Master Tse’s Taiji Fist 84

Chen Wang Ting 陳王廷 – Part 21

General Qi Ji Guang

The more Chen Wang Ting 陳王廷 read the Huang Ting Jing 黄庭經 the more enjoyed it and the more fascinated he became by it. He was a Kung Fu man and he began to think about how he could combine his Kung Fu with the breathing techniques and principles of relaxation from the Huang Ting Jing. If he could, then his Kung Fu would be good for fighting and for health. He carried on practising his Kung Fu with relaxation and after many years he created five forms, 108 Chang Quan (Long Fist) —百零八長拳 which was a long form with 108 movements and one Cannon Fist Pao Chiu 砲捶.

Chen Wang Ting was a man of the Ming Dynasty 明朝, his hero was the Ming Dynasty general, General Qi Ji Guang 戚繼光. Qi Ji Guang was renowned for his skill in warfare and famously defeated the Japanese pirate Wokou 倭寇. Qi Ji Guang created 32 movements of Kung Fu which Chen Wang Ting knew, and so he created a new form using 29 movements from Qi Ji Guang’s 32 Movements like Lazily tie the Cloth 懶紥衣，Golden Rooster Position 金雞勢，which is equivalent to Golden Rooster Stands on one leg 金雞獨立 and Pat the Horse position 探馬勢, which is equivalent to High Pat on Horse 高探馬. This means when we practise Chen Style Tajiquan today we are still practising General Qi Ji Guang’s Chang Quan (Long Fist) 戚繼光長拳.