Love this! Last night I came across some footage from Chen Village showing old, new and small frame styles. It dates by my estimation to 1976, the tape has degraded somewhat with time and so is a little blurry & grainy, but for those of us who have trained in the style it’s a wonderful piece of magical Tai Chi history.
Many don’t realise that in the 50s communism banned martial arts practice under threat of jail or summary execution and if many brave souls hadn’t kept their traditional arts alive in secrecy they would no longer exist for our betterment today. It’s why I make such a big thing of the martial tradition of training by moonlight and candlelight, in honour of those who selflessly passed on the torch for future generations.
What I like most about this footage is that it shows the older generation (villagers in their 80s) making the style their own, as one should. Most people like myself learned Chen Style in a very regimented and strict way with little deviation from its physical demands, which is why many consider it a younger persons style, but here you see higher stances, smaller movements and more sinuous dance-like steps far more suited to those of us who are a little longer in the tooth these days.
Enjoy
Mathew
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Facebook post 06/08/24
