Chen Style Tai Chi is commonly recognized as the original style of Tai Chi. Chen Style Tai Chi consists of slow and fast movements and practiced with more martial intention and lower stances. Chen Style Tai Chi requires more strength and stamina than Yang Style Tai Chi.
Beginning students learning Chen Style Tai Chi will primarily learn silk reeling exercises, crucial to being able to move with connected energy in Chen Tai Chi movements. You will also learn Chen Style Tai Chi basic movements.
Intermediate students will be learning Chen Style Tai Chi forms, famous for their change of pacing between slow and fast movements and are practiced in a lower stance than Yang Style Tai Chi.
The Chen Style Tai Chi forms taught in this class are
- 18 Form, a shortened version of traditional form Lao Jia Yi Lu
- Lao Jia Yi Lu, the first form of the traditional Chen old frame
- 56 Form, the international competition standard for Chen Style Tai Chi
Assistant instructor Neil White assists Shifu Bob Shannon in teaching this class.