Chen Style Tai Chi in Western Massachusetts
Tai Chi 413
We offer classes for Western Massachusetts in Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan) for both health enhancement and martial art/self defense practice.
Chen Style Tai Chi is the oldest historically recorded form of Tai Chi and generally accepted as the original style of Tai Chi from which all other styles were ultimately derived. It is excellent for both health and self defense. Chen Style Tai Chi is a practical way of developing strength and wellness. It contains silk reeling (chan si jin) movements, fast/slow pacing, deeper stances and bursts of power (fa jin).
Chen Style Tai Chi is taught as it has been taught in Chen villge, Henan Province, Wenxian, China for hundreds of years.
We teach Tai Chi as we have been taught by Wang Hai Jun a teacher of the highest level and the top student of Grandmaster Chen Zheng Lei.
What is Tai Chi?
Tai Chi is a set of pre-arranged physical postures which are practiced in a continuous flow from start to finish. The movements are designed to strengthen the practitioner. The postures are practiced slowly and methodically with an emphasis on specific details, proper breathing and deep relaxation.
Over time the practitioner learns to move in a manner that emphasizes using the frame and larger muscles of the lower body to drive movements throughout the whole body. This type of movement is referred to as internal (neigong) while external, local muscle movement is de-emphasized.
Ultimately Tai Chi is a process. A beginner uses much local muscle force, later with practice (lots of practice), learns to move in a way that is more powerful, strengthening the body as a whole.
Learn More →
Silk Reeling
The term silk reeling is used in Chen Style Tai Chi to refer to particular individual movements which are often extracted from the form and practiced in a repetitive manner.
Silk reeling suggests the intention of pulling a strand of silk from a silk worm cocoon. If done properly the strand of silk is drawn out unbroken in one long piece. If performed too roughly and disconnected the silk will break.
The exercises are practiced to develop a deeper understanding of the main principles of Chen Style Tai Chi repeated within a closed loop.
Contact us today for more information
