"White goose spreads the wings"
is a common posture in Chen Taijiquan, but sometimes it's a white crane.
"So is it a white goose or a white crane?" I asked my teacher.
"Chen Village is in a farming province. What do you think?" he replied. Okay, white goose it is.
Geese are unassuming. Simple creatures that also invoke flight and migration - a fitting description for this lineage. Traditional Chen Taijiquan traces back over 20 generations. Humble, elemental movements that made their way to the Bay Area via the "seasonal migration" of Chen family grandmasters to their far-flung disciples, such as my teacher Sifu Tony Wong.
I didn't plan for Chen Taiji to become my practice, let alone teach it. I started and just kept going. It happened naturally. Along the way, it helped me feel relaxed, grounded and focused. Just because it's slow, doesn't make it easy. And just because there's lots to remember, doesn't make it hard. Finish the form, then start again. Try something new, then breakthrough. I hope to introduce this accessible, healing art to whomever wants to discover what is possible through joy, curiosity and diligent practice.
