The image above is a picture of a lecture conducted by Chen Zhonghua at a recent Taiji Traditions Camp. Master Chen will always include some type of lecture in his workshops.
The question asked was: What does Chen Style Taiji look like? This is a question I have asked myself time and time again. The lecture identifies the four main characteristics of “Gong”:
If I understand this correctly, taiji will look differently depending upon the characteristic/quality that one is training or working on. Example, some styles emphasize yielding whereas other styles may emphasis footwork or issuing.
For more on the topic, click the link above to be taken to Jordan’s blog.
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The character he shows for “neutralize” turns up as “change” (more or less) in my dictionary. I find it interesting how words are actually employed by a native speaker vs mere dictionary usage.
Very interesting to note that a lot of things can easily be “lost intranslation”. For me, this is one of the great strengths of teachers likeChen Zhonghua, Stephen Hwa, and Fong Ha to name a few. They understand thenative implications and have a very good command of the english language toproperly translate.