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Chen Village
In China it is known simply as
Taiji village. When you first arrive you are struck by how unremarkable
it is. Yet as the birthplace of Tai Chi Chuan and the Chen family, it
is very significant. As our journey unfolds in Chen Village where 2,500
of the 3,000 residents practice Tai Chi, you will realize how
remarkable it really is.
There are 3,000
residents in Chen village. 2,500 practice Tai chi chuan. In China it is
known simply as Taiji village. When you first arrive at Chen village,
you are struck by how unremarkable it is. Set in the remote countryside
of central Henan, it appears to offer little. Yet as the birthplace of
Tai Chi Chuan and the Chen family, it is a very significant location.
This is an intimate journey to discover how the present generations of
the family and its patriarch Chen Xiaowang, have rescued the Chen style
from obscurity and why today, hundreds of Tai chi students from all
over the world make the long pilgrimage to this small village in rural
China. As our journey unfolds, you will realize just how remarkable
Chen village and its people really are. Like most of rural China, Chen
village suffered badly during the cultural revolution and even today,
it is a poor village populated mostly by farm workers. The Chen family,
standard bearers of the Chen style for four hundred years, continue to
teach Tai Chi Chuan at the Tai chi school in the center of the village.
The Chen style was at an all time low until fairly recently and
although eighty percent of the village uphold its practice, outside
China, this original style was little known. Hear the stories unfold of
life living and training in the village from the foreign students and
although they are not expected to farm or work in the fields, they are
expected to live like a martial artist would in rural China … very hard
and tough!
Featuring Chen
Xioawang, Chen Xiaoxing, Chen Bing, Chen Ziqiang and many more. Runtime
is 80 minutes with 15 minutes of feature bonus footage of the Chen
masters. Directed by Jon Braeley and assisted by Betty Yuan. Soundtrack
by Vi An and other artists.
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"I was humored by this line. When you
first arrive in Chen Village, you are struck by how unremarkable it is.
This is followed by some of the most remarkable footage you are likely
to see."
"For those interested in Tai Chi,
Martial Arts, Meditation or indeed just an awe inspiring and sweeping
insight into the countries and philosophies you cannot past go these
DVDs. They encompass the very essence of these arts and will have you
observing what is simply to the best. All DVDs are beautifully filmed,
professionally shot and riveting viewing not once but time and time
again."
ATMS News, Winter 2011, Reviewed by
Bill Pearson
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