Just Follow the Rules!

Chen Xin

"Follow the rules in all respects, and a narrow beam of understanding will appear"          -   Chen Xin

Every discipline has its own rules that have to be mastered if you are going to progress to a higher level. In music you have to learn the scales, etc ... Why do so many people find this so hard to understand? You give a simple instruction - "lift your head up" and the response is "but what about my feet"? ..."in my Japanese martial arts class we do it like this and the teacher says its ok"... "but I feel more comfortable when I do it my way"... and on and on and on!


Chen Taijiquan has a clear and progresive syllabus that has been passed down and developed for more than 300 years. Everything in it is there for a reason. In his notes from the 1986 Taijiquan Theory  convention  in Chengdu, China Chen Xiaowang advised:  "Don't discard any aspect of it before you have full understanding!"

An early shot of Chen Xiaowang

He went on to say that "Chen Taijiquan's theory is the accumulation of many years and many generations of study and experimentation. What has been passed down is their "sweat and blood" in order for continuity in future generations. Sixteenth generation Chen Xin spent over a decade of hard work and toil to record the theory solely because he wanted Taijiquan to be transmitted to those who possess virtue and martial committment. Each generation of Chen family has produced excellent martial artists,this bears witness to the efficacy of this theory".

So all you have to do is to have confidence in your system (otherwise why are you doing it in the first place?) and follow the rules!