Taijiquan masters offer online teaching

Chen Bing, one of the 12th-generation masters of the Chen-style taijiquan, has been practicing the martial art since he was 6 under the tutelage of his uncles, Chen Xiaowang and Chen Xiaoxing, two iconic figures of Chen-style taijiquan, in Chenjiagou, Wenxian county, Central China’s Henan province.

Since November, Chen Bing and another 100 masters from Wenxian have been giving livestream classes on social media platforms Douyin and Kuaishou, which have drawn in more than 400,000 viewers.

“Taijiquan events were not held as frequently as before over the past few years, due to the pandemic, but we can see public enthusiasm has grown considerably,” Chen Bing says.

Chen Bing holds nothing back to impart taijiquan routines during the online sessions. He has even developed simple versions office workers can use to relax at work.

“The feedback has been great, and we’ve found the social media offers an effective way to popularize taijiquan,” says Chen Bing.

“We’ll keep doing it and make a go of it.”