half of Taijiquan. Chen-style remains true to its roots and the principles of the art, and offers students a complete system for self-defence: for the mind, the body and the spirit.

Further Reading on Taijiquan and Internal Martial Arts

	Tai Chi For Every Body by Eva & Karel Kosbuka This book contains all the essential information for the beginning Tai Chi student. It covers the motiviations for practice, the fundamental silk-reeling exercise and the first part of the form. The authors, particularly Eva Koskuba, periodically come to Edinburgh for seminars.
	Chen: Living Taijiquan in the Classical Style by Jan Silberstorff This book covers Tai Chi from a variety of angles and in depth, focussing on the Chen-style. Jan Silberstorff became the first Western indoor student and family disciple of Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang in 1993. This book is an excellent translation of the original text in German.
	Chen Style: The Source Of Taijiquan by Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim & David Gaffrey This book gives an excellent account of the history of the Chen-style, and discusses the theoretical underpinnings of many aspects of practice.
	Lost T'ai-chi Classics from the Late Ch'ing Dynasty by Douglas Wile While there are now many publications of the Tai Chi "Classics", Wile's book examines the historical context of the finding of these documents. It also investigates the transition of Tai Chi from being practiced soley by martial artists to being accepted by the gentry class in Chian. Previously unavailable versions of the classics are included.
	Chi Kung: The Way of Energy by Lam Kam Chuen This book covers the practice of Zhan Zhuang, or Standing Post, in much detail.
	Nei Jia Quan: Internal Martial Arts by Jess O'Brien This book contains interviews with masters of Tai Chi, Ba Gua Zhang, and Xing Yi Quan, covering their different perspectives on the internal arts.
	Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching by Ursula K. Le Guin This is not so much a translation of Lao Tzu's classic text, but Le Guin's own rendition, drawing together a variety of other translations, her own ideas, and a fresh, every day style of writing. The result is startling and direct, and very refreshing. As the cornerstone of Daoism and a heavy influence on Taijiquan, this is highly recommended.