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Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang 18th Annual Taijiquan Seminar 2014
A personal report by Carole Royles
Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang held his 18th annual seminar over the weekend of 7-10 June.
Master Kam Lau once again played host to this much anticipated event at his tai chi chuan school in Liverpool. A warm welcome was extended to us by Kam and his students.
This was a wonderful opportunity for me to train with Grandmaster Chen once again.
For other students it was the first time they had trained with him.
It was an awesome experience.
On day one we practiced standing posture which I personally found quite challenging at first, however it is worth persevering with, the benefits are that
you gain strength by holding posture.
Grandmaster Chen came round and corrected some of us and put us in the
correct position. We started off practising for 15 minutes and worked up to what seemed like 30 minutes which was very challenging.
We then practised the Yin Yang Qi Qong, these are exercises that are
practised to strengthen the muscles and tendons through the circulation of chi,
by stretching and loosening joints and energising your body and mind increasing your integral strength.
As the weather was very wet on the Saturday we decided to have an impromptu picnic in the training room.
Stan our humble teacher carried a table over, we all sat round and devoured the sandwiches and home made cakes (our school specialty) that were on offer.
Everyone found it very enjoyable and had fun!
The second day we again practised standing posture along with many warm up exercises, once
preparation was complete we started the Chen Style Taijiquan 19 form. Master Chen was a most excellent teacher, we repeated the moves many times and the Grandmaster also performed his own personal demonstrations which we found invaluable.
 When we broke for lunch, the weather was much
kinder, the sun was beating down and we had a
lovely picnic outside.
We were able to celebrate the birthday of Jonny Boy
one of our fellow students, in glorious sunshine.
But oops the birthday boy managed to drop the cakes on the floor, but we pretended not to notice.
After lunch we resumed back with our study of the Chen 19 form.
After which we went on to work on the self defence applications of the Chen 19.
As a bit of a self defence novice, I felt like the new girl and I was hoping to blend into the background.
It was not to be.
The lovely lady I was paired with to practice, was to my surprise Jane an 80 year old tai chi instructor
a friend of Master Chen.
As we were unsure of one of the moves Jane suggested we should ask Master Chen to clarify the move.
He was delighted to show me the move to me,
I had to attack him with a pencil (a pretend knife)
he then grabbed my hand and twisted it and
I ended up on the floor.
This happened about 6 times in all.
It was a good job my friend Jacky had taught me
how to fall safely
I don't know who enjoyed it more, me or Master Chen,
he laughed loudly every time I landed on my backside, :-)
The last time I landed face down and we had a round of applause
So much for blending into the background!
I will be dining out on this story for many years to come!
Overall a very enjoyable experience was had by all.
We would all like to thank Master Chen Xiao Wang for his patience and expertise.
We would also like to thank Master Kam Lau and his students for making us feel very welcome.
And it goes without saying we are already looking forward to next year
2014 Photos - 2013 Google Photo Album
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