Original textby Grandmaster Zhu
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Why is there such international interest in Chen-style tai chi? Because Chen-style tai chi combines hardness and softness, speed and slowness. Everyone from teenagers to the elderly, across all social strata, can practise it. When foreigners talk about tai chi, they immediately say “kung fu”. What kung fu? That’s about application—self-defence and protection is what they mean by kung fu. So when people ask what tai chi kung fu is, in our folk understanding, it’s the kung fu of Yang Luchan, the kind of skill where “not even a feather can be added”.
In Taiwan, there’s a guy named Xu Ji who is also into tai chi. He says there are four types of tai chi circulating in the world today. What are they? The first is called tai chi exercise. This is what the old blokes and ladies practise in the parks every day, the retired folks. They show up, do their routine for an hour or two, then head home to cook, go to work, or pick up the grandkids. They practise daily, regardless of whether it’s correct or not—it’s just like doing calisthenics for exercise. It’s a pretty good practice; this is called tai chi exercise.
The second is called tai chi dance—dance as in the performance art. What’s tai chi dance? Nowadays, in mainland China, every province has a wushu team where young people train specifically for competitions. Since the state doesn’t allow determining winners through actual combat, most of the time they can only compete within set routines and frameworks.
But how many people truly understand these routines? Who can actually tell if their practice is good or not? There’s no way to compare, so now you see a lot of highly difficult moves in tai chi competitions—360-degree jumps, 360-degree spins on one leg. These difficult gymnastic moves have been incorporated into our tai chi, turning it into a stage art.
So when young people compete, they’re constrained by these frameworks that require a certain number of difficult moves in each routine. In the past, there were no such moves. Now that they’ve been added, of course it looks very graceful. Young people compete in this, but middle-aged and older people over forty can’t do it. This type, designed specifically for competition purposes, is called tai chi dance. It doesn’t focus on technique; as long as you jump high and far, it’s considered beautiful, and high difficulty is rewarded.
The third is called the tai chi cult, and this is where problems arise. Many people, after learning tai chi, don’t bother to research it properly but instead spread all sorts of mystical nonsense about it. You can check online—there’s an old lady from Hebei who claims to have “ling kong jin” (airborne power). What’s “ling kong jin”? It’s making it out to be incredibly mysterious, without any scientific basis.
That Yan Fang from Hebei is like this. When reporters interviewed her, she asked one to practise with her. With four or five people standing in between, she gave a push. The reporter in front didn’t move, but the four or five people behind all fell over. She said her energy passed through the reporter’s body. This is just a trick.
Let me tell you a true story. Our former director of the Shanghai Sports Commission, Teacher Gu Liuxin, practised Yang-style for forty years and later Chen-style for another twenty years. In 1950, he went abroad to teach Ho Chi Minh. His theoretical knowledge was very profound.
One day, a young bloke came to him and asked, “Teacher Gu, do you know ling kong jin? I want to learn it.” Teacher Gu said, “I do. Come back in a couple of days, and I’ll teach you.” When the day came, Teacher Gu asked, “Do you really want to learn?” The young bloke said yes. Teacher Gu said, “This ling kong jin… if I push out with my palm and you don’t move, your heart and lungs might burst, and you could die on the spot. What should we do if you die? But if I push out and you retreat following my energy, you’ll receive my energy and be fine.”
Teacher Gu said, “You stand there. I’ll start the movement.” He just lightly raised his hand, hadn’t even pushed out, and the young bloke staggered backwards. Teacher Gu laughed and said, “You’ve already learned it.” This is actually just the effect of psychological suggestion.
So ling kong jin is absolutely fake; it’s all very dodgy stuff. I went to Singapore to teach martial arts in 1983. Before that, the tai chi there was all taught by people from Taiwan; there was no Chen-style. Those instructors would also bounce around during demonstrations, bouncing and bouncing until they fell over, as if electrocuted, falling before the fist even touched them.
At that time, two coaches went from China—I was teaching Chen-style, and there was another teaching Yang-style. After we arrived, they organised a pushing hands demonstration, just like that. The next day, a minister learning from us asked, “What did you think of yesterday’s performance?”
In 1983, China had just opened up and was in the process of excavating and systematising tai chi and traditional martial arts, searching nationwide for such martial arts masters (who could perform ling kong jin). None had been found, so when we saw such ‘masters’ in Singapore, we found it incredible.
I was young then, in my thirties. I said, “Minister, we haven’t seen such high-level masters in China yet. What we saw yesterday was indeed very good. I’m still young and would like to offer myself as a target, have them try it on me.” The Minister said, “Good idea,” and called to arrange it. But the other party said this kind of skill couldn’t be used against outsiders. That one sentence exposed the trick.
It’s the same with Yan Fang now—it only works on their own people, not outsiders. It’s obviously fake.
The fourth type is the tai chi we practise now. Now we talk about kung fu. What is tai chi kung fu? Everyone knows the legendary stories of the old tai chi masters. Some are true, but we haven’t seen them. But in Chenjiagou (Chen Village), everyone knows some legendary stories. My mum passed away last year at 90. In her time, when the Japanese came, she didn’t get to learn tai chi, but they could all tell many stories.
What is Tai Chi Kung Fu?
No one has heard of my cousin Chen Xiaowang’s father. If his father hadn’t shown his skill once, no one would have known how high his ability was. Everyone knows his grandfather, Chen Fake, was incredibly skilled in Beijing. If he placed his hand on your shoulder, you couldn’t move an inch.
After he went to Beijing in 1928, there was a wrestling king named Shen San who wanted to cross hands with Teacher Chen Fake. Later, he sent a formal invitation (equivalent to a challenge) to meet in a park. After meeting, Teacher Fake said, “I don’t know qigong, and I don’t know wrestling. I only know tai chi. Teacher Shen, if you want to exchange, I’ll use my tai chi, and you use your wrestling.” As a result, Shen San grabbed Teacher Chen. Teacher Chen placed his hand on Shen’s shoulder, and in less than a minute, they separated. Everyone parted very politely. Those present were very strange—how could it end without them seeing anything?
The next day, Teacher Shen San brought gifts to visit Teacher Chen. The students asked, “How come there was no outcome yesterday?” Shen San asked, “Didn’t Teacher Chen tell you?” The students said no. He said, “Teacher Chen is too skilled. When I grabbed his hand, not only could my hand not move, I couldn’t even lift my foot.” After Shen San left, some meddlesome students went to ask Teacher Chen Fake, “Why didn’t you throw him yesterday?” Teacher Chen got very angry and said, “Why should I throw him?” He then gave the students a proper lesson in martial virtue. (See Ji Peigang’s book 往事 of Tai Chi).
So tai chi is very profound; it’s not that it lacks technique. Chen Xiaowang’s father was named Chen Zhaoxu. Chen Zhaoxu’s skill was well-known in Chenjiagou, but outsiders didn’t know.
Once, just as he entered the door, a younger relative of the same generation suddenly grabbed him from behind, laughing and asking, “Ninth Uncle, if someone grabs you like this, what do you do?” Before he finished speaking, Chen Zhaoxu shook his back, and the person grabbing him flew head over heels from behind to land in front of his knees. Just that one move revealed Chen Zhaoxu’s remarkable skill. Skills like this have now become cultural heritage. So why is tai chi now considered cultural heritage that needs excavating? And how should we systematise and excavate it? How should we apply effort? This is a question.