the way of wujimon

I’ve always thought Chen style to be considered taiji. To me, it contains the essence of taiji, it has the hard and soft, fast/slow, high/low, it has it all within the form itself. Other styles also do, but it’s different. For instance, Yang style says they are hard inside but soft outside, like steel wrapped in cotton. With chen, you can definitely see the change from a slow moving flow to a fast fajing strike. I’m actually very happy that I’ve made the switch and dedicated myself to Chen Style Taijiquan. I’ve learned so much in a very short amount of time. The emphasis with chen is a bit more martial in nature (at least this aspect has been emphasized by my instructors) and the body requirements are a bit more difficult. A lot more emphasis has been placed on shifting from the gua to gua instead of leg to leg. This MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE. In addition, more emphasis on sitting into the gua.. I used to be able to go really low before with no problems, now I’m feeling the burn in a much higher stance.. Anyhoo.. I dig. Now enjoy the discussion on empty flower