Another Chen origin story - and this one seems plausile to me

[Xue Sheng]

Read an artical by Tony Yang last night and he said in it that Chen style Taijiquan comes form Taizu Changquan combined with breathing exercises and qigong. This does actually make sense because Taizzu Changquan was the style of the military at the time of Chen Wangting. This also is a possibly because Chen Wangting was a military officer at the end of the Ming Dynasty. But like most origin stories, at this point it is still just a story

Taizzu Changquan

The History of Chang Quan or Long Fist Kung Fu

Chang Quan or Long Fist Kung Fu was first developed during the 10th century by Zhao Kuangyin, commonly known as Emperor Taizu (927-976) of the Song Dynasty. Where did his names come from? Well, his family name was Zhao, given name was Kuangyin, and posthumous title was Taizu.

Zhao Kuangyin was born into a family of military tradition and began practicing the martial arts at an early age. He managed to develop 32 stances during his lifetime which served as the basis for Chang Quan or Long Fist Kung Fu movements. In fact, his style was often called Taizu Changquan, which means "the Long Fist style of Emperor Taizu."

By the latter half of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), classifications of fist fights and Chuan schools had emerged, which became even more detailed during the Qing Dynasty. In fact, General Qi Jiguang of the Ming Dynasty, and Wushu master Cheng Chongdou were both able to see and specify the difference between long-style Chuan and short range fighting.

Things changed following the defeat of Chiang Kai-Shek. The new People's Republic of China (communist) took a more active role in things, creating what we now know as modern or contemporary wushu. Wush is a sport, whereas Long Fist or Chang Quan was less so; thus, things were changed in wushu to make it more aesthetically pleasing. Application of techniques was left for sanshou, or a sparring/fighting type sport.

 

[Vajramusti]

Read an artical by Tony Yang last night and he said in it that Chen style Taijiquan comes form Taizu Changquan combined with breathing exercises and qigong. This does actually make sense because Taizzu Changquan was the style of the military at the time of Chen Wangting. This also is a possibly because Chen Wangting was a military officer at the end of the Ming Dynasty. But like most origin stories, at this point it is still just a story

Taizzu Changquan

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Of course it's well known that Chen Wanting knew several arts. But he combined what he knew creatively and in a very coordinated way to create taiji.
Chen taiji from Chen Wanting onwards was no longer Changuan