Pardon our appearance. We just want to rush out this list of resources for mastering tai chi quan so you can continue your study away from class. We will tidy it up later. (Ha!)
Starting with the most valuable and important to a new student:
The Bible: “Brain Aerobics of Tai Chi Chuan”
This title contains both a discussion of the “brain aerobics” Master Chen sees in tai chi chuan and, for the new student, a movement-by-movement, step-by-step, gesture-by-gesture breakdown of the exact sequence of Master Chen’s “Sixty Movements” short form. It is indispensible, because in the tai chi form, the details matter greatly.
If the details are not correct, it is not tai chi. Years after learning and excelling at 60 Movements, I took time to read the details, to answer a student question. (Master Chen says that teaching is good for us because student questions will take us interesting places.) What I found in this book revolutionized my form. Boy, do the details matter.
The book can be ordered from Amazon.
Free Alternative to “Brain Aerobics”
An on-line scan of CC Chen’s original book “Body Mechanics” is available free, with a free archive.org sign-up here. That has some background history and discussion, as well as the same invaluable breakdown of CC Chen’s “Sixty Movements”.
This book is highly recommended for any serious student of Master Chen and/or tai chi. It contains important discussion of why tai chi stands out as an exercise, much of which does not appear in “Brain Aerobics”.
Video Treasure
A large collection of videos featuring Master Chen can be found on Content Galaxy. The $40 fee for a year’s access is well worth the content for advanced students. This collection includes instruction in the long form and more, and older videos with tremendous content in the form of Master Chen’s narration.
Master Chen’s Teacher
Master Chen was himself a senior student and teacher under Professor Cheng Man-Ch’ing. Here is Professor Cheng doing his “37 Postures” short form, which he derived from the 108 movement long form.
Master Chen’s “60 Movements” is almost identical to Cheng’s “37 Postures. (They just count differently.)
Master Chen’s Students
Every successful teacher spawns students who carry on spreading tai chi chuan. These students often produce videos of themselves performing Master Chen’s “60 Movements”. Free videos of the full form can be found on a YouTube playlist of mine. A caveat, though:
In one interview you can find on the Content Galaxy offering, Master Chen mentions that every student of Professor Cheng does his “37 Postures” a little differently. He says Maggie Newman was the closest to Professor Cheng, and also Ben Lo.
If you explore the student playlist, you will see quite a variety. While at first I saw them as incorrect, I have grown to understand that we are just seeing a natural evolution of a complex process transmitted by serious students finding their own way.
Student Ken
Speaking of my own differences, I try hard to match Master Chen closely. Here is one video that my students like.
A tournament judge once told me I was the closest to Master Chen he had seen. That was quite a thrill. But I confess to one important difference, and a fundamental one: the height of the stance.
Here is Master Chen addressing how he deliberately differs on that:
“Compared to versions generally taught, my 60 Movements are slightly higher in stance and smaller in step. This difference is intentional. [The lower stance] may cause fatigue and exhaustion in the legs, which leads to unconscious upper body tension. Ultimately, this might affect the smooth inner qi energy flow and body coordination.
“My higher stance and smaller steps are designed to keep the body more relaxed…This contributes to the full commitment of the awareness brain to direct the movement of Qi.”
In my case, because I play a lot of sports, I like training that builds strength. And I happened to start with the NY School, which was heavily committed to holding us beginners for minutes in a low stance, precisely to build our strength. I saw dramatic improvement in my time skating the loop in Central Park, and almost tripped running up steps because of unexpected power. So leg fatigue to me is great; it develops strength!
Having written this, and having complete faith in Master Chen, I think I will go with a higher stance for a while to see what rewards await me there. I certainly reached a new level when I decided to slow down my form to Master Chen’s speed, a full 25% slower! At the slower speed, I am discovering a wealth of nuances to explore and enhance, and the form is much richer and enjoyable for me. The faster speed masked all that. Perhaps the lower stance does the same.
Seated Tai Chi
I am also starting to explore seated tai chi for those who need to build up to standing tai chi. This is a new one for me, but I have found a great starter lesson on YouTube. Research on this will continue!