Here are links that I have found to supply information on Chen Zhenglei, and give access to books and videos made by him. He is absolutely solid yet agile with an ease of movement that is wonderful to watch. He teaches attentively with little ego, and enjoys playing and teaching taiji. He is a gentle man with a charm that sneaks up on you. He is passionate about Chen style taijiquan with an infectious enthusiasm.
I don't do his style, I have a responsibility to my sifu to continue with what I do (but my style is not accessible to many), so at the moment I am just a fan who has given her top student to him. I am helping to make him better known outside China, where he has been named one of the top ten traditional masters in the country. He has an established tour in the US, and has set up a few places in Canada that will become regular visits.
I sell his DVDs to help spread his style. These are top quality performance, and teaching materials - explaining the moves, giving pointers on tricky bits, showing applications, and showing in slow motion (not camera slow motion, but doing it slowly!) - clear, without a lot of extra explanation of 'how' but with enough repetition for you to see for yourself. The core series is the old frame first form, old frame second form, sword, push hands, health exercises and forms performance. The new frame first form was filmed on a stage. The extra series I call the golf course series, and contains the new frame second form, broadsword, double broadsword, double sword, long pole, spring and autumn cutter, spear, and more forms performance. They did all of them on the same day because they had to pay for the golf course hole they were on. Professor Chen looks drained, dehydrated, has to squint into the sun, and then the wind picks up. The broadsword, spear, long pole, and cutter are cool forms, and the new frame hand forms are well done, though not as well as he usually does them. Chen Zhenglei at half-power is still way better than most performers, though. The quality, again, is excellent. * Straight from the horse's mouth, all the masters's videos were filmed this way - they were taken outside and filmed through ALL their forms in one day. What a way to treat a master, eh?
I have all the DVDs, go here to get more details or to purchase.They have an English translation - the core series has dubbed English or subtitled, and the golf course series has subtitled only. You don't want to listen to the dubbed English anyway, it is distracting. Set the DVDs on Mandarin speaking with English subtitles. Then you hear professor Chen's voice and the thumping, which is part of the ambiance (his calmness helps settle you down), and the subtitles are very easy to read and are, on the whole, reasonable translations. The introductory bits are a bit beyond the translator. The DVD cases say NTSC ALL, which means they are made for all zones.
Books available in English
"Chen style Taijiquan (old frame first form) Sword and Broadsword", 368 pages, 2003. ISBN 7-5348-2321-8.
Excellent translation of theory, history, basics, the first form (including movements, requirements, internal energy, self-defense applications) by Zhang Xinhu and Greg Bissell. This is one of the best translations I have ever seen in Chinese martial arts, quite outstanding. Chinese terms in pinyin often given along with the translation (though not with tone markers).
Idiosyncratic translation of sabre and sword forms by Xu Hailiang, very disappointing considering the excellence of the rest of the book (things like "It is a defend skill sword with step backward, can win in the lose game").
Excellent, high quality photographs throughout. Very good book to go along with the instructional DVDs, giving much more detail. If you see a copy of the first form done with cerlox binding, it is a bootleg. Please get the proper book published in China and authorised by Chen Zhenglei.
The Chen-Style Taijiquan for Life Enhancement" book in Chinese and English. Written by Chen Zhenglei, readable though idiosyncratic translation by Xu Hailiang, 157 pages, 2002. ISBN 7-5348-2181-9/G.449. Published in Zhengzhou, China by Zhongzhou Classic Publishing House. It covers the content of the health exercise/ silk reeling video, and is a useful reference, giving more detail, especially on theory. It's a good idea to get this book together with the #5 DVD. I have a few still in stock.
Seminar information
The seminars are organized by C.P. Ong, who is highly skilled in Chen taiji, an excellent translator, and a super nice guy. Please email to verify the date and content of the seminar in your area. These are places where he usually goes during a North American tour. I try to find out where he will be. If you are aware of a seminar that I don't have listed, please email me.
Chicago, IL. Contact: Helen Song 773-727-5589. Email
Boston MA. Contact: Herb Rich 978-922-0108. Email
Albany, NY. Contact: Troy Ternullo 518-436-4402. Email
Toronto (Richond Hill) ON. Contact: Jack Yan Email
CLF Canada. See their website. Contact: Paul Tam (604) 779-7729.
Seattle, WA. Contact: Hong Yijiao 206-749-9513. Email
Eugene, OR. Contact: David Leung 541-579-3612.
New York, NY
Kansas City. Contact: Gary Huff 816-737-0529. Email
Mobile, AL. Contact: Shawn Liu 251-343-6023. Email
San Antonio, TX. Contact: Salvador Dela Rosa 210-722-8217 Email
Washington, D.C. Contat: C.P.Ong 301-299-8116. Email
San Diego, CA. Contact: Jesse Tsao 858-793-8939. Email
San Francisco, CA. Contact: Li Sudong and Jeff Palm Email or email
Los Angeles, CA. Contact: Guo Qicheng 626-297-8730 Email.
Comments from buyers of the DVDs
"This has to be the most complete video package that I have seen on Chen Tai Chi... Old Routine, New Routine, weapons... it is all there... and Chen Zhenglei is a very accomplished martial artist who performs these routines flawlessly. This is a must for any Taiji enthusiast. You sure have a knack for picking outstanding video packages." William Johnson
"I just started watching the Push-Hand DVD and am amazed at the amount and depth of knowledge contained within... There's "YEARS" of training in each DVD. Just blown away." "This series of DVD'S allows us an unique glimpse at a very high level of Chen training. Any serious Chen style practitioner should have the entire set in their collection." "Watched the rest of the Health Preserving Qi Gong, and am still blown away. It's a Record for all time of authentic Chen style tai chi chuan training. I've spent years trying to find material of this calibre. I think the availability of the material HAS to raise the level of tai chi chuan everywhere." Don