Chen Style: How many? How long?

[rickyscaggs]

I posted a similar question in the Shaolin arts section.

I'm interested in knowing at what rate people from different schools and different arts learn forms. Maybe it depends on the person and teacher but generally, in Chen Style, how many forms do you learn and how long do you focus on just one until you learn the next?

[houstonwriter.c]

As far as I can tell it's like math; you never really stop refining those early foundations. We spent over a year on the basics of the Old 38, carefully getting the breathing right and refining the movements through understanding of the applications. We still do that one form every time we walk in the door. At that year mark it wasn't that we'd mastered it, it was just that we could practice it on our own with sort of a clue.

I'm a beginner with 1.5 years and I've learned only that one form somewhat in depth, and another form to the point that I can get the general techniques down in an unrefined way but not understand all the applications well. At the 1.5-year mark most of my training is in footwork, breathing, fighting drills, push-hands, basic punching and stance training.

From what little I know about CMA, I'd say there's a steeper learning curve with Chen style than with many other styles. Most of the guys in my class are already very accomplished in other arts and see the value of the end product, though.

Hope that helps; maybe someone with some real time under their belt can give more insight.

William Dylan Powell

[QuaiJohnCain]

From what I've seen, some teachers string thier students out for ten plus years on Lao Jia before doing much of anything else. Others will teach you everything you can remember as you go. It also depends on the "lineage", some schools only train the old style(Lao Jia Er Lu/Yi Lu), some just the new(Xin Jia Er Lu/Yi Lu, and some both. There's also Xiaojia (Small Frame) so there's another set of forms that one could theoretically pile on. I've noticed the more forms a given school supports, the faster they tend to teach them. This does not necessarily make them any better. I think the best way to train within Chen style is to learn Lao Jia Er and Yi inside an out and then either move on to Xin Jia or XiaoJia, depending on your opportunities.

I posted a similar question in the Shaolin arts section.

I'm interested in knowing at what rate people from different schools and different arts learn forms. Maybe it depends on the person and teacher but generally, in Chen Style, how many forms do you learn and how long do you focus on just one until you learn the next?

[Mukei]

I posted a similar question in the Shaolin arts section.

I'm interested in knowing at what rate people from different schools and different arts learn forms. Maybe it depends on the person and teacher but generally, in Chen Style, how many forms do you learn and how long do you focus on just one until you learn the next?


Hi From My Past . I Learned the New Form Chen Style. It was the 108 form and then Cannon. then Bits and peices of the Small Frame. We spent at least 6 months or so before we moved on to next. I was Fortionate. I was learning it In Japan .
I had an Excellent Teacher Besides the Language Barrier.Some People takes Allot longer depending on the learning Curve of the Person .
How Ever .... Their are Teachers that Stretch the Form out to Months, years and still have not learned the whole form . On the same note, Their is allot to learn while doing the Form . Your learning , Proper Breathing, Proper posture, perfecting the Form is hard . This is where it takes time to Digest it all.

I Concentrated on The Combat aspects due to my my passion of the Martial art concepts. many people want to learn it for Compatition and Health reasons.
The Health and Martial Art part comes together but it is Very good . It takes time to learn. Look for a good Teacher .look at the Students . The Students are a mirror of the Teacher. any Questions you can Email Me . Mukei

[YuanZhideDiZhen]

just a general training note about forms:

i don't like to train anybody in just one form at a time. it tends to lock the body into certain movements and restrict the easy learning of more advanced movements.

for beginners your style's stretching, skills routine and preforms and two or three short sections of forms should be ample to get them moving properly in as much variety as possible in as little amount of time as possible. gradual perfection of those manuevers develop the skills of martial arts (Mo-I).

i've seen sifus barage their students until no more could be learned: i once saw a student learn one form every two weeks of the middle intermediate level to advanced intermediate level while under a full load at university and working a job but at the end of the semester he could barely perform the 32 forms he had learned. he slept for three weeks after that.

a hung sifu i know drills 5 forms from the time you walk in the door until you leave. when he sees you on the street he expects you to perform the form of his choice -even years after you finished with him!

an ermei stylist i know drills basics for three years. then shows an intermediate form which the students gobble up because their style basics are soo well developed that it is just a memorisation of movements at that point.

but i guess that's part of what makes a style a style: the method of teaching that get's students into thier mindset and lifeway development.

[SPJ]

We used to use what is called a pyramid method.

For example, you learn your first 6 postures.

And you then learn the next 3 or 4 postures. After a couple of drills.

You then start from the very begining to the most recently learned.

As if a steam locomotive carries more and more freight boxes each time.

So in order to learn more new moves, you always start with first move.

This way the old moves are drilled together with the new ones.

So if you drills new moves 100 times, the old moves or previously learned are also drilled 100 times.

Before any new lessons of new moves, we are asked to drill the old moves several time first in the class.

If the old moves are not practiced well, no new lessons for that day. We will have to practice and practice and practice.

:eek:

[YuanZhideDiZhen]

i think that's pretty much the way it's done everywhere: give's you plenty of opportunity to prove you either know it or don't or to show what could be corrected/perfected from merely acceptable.

ricky: if you think your students shouldn't learn more than one form at a time then by all means slow them down. tcc has some rather unusual concepts for martial artists comming from tkd and karate, so perhaps preforms and drills are enough until relaxation can be achieved. each student is different and probably requires slightly different methods if a high failure/dropout rate is to be avoided. but if your school is large and some people stratify more easily than others then just place them in line according to ability and work the forms. they can catch up by watching thier classmates. or paying for semi-private or even private lessons. :)

if you have some students finishing the form before the others have them help the other students by demonstrating them and getting them caught up to the class average. this helps generate the 'traditional' gymnasium approach where the older students instruct the younger. the sifu , ideally in some settings, teaching only the more advanced students.

so, it seems to me that you're teaching/learning Chen tcc and Hong?