i know this is going to sound laughable, but are there "masters" in China that i could possibly train from in China to become an equal rank to them if i were to move there and train from that "master" or "masters"?
Its a known fact that the further away a "master" is, the better they are! I'm sure if you go to china, you will find a master ready to teach you anything you want to know in every town you visit......until your money runs out.
You don't neccesarily have to go to china to get good training in Chinese martial arts, although the trip is a good experience. If you have the money, and the time, and you're really determined to leave your country check out www.shaolins.com. Northern China shaolin Martial Arts academy. they teach Shaolin kung fu, Bagua, QiQong, and Tai Chi. i was there for a few months years back. Not really a place to go unless you've already gotten everything you can from your current teachers. But, I honestly believe that with hard work, and the right teacher you can get just as good, if not better, in your own country than any training you'll recieve in China.
A better bet would be head to Taiwan and look to train under Master Chen Yun San in the Old Yang Frame. Be prepared for lots of hard training though
Not sure where Chen Xiaowang teaches.. but if you want to learn some badass Chen style Taiji.. I'd study under him.
sorry for my ignorance, on the website you have kindly provided, what do they mean by "1st level degree", "2nd level degree" and so on? are they referring to "1st degree black", "2nd degree black"... etc., etc. ?
hi fighting monk - there's some info about this sort of thing in this thread. There's some truth in this, and unless you can get recommendations, or have the chinese and martial skills to assess teachers yourself, you tend to be stuck with teachers with a reputation, who tend to charge top dollar.
I don't think you'll be able to study much under Chen Xiaowang (except as part of a huge tour group or something) unless you have a LOT of filthy lucre to spend on it. He's become too famous and there are other less well-known people who are equally good if not better. Go to Taiwan and learn Hulei-jia Chen Taiji. It's scientifically proven to be the most awesome type of Taiji there is.
its call monkey see monkey do..of course we are all different in build and size..may the force be with you...
I was joking, because which Taiji style is best is obviously so subjective. It's just my personal favorite.
according to the chen village site, there are lots of more affordable chen teachers in the village itself and in zhengzhou. the style also seems pretty widespread in beijing. i don't know much about it, but i have chatted with liu wan kun who teaches it in beijing, and he's very friendly and has several english speaking students. there are also websites for some chen teachers in yangshuo, guangxi. it's a bit of a tourist trap, so i guess they cater largely to westerners, (quite possibly a good thing in some ways), and they're not *too* pricey south china taichi and long tou tai chi
