Walking the Fine Line Between Tradition and

Modernity: Chen-style Master Zhang Xiaowu

Posted on April 22, 2009 by yosaku
I have been looking for an article on Chen style taijiquan to include on my blog for a
while now. The extract translated below is an excerpt from an article (see original here
) that appeared in the Guangzhou Daily a couple of years back. The article is based on an
interview with one of Chen Zhengleis disciples, Zhang Xiaowu, who runs a taiji school
in Guangzhou (previously known as Canton). The inclusion of this article goes against
the theme of this blog, which is to introduce branches of the internal martial arts that are
less well-known in the West, but I thought Zhang had some interesting things to say.
Taijiquan trains for speed and power
If taijiquan is to be used for combat, the student doesnt need to learn the forms, the basis
and focus of the training should be laid on power training. This is trained via singleposture fajin and pole-shaking. This kind of training produces relaxed, explosive power,
allowing students to release whole body power in fighting, leading to the stage of
every part of the body is a fist, attacking with any part of the body. To be precise, the
taiji that people see in parks is merely the forms of various styles of taiji. Like a lot of
other martial arts, during its evolution taiji has become more and more form-centred,
which is one of the main distinctions between wushu and foreign martial arts. Due to the
gradual development of forms, wushu has become a kind of culture, this is an inevitable
step in its history.
Taijiquan has already become one of the most favoured keep-fit methods amongst the
elderly and middle-aged because its slow movements have great health benefits. As a
performance art, because taijiquans principles embody traditional chinese culture and
thinking and its form is aesthetically pleasing, it is the martial art most capable of
reflecting chinese culture. Both this old-mans taiji and performance taiji are only one
part of taiji, namely its form. In original taiji quan which emphasised fighting ability,
forms were least important. And yet, for various reasons, during taijis evolution forms
have gradually become the core of taiji, to the point where very few people know what
real taiji is about. The professional performers and the hobbyists all say they know taiji,
actually all they know is the taiji form. The main difference between them are in the
quality of performance and the difficulty of the movements. Taijiquan has become a form
of calisthenics; most of the taiji that we see should be called Taiji Cao [taiji exercises]
rather than Taiji Quan [Taiji fist].
Taiji Master Catches Criminals
Does real or complete taijiquan still exist then? Can we still see it today? The answer
is yes, but it is only to be found amongst those who have learnt the complete system and
were willing to put in the time and effort to train. These peope are not necessarily taiji

grandmasters, nor do the famous grandmasters of taiji necessarily have the skills. One
sure way of testing someones gongfu is to get him to do some pole-shaking. The length
and weight of the pole someone uses, as well as the number of times someone can shake
it, are one way of measuring someones gongfu.
Nowadays how many taiji enthusiasts practice pole-shaking? The Xiaowu Taijiquan
Fitness Centre, situated in Guangzhous Tianhe Sports Centre, certainly does. The boss
and head coach, Zhang Xiaowu, comes from Jiaozuo in Henan province and is a disciple
of Chen Zhenglei, the Chen style taiji grandmaster.

Zhang Xiaowu practicing pole shaking

He has been teaching taijiquan in Guangzhou for 16 years. 38 year old Mr Zhang can
certainly be considered to have gongfu he can shake a 4.2m long spear (which normally
has the tip removed in practice to make it a pole) weighing 10 kg more than 70 times
continuously. This may not sound like much, but the effect of leverage means that the
power required to thrust such a pole forward and retract it again is considerable
probably only a few people could shake it even 30 times. Martial artists always like to
compare strength; if someone asks to cross hands with Zhang Xiaowu, Zhang always
demonstrates pole-shaking with his 4.2m-long pole, and then invites his opponent to
shake a much lighter 3m-long pole. Through shaking the lighter pole the opponent can
gauge how heavy the long pole must be. When Zhang asks the opponent if theyd like to
try the longer one, they normally get scared and leave.

Zhang Xiaowu practicing taiji ball

Zhang Xiaowu, with his skills, doesnt like challenges, but often takes it upon himself to
do good deeds. Zhang has caught several robbers, petty thieves and hooligans in the area
around the Tianhe Sports Stadium, which has an unsavoury reputation. Sometimes even
when he encounters a criminal with a weapon, Zhang Xiaowu will still charge in and
seize the wrongdoer. On the evening of the 2nd of August, 2002, 4 assailants knocked
down a man and a woman in front of Tianhe Sports Centre in order to steal their money.
When Zhang Xiaowu heard the commotion he rushed out with a roar and knocked out
one of the robbers, and catching two others. Because Zhang frequently catches these
people, all the people at the various police stations in the area know M Zhang.
Dont Underestimate Taijis Power
Zhang Xiaowu told this reporter, if you really want to practice taiji, you not only have to
practice forms, you also have to train nei gong and explosive power. If you want to gain
explosive power, you should first hold stances [zhan zhuang]. Zhan Zhuang regulates the
nervous and endocrine systems so that the student does not panic in combat; at the same
time, the student should train shaking power [tan dou jin]. The main methods for training
this are pole-shaking and single posture fajin. Pole-shaking is a distinctive exercise
within taiji used to build the practitioners power. When starting to train pole-shaking,

novices should use a small pole 3m long and weighing roughly 2-2.5 kgs. Once the
novice is able to shake the pole 300 times on both sides, he can progress to the long pole
(weighing from 3-5 kgs). Once the student can shake the long pole 300 times on both
sides, he may then move on to fast shaking, with the aim being to shake the pole at a rate
of 120 times per minute. Once this standard is reached, the student moves on to train
issuing power from fists, elbows, legs and shoulders. Amongst these,the main focus is on
issuing with the fists the student must reach the point where they can punch 7-9 times a
second, with an impact force of 100-120 kg; if they are practicing 1-inch punches, then
the impact force should be around 60-80 kg. If a student trains diligently in the way
outlined above for 3-5 years, and assuming that they regulate their rest and diet, they will
come to experience first-hand the power of taiji and should basically be able to defend
themselves.
When our reporter asked about whether the student should also practice pushing hands,
Zhang Xiaowu replied, Pushing hands is just a training drill, the aim is for it to act as an
intermediary for progressing on to sanshou [free sparring]. The practice of pushing hands
doesnt actually help ones sanshou that much. A lot of people who are good at pushing
hands think that they have developed gongfu, when in truth they have only mastered a
skill under cooperative conditions, which isnt real gongfu. Taijis true essence is in its
sanshou, which has no set moves. Actually, sanshou trains speed, reactions and explosive
power. Once the student possesses these attributes they have the foundation for combat,
specific moves are actually secondary. If someone wishes to become an expert fighter,
they should devote more of their time to non-cooperative sparring.
Some people studied taijiquan with Zhang Xiaowu purely to learn real gongfu, they
only learnt fa jin, no forms, but barely any of them managed to see it through to the end.
Training for real gongfu is tough, hard work, whereas learning forms is relatively
comfortable. However, if you dont learn forms, outsiders think you dont know taiji. The
gradual trend towards emphasising forms is an inevitable consequence of our modern
society, where combat ability has very few uses. Zhang Xiaowu realises that taijiquans
market in a fast-paced modern society which leaves people stressed out and fatigued by
their jobs is in its ability to make people healthier. This is why Zhang stresses taijiquans
health-giving properties and not its fighting ability when he teaches.
Even so, this reporter hopes that more people will come to know the real or complete
taijiquan.