Chen Taijiquan: Masters and Methods - Softcover

Sim, Davidine Siaw-Voon; Gaffney, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1720938288 ISBN 13: 9781720938286

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018

Synopsis

Few arts are more misunderstood in today’s fast-paced digital age than Taijiquan. Typically it is represented in one of two diametrically opposed, but equally misleading ways. In the world of martial arts movies Taijiquan masters are portrayed as almost supernatural individuals capable of defeating opponents with little more than a touch. Alternatively it has come to be viewed as the slow and simple exercise practised by old people in the park as they try to hang on to some degree of mobility and suppleness. Neither depiction is adequate. Chen Taijiquan is one of China’s most ancient fighting systems with an unbroken lineage stretching back almost 400 years. While today many people look exclusively towards the health and exercise benefits of the system, the true face of traditional Taijiquan is its unique method of developing martial skill. Like all traditional South-East Asian martial arts, it combines high levels of self discipline, spiritual awareness and combat skills. Perhaps more than any other discipline Taijiquan presents a seamless integration of philosophy and martial arts. Chen Taijiquan: Masters and Methods is the third book by Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim and David Gaffney. It is the product of some two decades of ongoing research into the oldest of the five traditional schools of Taijiquan. Involving more than twenty visits to China, as well as trips to South–East Asia and throughout Europe to experience and document the insights of some of the foremost elder practitioners of Chen Taijiquan including: the late Feng Zhiqiang, a senior disciple of the legendary seventeenth generation master Chen Fake; Chen Xiaoxing, Principal of the Chenjiagou Taijiquan School; Chen Xiaowang, Chen Zhenglei, Wang Xian and Zhu Tiancai often collectively referred to the “Four Buddha’s Warriors” of Chenjiagou; Chen Yu, the Beijing based son of the eighteenth generation master Chen Zhaokui; and Yu Gongbao, author of the world's first dictionary of Taijiquan and China’s first Professor of Taijiquan. Chen Taijiquan: Masters and Methods draws together a record of the teachings of a generation of Chen Taijiquan masters who still had a foot in previous times before the commercialisation and mass propagation of Taijiquan. A time when the discipline was passed orally from one generation to the next reflecting it’s importance as a means for defending self, family and community. It enables the reader to join a conversation with some of the great masters of Chen Taijiquan and take away fascinating insights into the true nature of the system. Taken together their words present a clear exposition of the theoretical and practical standards which define and shape the art.

About this title

About the Author

Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim was born in Sabah, North Borneo and raised in a family with a tradition of Chinese medicine and gongfu. Her Chen Taijiquan training began in the mid 1990s and from that time, she has made numerous study and research trips to China and SE Asia. Davidine holds an Advanced Instructor’s Certificate awarded by the Chenjiagou Taijiquan School and holds a sixth Duan grade with the Chinese Wushu Association. Previously, she was an award-winning editor of Chinatown: The Magazine, a publication dedicated to the positive promotion of Chinese culture and issues in the UK. David Gaffney began training Asian martial arts in 1980, focusing exclusively on Chen Taijiquan since 1996. His quest to experience the art in the most authentic way has seen him travel to China more than twenty times to train at the birthplace of Taijiquan. He is one of the few westerners to be awarded an Advanced Instructor’s Certificate by the Chenjiagou Taijiquan School and holds a sixth Duan grade with the Chinese Wushu Association. He has co-written two previous books with Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim: Chen Style Taijiquan: The Source of Taiji Boxing and The Essence of Taijiquan. David publishes the popular Talking Chen Taijiquan blog.

Edition details

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1720938288
• ISBN 13: 9781720938286
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 174