Tai Chi was created 350 years ago by a retired warrior named Chen Wangting, in his family's village in Henan Province, China. He created Tai Chi as a martial art, and today, his descendants still practice it that way.
The Chen family is known around the world for their relaxed-looking martial art. What most people don't know is that this art, which is used by many elderly people for health and exercise, is a powerful self-defense system that can rip an attacker apart in the blink of an eye.
The flowery, relaxed movements of Tai Chi hide complex body mechanics that give you the ability to transmit powerful strikes in a short distance that hardly appears like you're making any effort.
Sifu Ken Gullette, a Tai Chi instructor in Illinois, who has students around the world who study online at http://www.internalfightingarts.com/, has a 3-DVD set that shows 400 self-defense techniques in one Chen style Tai Chi form. He has studied with members of the Chen family, including Chen Xiaowang, Chen Xiaoxing, and their students and disciples.
Here is a sample clip that shows the fighting applications for one move called "Single Whip."
"People think that Tai Chi is only about health and exercise," says Sifu Gullette. "That's because the training has been very poor for most Tai Chi instructors. Often, people learn one form and then go out and think they can teach the art. It ends up perpetuating very poor quality Tai Chi."
Sifu Gullette has spent thousands of dollars and traveled thousands of miles to study with top Chen Tai Chi masters. "I can cut years off the training time of a typical Tai Chi student," he says. "My philosophy is to pass along what I know so others can save time and money." That's why he created a 3-DVD set that shows 400 self-defense techniques hidden within the 75 movements of the "Laojia Yilu" form of Chen Tai Chi.
"Tai Chi isn't mystical," Gullette says. "It's physical. The secret is a unique type of body mechanics that allow you to remain relaxed but be very strong. It amazes people when they actually see someone who knows the art because so few people do."
Sifu Gullette is giving free bonuses away with his DVD set, including a free one-month membership to his online school, plus two audiobooks and a subscription to his monthly e-zine.
"I want people to experience this amazing art," he says. "Traditional Chinese masters keep secrets. They don't want everyone learning their techniques. Luckily, I've trained with them, and with some of their American students who asked questions and looked deeper than is normally allowed in China. Under their culture, students do what they're told. Americans like to probe deeper," he laughed. "We tend to want to know why we're doing a particular movement."
Sifu Gullette is 56 years old and began studying martial arts after being inspired by Bruce Lee movies in 1973, along with the Kung-Fu TV show that he watched religiously each week.
"I had no idea it would become a way of life," he says, "and that I would be doing this nearly 36 years later. But the deeper I get into Tai Chi and kung-fu, the deeper it gets."
Contact information -- Sifu Ken Gullette email: ken@internalfightingarts.com
