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Thread: Chen Village Study

  1. #1

    Chen Village Study

    Does anyone know how to go about visiting and studying in Chen Village?

  2. #2
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    my classmate contacted them, went theere and then they charged him double the price they quoted in email. and they wanted to only teach him 1 hr a day group class. he had to negotiate full day of training and 1 hr private lesson, and i'm sure he paid more than double of what he thougth he was gonna get.

  3. #3
    The only living student of Chen Fake, Feng Zhiqiang, lives in Beijing, Chen Xiaowang and Wang Xian were just among his early students.

    It's funny people fly to Beijing and take a 10 hours' train to Chen Village, without knowing what they missed.

    You don't have much chance to get Mr. Feng to teach you forms, he is the pope of Tai Chi, you will be blessed seeing him.

    Besides, he has a lot of students around him, the best is Chen Xiang. See Chen Xiang, then you know what is Tai Chi, what is Kungfu.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by tjqg
    The only living student of Chen Fake, Feng Zhiqiang, lives in Beijing, Chen Xiaowang and Wang Xian were just among his early students.

    It's funny people fly to Beijing and take a 10 hours' train to Chen Village, without knowing what they missed.

    You don't have much chance to get Mr. Feng to teach you forms, he is the pope of Tai Chi, you will be blessed seeing him.

    Besides, he has a lot of students around him, the best is Chen Xiang. See Chen Xiang, then you know what is Tai Chi, what is Kungfu.
    Do you know where Chen Xiang is? Is he in Beijing? Feng Zhiqiang, does he still teach?

  5. #5

    Chen/from what I understand.

    Master Feng is basically retired now though he corrects people and demonstrates occasionally.

    Chen Xiaowang lives in Australia but he is often on tour and comes to the US once a year. He gives 2-3 day seminars and private lessons in several major cities- check his site for the schedule. he is a superb teacher.

    I dont understand the criticisms on this thread regarding Chen village. CXW's brother yeaches there, hasa center and is also very good.

    When someone is trying to understand a national treasure- its reasonable to expect
    that one must pay- and more than the locals.

    joy chaudhuri

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by tjqg
    You don't have much chance to get Mr. Feng to teach you forms, he is the pope of Tai Chi, you will be blessed seeing him.

    Whoa. You've been a member of several cults, haven't you?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by tjqg
    The only living student of Chen Fake, Feng Zhiqiang, lives in Beijing, Chen Xiaowang and Wang Xian were just among his early students.

    It's funny people fly to Beijing and take a 10 hours' train to Chen Village, without knowing what they missed.

    You don't have much chance to get Mr. Feng to teach you forms, he is the pope of Tai Chi, you will be blessed seeing him.

    Besides, he has a lot of students around him, the best is Chen Xiang. See Chen Xiang, then you know what is Tai Chi, what is Kungfu.
    I hope the pope part is a joke, because I agree with all the rest. If you want real Chen taiji then I hear that Feng is the best. If you want wushu taiji, then Chen family village is apparently the place to go. And yes, a buddy of mine got ripped off going there years ago. You really have to watch your wallet there since the communists decided to turn the village into "taiji Disneyland."

    If I were going to China I would go to Beijing for Feng or go to study with Li En-jiu. Third choice would be Chen Qing-zhou in Xian.

    Finally, the Chens don't like to talk about learning from Feng. That puts a crimp in their marketing.

    Dave C.

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    Quote Originally Posted by chessman71
    If I were going to China I would go to Beijing for Feng or go to study with Li En-jiu. Third choice would be Chen Qing-zhou in Xian.

    Do you mean Chen Quanzhong in Xi'an?

  9. #9
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    hi joy
    what do u mean u dont understand ?

    if they say it's XXX dollars, then it's xxx dollars, but what they do is, quote you one price, but when you get there, tell you double casue they konw u want to learn and they know u are already in china .

    bait and switch

    If they want to charge 1 millino dollars, say one milion dollars, dont say 60k and when we get tehre, double the price or wathever

    you get the idea. haha and my math sucks.

  10. #10
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    ttt 4 2017

    It's kind of silly that the lead shot isn't even Chen Village, but the embedded vid (follow the link) is good.


    RisingTones
    Small Village Turns Tai Chi Heritage Into Big Business
    Tourists fill schools and hotels in the birthplace of Chen-style tai chi.
    Bibek Bhandari

    Jun 01, 2017

    For generations, a village in central China has preserved the centuries-old tradition of tai chi. Today, it’s not only playing a part in exporting the ancient martial art form to far-flung countries, but also cashing in on its own rich heritage.

    Chenjiagou, in Henan province, is something of a pilgrimage destination for many tai chi practitioners from all over the world. Local tradition has it that an old master named Chen Bo invented his own style of tai chi — he wanted to protect the village, and his style is known for its quickness and power. Now, the once-sleepy village is home to several tai chi centers and other small enterprises that keep the spirit of tai chi alive and the money pouring in.


    Tai chi originated in the 17th century, and over time and across disciplines, its core principle remains the same: controlling the mind and body to cultivate qi, or the vital force present in all living things. The art is now practiced by millions of people worldwide. In a widely publicized bout, a self-proclaimed tai chi master was knocked down in about 10 seconds by a mixed martial artist, leading many to question the continued relevance of the traditional martial art form. But in Chengjiagou, tai chi is at the center of everything.

    Yan Ziteng is the head teacher at Chenjiagou Tai Chi School. He passes on the art to young acolytes while his wife runs a shop that tailors traditional martial arts clothes. Yan said his school has 200 branches in China, and that there is a big demand for teachers and coaches.

    “You can make this your career now,” he told journalists from Sixth Tone’s sister publication, The Paper, when they visited the village. “It’s a job. You can make up to 200,000 yuan [$29,000] per year.”

    Yang Zhaohui, an official from the Wen County tourism bureau, concurred, saying that tai chi has proved beneficial for the entire village. “The tai chi instruction industry has made the whole village rich,” he said, adding that two tai chi-related projects in the village had received a total of more than 5 billion yuan from investors.

    “If Chenjiagou did not have tai chi,” Yan the teacher mused, “it would just be an ordinary little village.”

    Contributions: Liu Jingwen; editor: Kevin Schoenmakers.

    (Header image: A group of women and their instructor practice tai chi at Shiyan Lake in Changsha, Hunan province, April 27, 2016. Xu Xing/VCG)
    Gene Ching
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  11. #11
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    The Chen village family business will only work if more than form is taught.
    Functional, utilitarian skill where it can be objectively assessed and passed on to those who can learn is excellent ONLY if said skill is taught.

  12. #12
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    This Xinhua article really needs a photo

    Feature: A Canadian couple's Kungfu journey in China
    Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-02 11:11:59|Editor: Yang Yi

    ZHENGZHOU, China, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Mr. and Mrs. Mollison have travelled several thousand miles to China just to fulfil their dream to learn Chinese Kungfu in its birthplace.
    After learning Chinese Kungfu in Shaolin Temple and Wu Dang Mountain, the Mollisons from Canada eventually came to Chenjiagou village in central China's Henan province. Small as the village is, it is renowned as the birthplace of Tai Chi.
    James Gordon Mollison, 58, fell in love with Chinese Kungfu when he was a little boy.
    Looking back, James is happy that Taichi has grown to become an internationally recognized sport.
    "I didn't think Tai Chi is Chinese Kungfu when I first saw it in 1984, it's so different, soft and slow, less physical and dangerous, not like Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do which can beat others easily," said the retired computer analyst, "Very few people knew about Tai Chi in 1980s, and it was difficult to find a teacher."
    Chen Xiaowang, a master of Chen style Tai Chi born in Chenjiagou, also had the same experience as Mollison. "Some foreigners have mistaken Tai Chi for some sort of cooking method because Tai Chi picture was on the cover of some cookbooks."
    "Now it's different in Europe and North America. Many people like to practice Tai Chi, and everybody knows that it's a kind of Chinese Kungfu which is good for health." Chen added.
    Chen opened more than 100 Tai Chi halls in about 70 countries and regions and taught more than 300 thousands students to learn Tai Chi.
    According to Taichi researcher Yan Shuangjun, there are about 300 million people in the world practicing Tai Chi now.
    Needless to say, James is among the Taichi lovers and under his influence, his wife Joanne also took to the sport. The couple came to China last summer, first in Xuzhou, a city in Jiangsu province known for its Kungfu tradition. They later visited Shaolin Temple twice and Wu Dang mountain and then came to Chenjiagou in May.
    "I had job and two babies to raise, so I had no time to learn Kungfu, but I supported my husband to learn. I retired last year, and I like Tai Chi very much now." Joanne said.
    "This is our first trip to China, some people told me that Chnejiagou was the birthplace of Chen style Tai Chi, so I came here," James added.
    They practiced Tai Chi in a small wood everyday and Mollison can do four styles of Tai Chi and Joanne can also do it very well.
    James started to practice Tai Chi from 2001 and benefitted from his hobby after he broke his left leg in a motorcycle accident in 2009.
    "My doctor said that I recovered quickly than others. I believed that Tai Chi made me stronger," James said, adding that he also finds inner peace through Taichi.
    "I have no plan to leave here, I love this lively village." James said.

    Quote Originally Posted by mawali View Post
    The Chen village family business will only work if more than form is taught.
    Functional, utilitarian skill where it can be objectively assessed and passed on to those who can learn is excellent ONLY if said skill is taught.
    In most TCMA, form is a gateway to skills. But when students can't even handle form, well, they don't get to the skills. And these martial heritage locations deal with a lot of tourists, only a few serious students. I leave in a seaside tourist town. I'm not going to fault any community for taking advantage of tourists. They usually trash the place anyway. I'm all about fleecing tourists to support the local economy. Those who are serious rise above that. It was only after I helped some sword vendors fleece some tourists at Shaolin when I felt I'd truly penetrated the first chambers of Shaolin.
    Gene Ching
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    Interesting take on Chen Village from Adan Kohnhorst

    More on Adan Kohnhorst here.

    Chen Tai Chi Village: The Birthplace of Tai Chi is a Ghost Town Banking on a Cultural Treasure
    by Adan Kohnhorst | Aug 3, 2018



    In Chenjiagou, tai chi is everything. The city is the birthplace of Chen style tai chi, the oldest of tai chi’s five traditional family styles, one known for adhering to its origins as a combat art well into the modern day. It is, in no uncertain terms, the most historically significant site for China’s (and perhaps the world’s) most practiced martial art. It’s also totally empty.

    Out of the village’s 40,000 residents, one mentions to me, approximately 30,000 practice Chen style tai chi. Riding in a tour buggie down the street, I’m struck by the town’s commitment to its identity. Empty tai chi hotels rise high into the sky. Uninhabited storefronts built in the old-school Chinese style line the major roads, pasted with designs of tai chi stances and postures. You can catch the biweekly tai chi show at tai chi park, or train in the secluded tai chi boxing grounds. None of them seem to have any guests.


    A film crew sets up at Chenjiagou’s central walkway feature.

    All this is not to say that Chenjiagou’s tai chi industry — tourism included — isn’t impressive. Tai chi economy is the lifeblood of the whole village, from tai chi training centers, to medicine, to the manufacturing of tai chi goods. Tai chi is also the sole characteristic that separates Chenjiagou from unremarkable neighboring towns. And yet somehow, the success of Chenjiagou’s tai chi industry is also the reason for its abandoned aesthetic.

    Chenjiagou’s small-time celebrity is relatively newfounded, the infrastructure itself having just sprung up over the past couple decades. Now the city is preparing for the future at breakneck speeds. Perhaps following the example of the nearby Shaolin Temple, now a source of revenue worth millions each year, and whose abbot has been dubbed the “CEO monk”, small town Chenjiagou has big dreams. Two recent tai chi projects received a total of five billion RMB of funding, and that spirit shows in the newly-erected towers, statues, structures, and sites that cover Chenjiagou, even if the daily foot traffic isn’t yet able to match it.



    At the center of it all is Wang Changjiang. Master Wang is the oldest, most direct carrier of the Chen tai chi lineage, and as a result, the de facto figurehead of the town. He teaches tai chi out of his martial arts studio home, located at the end of a long scenic tai chi promenade that constitutes the center of Chenjiagou. There, he trains disciples, and works to preserve the art form that has defined his life.

    “Chen family tai chi originated from Chenjiagou — it’s our cultural artifact, and it bears the history of our town,” he says. “Chen family tai chi and Chenjiagou share an inseparable, intrinsic relationship. I myself am the grandson of Wang Yan, a proud disciple of Chen Yanxi, of the eighth generation of Chen family tai chi. Tai chi has given the people here confidence in our culture, and improved our quality of life overall.”
    Watching Master Wang perform tai chi is like watching a concert pianist perform his pocket concerto, or a Formula One driver curve around a turn. Every movement is perfectly mapped out, intentional, and practiced thousands upon thousands of times.

    Relax your body. Relax your legs, your hips, arms. Your tongue should make contact with the roof of your mouth. Relax your focus, but let the eyes be like lights.

    These were all things he told me during our brief period of study.

    Without a peaceful mind, there will be no peaceful body.


    Later, I was stunned to watch him execute high-level tai chi movements. Punctuated exhales of air sent his hands and fists quivering at the end of strikes. He floated at high speeds through his movements, watching everything and nothing. And his eyes, I was surprised to notice, really were like lights.


    Visual reference, if you don’t believe me about the eyes.

    Tai chi is popular all over China, but 99% of practitioners are in it for health benefits and low-impact exercise, rather than to achieve martial arts mastery. Old folks in every city — if they’re not gathering in the evening for group square dancing — are trekking out in the early AM to subway stops, parks, and KFC forecourts to practice tai chi. Do a little every day, and you’ll grow to be a healthy, wizened nonagenarian with great circulation, is the generally accepted idea.

    Having a long background in martial arts and combat sports, from Shaolin to Brazilian jiujitsu, I’d always been fascinated by the dying practice of combat tai chi application. At one point I mentioned this to the master, asking him if he could teach me a combat maneuver, or a self-defense application to the movements we were doing. He didn’t seem to understand at all, and it took several repeated requests from a native Chinese speaker for him to realize I wanted to learn a “kung fu move.”

    “There are no moves to teach,” he told me. You just do it, and do it, and then you have it.


    A dedicated tai chi training zone at a historical park. In the middle is a heavy cinderblock to build lifting strength.

    I was naturally skeptical, pointing to the moves I’d learned in the past: if A does this, B does this. Master Wang shook his head and asked me to hit him. Scared to embarrass the old man, grandfather to many, I pushed my hand towards him gingerly. In one movement, he snapped it out of the air, and isolated my fingers in a joint lock. One more movement, and I was on my ass at his feet.

    Chen tai chi’s adherence to its martial roots reflects its history as the oldest classical style of tai chi — a history that its practitioners value immensely. Chenjiagou’s surrounding province of Henan isn’t a sprawling urban metropolis. Miles of farmland and countryside constitute large swaths of its area, and while it isn’t one of China’s poorest provinces, it isn’t one of the wealthiest either. It faces a classic struggle, now well-known to cities across the country: how to translate historical significance into modern-day wealth and quality of life.


    Outside of scenic tai chi tourism sites, Henan life continues as usual.

    Getting international travel documents isn’t easy in China, and most families opt for more attainable domestic vacations. Touring the birthplaces of obscure foods, historical figures, or literary phenomena is all much more common than you’d expect (also in Henan, I was fortunate enough to visit a small replica of the ancient Lord Bao’s court, where I was allowed to recreate the famous slapping and throwing of wooden tiles to announce a criminal verdict).

    Compared to other would-be tourist hotspots in China, the title “birthplace of tai chi” is a veritable jackpot. City planners have poured everything into that identity, and the whole town pulsates with tai chi energy. Still, the tourism, though it’s on the rise, isn’t quite there yet. Photos of the city’s landmarks, alone and majestic, aren’t staged. There just aren’t many people wandering around, outside of major public holidays. I counted a total of two modest tour groups in my time there. I’d guess there haven’t ever been enough to fully book the town’s towering tai chi-themed hotel, whose idle front desk attendants always seem unprepared to see you.


    Rebecca Vorisek on a not-yet-inhabited tourist street while hosting a program for the Henan tourism bureau.

    And yet, the town’s citizens aren’t fazed. There’s an intrinsic belief in the value of their cultural heritage, and a valid one at that. Master Wang’s 16-year-old granddaughter Wang Xuelian, like many Chenjiagou-ers, loves her town:

    I feel great about Chenjiagou. The atmosphere is good, and walking around you can see people in tai chi clothes everywhere. Early or late, people are practicing tai chi. It’s not noisy, and life is comfortable. But it’s not as casual as it used to be, and many of the village’s homes have been built into hotels and restaurants. It’s not the same as when I was a child, and that’s a bit strange.

    But I still practice tai chi for self-cultivation and exercise. There’s something indescribable there. I haven’t decided for sure if I’ll stay in Chenjiagou when I grow up, but I think I will. I’ll do my favorite thing in the most familiar place. The most important thing is to pass on true traditional Chen tai chi with my tai chi family.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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    Our WINTER 2019 issue

    READ Chen Zhenglei Tai Chi Symposium in Chen Village By Viola Brumbaugh and Rusel DeMaria in our WINTER 2019 issue. Available digitally too via Zinio.

    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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    photo album

    Young Learners Practise Tai Chi in Henan Province
    June 27, 2019
    Editor: Ling Xiao



    Learners of Chenjiagou Taiji School practice tai chi in Chenjiagou of Wenxian County, Central China's Henan Province, June 19, 2019. Often shortened to taiji, t'ai chi or tai chi in English usage, T'ai chi ch'uan or tŕijíquán is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for both its defense training and its health benefits. Chenjiagou was branded as the "Birthplace of tai chi" by Chinese Wushu Association. A small as it is, there situated lots of kung fu schools and training centers, attracting tai chi fans from different countries and regions. More and more young learners practise tai chi here to make their tai chi dream come true. [Xinhua]



    A learner of Chenjiagou Taiji School practices tai chi in Chenjiagou of Wenxian County, Central China's Henan Province, June 19, 2019. [Xinhua]




    Learners of Chenjiagou Taiji School practice tai chi in Chenjiagou of Wenxian County, Central China's Henan Province, June 19, 2019. [Xinhua]




    Learners of Chenjiagou Taiji School practice tai chi in Chenjiagou of Wenxian County, Central China's Henan Province, June 19, 2019. [Xinhua]




    Learners of Chenjiagou Taiji School take a training in Chenjiagou of Wenxian County, Central China's Henan Province, June 19, 2019. [Xinhua]




    Learners of Chenjiagou Taiji School take a training in Chenjiagou of Wenxian County, Central China's Henan Province, June 19, 2019. [Xinhua]




    Learners of Chenjiagou Taiji School take a training in Chenjiagoutai of Wenxian County, Central China's Henan Province, June 19, 2019. [Xinhua]




    Learners of Chenjiagou Taiji School take a training in Chenjiagou of Wenxian County, Central China's Henan Province, June 19, 2019. [Xinhua]




    Learners of Chenjiagou Taiji School take a training in Chenjiagou of Wenxian County, Central China's Henan Province, June 19, 2019. [Xinhua]




    Learners of Chenjiagou Taiji School study at school in Chenjiagou of Wenxian County, Central China's Henan Province, June 19, 2019. [Xinhua]
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