Beginners Classes: Basic Skills & Foundation Forms

B-1     Qigong Classes
One-hour class meeting twice a week for four weeks.  Suitable for students who want to raise their level of energy and improve their general health with simple exercises. 
 
Celebrated in Asia for their health-giving qualities, Qigong or Chi Kung exercises (also referred to as Taoist Yoga) are also a necessary adjunct to the practice of martial arts, as regular practice imparts proper posture, structural alignment and coordinated breathing.  It is often said that however long one practices taijiquan, if one does not supplement this training with regular practice of qigong, at the end of decades of training in the form and other related skills, one’s efforts will be for naught.  Qigong, the accumulation of internal energy, is one of the essential pillars of internal martial arts practice.


B-2     Relaxation Exercises & the 13-Posture Chen Style Introductory Form.
 One-hour class meeting twice a week for four weeks.  Suitable for students who want to learn how to relax and relieve stress, and those who are interested in trying out Chen style movement.  The 13-posture form is ideal for this purpose: it does not take long to learn, and imparts a good sense of how the Chen style differs from the Yang, Wu and other styles of taijiquan.
 

B-3     Spiral strength exercise & The 18-Posture Chen Style Essentials Form.
Two-hour class meeting twice a week for twelve weeks. 
 
The first session every week will be devoted to instruction in the (silk reeling)spiral strength  exercises and the 18-posture chen style short form.   Most of the postures in the 18 Essentials are derived from the 76-posture Old Frame form, and learning this sequence makes it much easier to learn the longer Old Frame form, practice of which helps develop internal strength and fluid coordinated movement. 
 
The second class each week will be an outdoor group practice session, and is intended to help students develop their own daily practice routine, and reinforce and refine movements learned in the previous session.
 

B-4     Structure, Alignment (Zhan Zhuang) Qigong & The 76-Posture Chen Style LaoJia Yilu (Old Frame 1st form)
 Two-hour class meeting twice a week for six months.
 
The first session every week will be devoted to the practice of standing meditation postures (zhan zhuang – a form of martially-oriented health-giving qigong) and instruction in the movements and postures of the 76-Posture Chen Style Old Frame Form, Form 1.  Old Frame Form 1 is the foundation of the style and is designed to help the students learn how to develop the internal strength and the coordinated movement necessary for more advanced practice.  
 
The second class meeting each week will be held on the weekend and is essentially an outdoor group practice session in a local park, and is intended to help students reinforce and refine movements learned in the previous session.
 

B-5     (Finger-Led Silk Reeling) Exercises & The 83-Posture Chen Style XinJia Yilu (New Frame 1st form)
 
Two-hour class meeting twice a week for six months. 
 
The first session every week will be devoted to practicing spiral strength exercises where the movements initiate in the leading hand, (as opposed to the center of the body), and instruction in the movements and postures of the 83-Posture Chen Style New Frame Form, Form 1.  New Frame Form 1 is a more advanced version of the Old Frame form that features a greater emphasis on flexibility, contains more expressed energy and features more complex movements as more joints come into play. (There is a second, shorter New Frame Form, referred to as Form 2, form that is taught to advanced students.) 
 
The second class meeting each week will be held on the weekend and is essentially an outdoor group practice session in a local park, and is intended to help students reinforce and refine movements learned in the previous session.
 

B-6     Basic Push Hands Drills
 One-hour class meeting once a week for three months.  Push Hands practice is composed of five two-opponents drills.  Through regular practice, students learn how to “feel,” “stick” and “adhere” to their opponent’s energy (to read and correctly anticipate their movement), defuse his or her force, apply roll-back techniques and other skills useful in fighting.  These exercises form the basis of all taijiquan applications and fight training.
 
 
Beginners Classes: Traditional Chinese Weapons Forms:
 
In an age of the knife and the gun, the practice of traditional Chinese weapons like the straight sword (jian), broadsword (dao, or big knife) and the spear & cudgel, might appear to be a quaint anachronism, however these forms  have an integral function in taijiquan training, regardless if one is interested in improving one’s health or developing martial ability.
 

B-7     The Chen Style Taiji Sword Form.
 One-hour class meeting once a week for three months.  Students learn the 49-movement straight sword form.  Teaches elegant, graceful motion, pinpoint accuracy and the extension of Yi (intention) and the projection of Qi (internal energy).
 

B-8     The Chen Style TaiChi Saber Form.
 One-hour class meeting once a week for three months.  Students learn the 44-posture single saber (big knife or dao) form, a fearsome weapon featuring much circular movement, and helping the student develop coordinated movement.
 

B-9     The Chen Style Spear Form.
One-hour class meeting once a week for three months.  Students learn the 77-movement white ape cudgel/spear form, which holds a special place among the Chen style weapons forms.  Regular practice of this form aids in the development of silk reeling skills and the expression of explosive force (fajin) in all other areas of one’s practice.
 

 
Intermediate Classes: Old Frame Form I Improve
 People often ask what the differences between the Old and New Frame forms are.  The easiest distinction to make is that the elegant and generally slower movements of LiaoJia Yilu help the practitioner develop internal power through proper structure, alignment and balanced, flowing movement.  Thus there is an emphasis in Intermediate Old Frame training on body structure, and working the major joints of the body: the neck, shoulder and hips in a coordinated fashion.
 

I-1     Body Structure & Alignment.
 Two 2-hour classes a week for about two months.
 
The first session each week will be devoted to advanced training in the postures embedded in LiaoJia Yilu (Old Frame, First Form) with an emphasis on correct body structure and alignment.  
 
The second class meeting will be held on the weekend, and is essentially an outdoor group practice session in a local park, to help students reinforce the lessons of the previous session, and further refine their practice of the first Old Frame Form.
 

I-2     Balance & Movement Training.
 Two 2-hour classes a week for about two months. 
 
The first session each week will be devoted to advanced training in the postures embedded in LiaoJia Yilu (Old Frame, First Form) with an emphasis on correct, balanced movement during the transitional moves between postures. 
 
The second class meeting each week will be held on the weekend, and is essentially an outdoor group practice session in a local park, to help students reinforce the lessons of the previous session, and further refine their practice of the first Old Frame Form.
 

I-3     Yi & Qi: Intention & Internal Energy.
 Two-hour class, meeting twice a week for about two months.
 
The first session each week will be devoted to advanced training in the movements of LiaoJia Yilu (Old Frame, First Form) with an emphasis on guiding and coordinating one’s movement with one’s intention (Yi) and internal energy (Qi).
 
The second class meeting each week will be held on the weekend, and is essentially an outdoor group practice session in a local park, to help students reinforce the lessons of the previous session, and further refine their practice of the first Old Frame Form.
 

I-4     “Flow Training” or Internal Coordination in Movement.
 Two-hour class, meeting twice a week for about two months. 
 
The first session each week will be devoted to advanced training in the movements of LiaoJia Yilu (Old Frame, First Form) with an emphasis on guiding and coordinating one’s movement with one’s intention (Yi) and internal energy (Qi).
 
The second class meeting each week will be held on the weekend, and is essentially an outdoor group practice session in a local park, to help students reinforce the lessons of the previous session, and further refine their practice of the first Old Frame Form.
 

I-5     Yi & Qi: Intention & Internal Energy, Part 2.
 Two-hour class, meeting twice a week for about two months.
 
In class I-3, we continued our practice of LiaoJia Yilu with an emphasis on combining and coordinating our movement with our Yi and Qi.  In class I-5, the emphasis is on learning how to distinguish our Yi and Qi from our movement.
 
The second class meeting each week will be held on the weekend, and is essentially an outdoor group practice session in a local park, to help students reinforce the lessons of the previous session, and further refine their practice of the first Old Frame Form.
  
Intermediate Classes: New Frame Form I Improve
 
In movements of LiaoJia Yilu, the emphasis is on working the major joints of the body, at the neck, shoulder and hips.  In XinJia Yilu, the range of joints involved in every movement expands to encompass the middle joints: the elbow and knees, and the extremities: the wrist and ankles. 
 
 The first New Frame from also contains numerous instances of fajin, or” instant releasing strength ” than the first Old Frame form, so the basics of this popular topic are likewise addressed in the XinJia classes listed below.
 

I-6     Knees & Elbows: Middle Joint Training.
 Two-hour class, meeting twice a week for about two months.  
 
The first session each week will be devoted to advanced training in the movements of XinJia Yilu (New Frame, First Form) with an emphasis on training the elbow and knee joints so these joints open and close correctly, in accord with the movements of the rest of the body. 
 
The second class meeting each week will be held on the weekend, and is essentially an outdoor group practice session in a local park, to help students reinforce the lessons of the previous session, and further refine their practice of the first New Frame Form.
 

1-7        Hands, Wrists & Whole-Body Spiral Strength Movement.
 Two-hour class, meeting twice a week for about two months. 
 
Continuing an exploration of the joints, this class picks up where the previous class left off.  The first session each week will be devoted to training the wrists and coordinating the twinning movement of the wrists with the movements of the rest of the body.  Then the emphasis of the class shifts to leading the whip-like movement of  the body with the hands and fingers (as opposed to the center, as in the simpler, more internally-oriented first Old Frame Form), a trademark element of New Frame-based movement. 
 
The second class meeting each week will be held on the weekend, and is essentially an outdoor group practice session in a local park, to help students reinforce the lessons of the previous session, and further refine their practice of the first New Frame Form.
 

1-8     Fajin: Instant Releasing of Strength.
 Two-hour class, meeting twice a week for about two months.
 
The first session each week will be devoted to learning how to properly develop and train the expression of explosive energy, or “Fajin” in the movements of XinJia Yilu.  (Like hand-led silk-reeling, fajin is another distinguishing element of Chen style movement.) 
 
The second class meeting each week will be held on the weekend, and is essentially an outdoor group practice session in a local park, to help students reinforce the lessons of the previous session, integrate the expression of fajin smoothly into their regular practice of the first New Frame Form.
 
Intermediate Classes: Push Hands & Applications Training
 
Public demonstrations and marital arts movies often leave the audience with the impression that, taijiquan is primarily an art of broad evasive movement and explosive striking, however in martial arts circles Chen style taijiquan is noted for its emphasis on infighting, wrist-locking and throwing skills, which are usually taught in the context of push hands drills.
 
Some argue applications training should wait until the student has fully assimilated the lessons of form practice, however we believe one can never start too early, if for no other reason than carefully supervised push hands and applications training gives students a valuable opportunity to check their alignment and structures while they are still learning the longer forms, helping avoid bad habits, as well as demonstrating taiji principles, making  vague and abstract ideas suddenly very, very concrete.
 

I-9     Push Hands & Qinna (Wrist-locks & Holds).
 A one-hour class meeting twice a week: one hour of instruction and repetitive practice, and one weekend practice, intended to help students refine their technique and retrain their instinctive patterns of reaction.
 

I-10      Push Hands & Shuai Jiao (Throwing Skills).
A one-hour class meeting twice a week: one hour of instruction and repetitive practice, and one weekend practice, intended to help students refine their technique and retrain their instinctive patterns of reaction.
 

I-11     Push Hands & Striking Skills (Kicks, Punches, Elbow & Shoulder
Strikes, etc.)
 A one-hour class meeting twice a week: one hour of instruction and repetitive practice, and one weekend practice, intended to help students refine their technique and retrain their instinctive patterns of reaction.
 

Advanced Classes: Higher Level Form Training
 
A-1     Mind & Spirit Training
 Two-hour class meeting twice a week for about eight weeks.  Advanced training in the mental  (Yi) and spiritual (Shen) aspects of Chen style taijiquan: topics include ethics, tactics and fighting skills, taught through a thorough, step-by-step analysis of the postures and applications embedded in LiaoJia Yilu (Old Frame, 1st form).  Two hours of instruction followed by a two-hour weekend practice.
 
A-2     Energy & Power Training
 Two-hour class meeting twice a week for about eight weeks.  Advanced training in the energetic (Qi) aspects of Chen style taijiquan, and the expression of explosive power (Fajin) in combat, taught through a thorough, step-by-step analysis of the postures and applications embedded in XinJia Erlu (New Frame, 1st form).  Two hours of instruction followed by a two-hour weekend practice.
 
A-3     Chen Style LiaoJia Erlu (Old Frame 2nd form)
 One-hour class once a week.  One of the two advanced empty-hand forms of Chen style taijiquan, taught to those exhibiting three-five years of consistent progress demonstrated through ones regular practice of qigong, the forms, push-hands and weapons.
 
A-4       Chen Style XinJia Erlu (New Frame 2nd form)
 One-hour class once a week.  One of the two advanced empty-hand forms of Chen style taijiquan, taught to those exhibiting three-five years of consistent progress demonstrated through ones regular practice of qigong, the forms, push-hands and weapons.