Chen Style Tai Chi: The Powerful Origin of All Tai Chi

Chen Style is where it all began. As the oldest form of Tai Chi, it carries the martial roots and explosive energy that later styles softened and adapted. If you’ve ever wondered what Tai Chi looked like before it became the slow, graceful practice most people recognise today, Chen Style offers a fascinating window into the art’s original character.

The Origins of Chen Style

The story of Chen Style Tai Chi begins in Chen Village (Chenjiagou) in Henan Province, China, during the 17th century. The style is attributed to Chen Wangting, a retired military officer who synthesised his martial arts knowledge with principles from Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taoist philosophy, and the ancient theory of yin and yang.

Chen Wangting drew upon existing martial arts traditions, military combat experience, and the concept of internal energy cultivation to create something genuinely new. Rather than relying purely on external strength and speed, his system emphasised the coordination of mind, breath, and body to generate power from within.

For generations, Chen family members guarded their art closely, teaching it only within the village. This secrecy lasted until the 19th century, when Chen Changxing broke with tradition and accepted an outsider named Yang Luchan as a student. Yang would later develop his own approach, founding what became Yang Style – but that’s a story for another post.

What Makes Chen Style Distinctive

Chen Style stands apart from other Tai Chi forms through several defining characteristics.

Silk Reeling Energy (Chan Si Jin)

The signature quality of Chen Style is silk reeling – a spiralling, coiling movement pattern that runs through every technique. Imagine drawing silk thread from a cocoon: too much force and the thread snaps, too little and it won’t budge. This image captures the continuous, elastic quality that Chen practitioners cultivate throughout their bodies.

Silk reeling creates a connected, whole-body movement where power generated in the legs and waist spirals through the torso and out through the arms. Nothing moves in isolation. This spiralling quality also appears in other styles, but Chen Style makes it explicit and central to training from the very beginning.

Contrast Between Slow and Fast

Where Yang and Sun styles maintain a relatively even tempo throughout their forms, Chen Style features dramatic contrasts. Slow, meditative sequences suddenly punctuate into explosive releases of power called fajin. A practitioner might move with dreamlike softness for several movements, then discharge energy with startling speed and force.

This contrast reflects the martial origins of the art. In application, the slow movements represent listening, yielding, and redirecting – while the fast movements represent the moment of counterattack.

Lower Stances

Chen Style typically employs deeper, lower stances than other Tai Chi forms. This develops leg strength and root, but also makes it more physically demanding. The low postures combined with the spiralling movements create a distinctive aesthetic – coiled, powerful, and grounded.

Visible Martial Application

While all Tai Chi styles contain martial applications, Chen Style wears them more openly. Stamps, strikes, joint locks, and throws appear in recognisable form. Watching an experienced Chen practitioner, you can often see exactly how a movement would function in combat – something that takes more interpretation in the smoother, more concealed techniques of later styles.

The Two Main Chen Style Frames

Chen Style developed two primary training frames, each serving different purposes.

Laojia (Old Frame)

The older of the two, Laojia emphasises large, extended movements that develop proper body mechanics and silk reeling energy. It’s generally taught first, building the foundation that more advanced practice requires. The first routine (Yi Lu) focuses on softness and technique, while the second routine (Er Lu, also called Cannon Fist) emphasises explosive power and martial application.

Xinjia (New Frame)

Developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Xinjia adds more intricate spiralling and additional techniques. The movements tend to be more compact, with an emphasis on internal rotation and refined silk reeling. Some lineages teach Xinjia after Laojia as a progression; others treat them as parallel approaches.

Both frames are authentic Chen Style – the distinction reflects evolution within the tradition rather than a split between correct and incorrect methods.

Key Movements and Their Purpose

Several movements capture the essence of Chen Style training.

Buddha’s Warrior Attendant Pounds Mortar opens traditional Chen forms and encapsulates core principles: sinking the weight, coordinating upper and lower body, and releasing power through the stamp and downward strike.

Lazy About Tying Coat teaches the relationship between yielding and redirecting. The movement draws an incoming force across the body while simultaneously positioning for counterattack.

Six Sealing and Four Closing develops the push-pull relationship fundamental to Tai Chi applications. One hand seals (controls the opponent’s arm) while the other closes (delivers force).

Single Whip appears across all major Tai Chi styles but takes a distinctive form in Chen, with clear silk reeling action and often a more extended, stretched final posture.

Who Chen Style Suits

Chen Style tends to attract practitioners who appreciate its martial directness and physical challenge. It may suit you if you’re drawn to understanding Tai Chi’s combat origins, enjoy athletic training, or find the contrast between soft and explosive movement compelling.

The deeper stances and dynamic movements require reasonable baseline fitness, though any good teacher will offer modifications. Younger practitioners and those coming from other martial arts often find Chen Style’s intensity satisfying, but age is less important than attitude – patience and willingness to work through physical challenge matter more than starting fitness.

If you prefer a gentler introduction to Tai Chi, or if joint issues make low stances inadvisable, Yang or Sun Style might offer an easier entry point. You can always explore Chen Style later once you’ve built foundation and body awareness through softer approaches.

Training Considerations

Learning Chen Style well requires finding qualified instruction. The complexity of silk reeling and the precision required for safe fajin practice make self-teaching from videos problematic. Poor habits in Chen Style can strain joints and waste years of training time.

Expect to spend significant time on fundamentals. Standing meditation (Zhan Zhuang), silk reeling exercises, and basic stepping patterns typically precede form training. This foundation work might feel slow, but it builds the internal structure that makes advanced practice possible.

Regular practice matters more than long sessions. Twenty minutes daily will develop skill faster than occasional two-hour sessions. The body learns Tai Chi through repetition and patience, not cramming.

Chen Style at Tai Chi Globe

While I currently teach Yang and Sun styles at Tai Chi Globe, Chen Style holds a special place in my practice. I trained in the Chen Old Frame (Laojia) with Sifu Keith Fensom of Yangsheng School, an experience that deepened my appreciation for the art’s original character and the demanding foundation work that underpins all authentic Tai Chi practice.

Those of us in the UK are fortunate to have access to world-class Chen Style instruction through Grandmaster Wang Hai Jun, who resides near Manchester. Wang Hai Jun is a 12th generation lineage holder of Chen Style Taijiquan, having been traditionally trained in Chen Village from the age of nine under Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei – one of the renowned “Four Golden Tigers” of Chen family Tai Chi.

Wang Hai Jun’s credentials are extraordinary. He was China’s overall national champion in Chen Taiji for three consecutive years (1996–1998), winning gold medals in form, sword, and push hands before retiring from competition at just 26. His students have won more than 30 gold medals at Chinese national championships, testament to his exceptional skill as both practitioner and teacher. He now teaches throughout the UK, Europe, and internationally, bringing the authentic transmission of Chen Village to Western students.

I look forward to offering Chen Style instruction at Tai Chi Globe in future as our community grows. Understanding Chen Style enriches practice of any Tai Chi form – the principles of silk reeling, whole-body connection, and the interplay of soft and powerful illuminate aspects of Yang and Sun that might otherwise remain hidden.

Beginning Your Exploration

If Chen Style calls to you, start by watching skilled practitioners. Videos of masters like Chen Xiaowang, Chen Zhenglei, or Chen Bing offer a sense of what mature Chen Style looks like. Notice the quality of movement – how everything connects, how stillness and explosion coexist, how power seems to emerge from relaxation rather than tension.

When you’re ready for instruction, seek teachers with clear lineage connections to Chen Village or its recognised inheritors. Ask about their training background and teaching approach. Good Chen Style instruction prioritises foundation-building over form-collecting – be wary of teachers rushing students through material.

Chen Style offers a lifetime of discovery. Its depths reward patient, consistent practice with physical vitality, martial capability, and a profound sense of embodied harmony. For those willing to meet its demands, it remains one of the most complete systems of mind-body cultivation ever developed.