• TAIJIQUAN DAO (POEM)
• CONVERSATIONS WITH ZHANG XIUMU
• LÎ CHÉNG YÙ: LIFE AND DEATH OF A CENTENARY TAOIST
• ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES OF TAIJIQUAN AND NEIGONG PRACTICES
• ZHAO BAO LONGEVOUS
• FIRST CONGRESS OF ZHAO BAO
• CHEN XIAOWANG INTERVIEW 2006

CHEN XIAOWANG, serving tai-chi as if it were tea and doing calligraphy as if it were taichi (I)

-Interviewing Chen Xiaowang during his third visit to Spain on 26 November , 2005-

Those who know the tai chi chuan or taijiquan world undoubtedly know master Chen Xiao Wang´s career and fame ( see “Masters”).  Anyway I´d like to quote what Luciano Vida, who can be called his representative in Spain, said about him.

“As I am the organizer of these seminars,and have to keep an eye on several things at the same time, and also translate, sometimes I don´t pay enough attention to my posture and my hands get cold. Then the Master comes and slightly touches a part of my body to correct my posture and immediately my hands start getting warm. It´s an example of the thouroughness of his postural corrections, which reveals his good and experienced methodology.

 

I would also like to gather some phrases he said during the class I attended as observer, and mentioned again later while we were having the interview:

Do you think tai chi chuan can be considered a sport?

Tai chi chuan (taijiquan) is a Chinese martial art. In tai chi chuan you exercise both your body and your mind,( the mind is considered part of the body), that´s why tai chi chuan is a better sport.

 

 

Have you changed your teaching method to adapt it to foreigners?

No, it´s the same. As the culture is different , the understanding is either quicker or slower. I often change my way of teaching, to adapt myself to my students. For example, now, you are seeing how I´m teaching, but perhaps next year I¨ll do it in a different way.

To teach tai chi chuan well we must do it as when we serve tea to friends. If we want to pour tea into a student´s cup, we must first remove the lid of the cup. We must also see if there´s room left or if it´s already full. In that case it won´t fit. Finally we must be careful of spilling the tea out of the cup.

 

 

Have you had any foreign student, and in that case what are your requirements for them compared to a Chinese one.?

I have foreign students in America, England, Ireland, Japan, Australia, New Zealand,Germany, Italy, France, Chile, Korea and of course I also have chinese students.
Regarding the requirements, they are not exactly the same, because the chinese and western cultures aren´t the same. This is why you have to adapt to the Western. What I ask them is to keep a good friendship with me for a long time.According to the way of accepting students, I generally consider their requests and then I make a decision.

 

 

If your students take other masters, do you have any objection?

There´s no problem, I can understand it.

 

Do you know any elderly person who practises the Chen style?

Longevity has to do with genes. If parents have reached an elderly age, their children can easily do so too. It also has to do with the environment in which you live. Contagious illnesses, for example, can have an effect on the length of your life.

I travel abroad nine months a year. Nowadays there are many contagious illnesses, I could catch an illness and see my life shortened. Yang Cheng Fu died due to poisoning for having taken a medicine wrongly.

Nevertheless, a person who can live 50 years naturally, would be able to live upto 60 if he practised tai chi chuan.

 

 

In what direction do you think this martial art must go on developping itself?

Initially towards keeping and improving your health. But there have to be some applications to motivate people.However, you mustn´t go straightaway from studying the Form to study qin-na( locks and holds). What you should do after the Form is practise with the qi of the dan-tien . We must get the qi of your whole body to .unblock itself.

Apart from being a taiji quan master, Chen Xiaowang is a calligrapher. In this visit to Barcelona , he brought with him some calligraphies which were shown in the room where he taught taichi and whose sale benefits were destined to the village of Chen Jiagou. In the section “chinese culture” (in Spanish), you can see photographs of some of his calligraphies, as well as a short presentation.