Chen Style Tai Ji Quan
http://www.chinese.cn 10:44, August 29, 2009 Confucius Institute Onlione
The Chen family style is the oldest and parent form of the five main Tai Ji Quan(tai chi chuan) styles. It is third in terms of world-wide popularity compared to the other main taijiquan styles. Chen style is characterized by its lower stances, more explicit Silk reeling (chan si jin) and bursts of power (fa jin).
Today Tai Ji Quan(tai chi chuan) is typically practised for a number of widely varying reasons: health, external/internal martial art skills, aesthetics, meditation, athletic/competition sport (sometimes called "wushu tai chi"). Therefore a teacher's system, practise and choice of Tai Ji Quan(tai chi chuan) routines usually emphasises one of these characteristics. The five traditional family styles tend to retain the original martial applicability of Tai Ji(tai chi) teaching methods. Some argue that Chen style schools succeed in this to a greater degree.