The National Academy of Martial Arts

PLEASE NOTE: NAMA is now 'Guan Yu International Academy of Martial Arts' nama.co.uk is no longer being maintained or updated, please click this link to be redirected to our new website with all our latest information and details about our martial arts acadmey for tai chi, bagua and kung fu at www.guanyu.co.uk - click here Traditional Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan

		Grandmaster Deng Ke Yu

	Grandmaster Deng Ke Yu demonstrating Yang Style Tai Chi in Shanghai

Master
Deng Er Qian

Bob Fermor with
Master Deng Er Qian

Bob Fermor has been training in the Martial Arts for 25 years. He has been studying Traditional Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan for 12 years under Master Deng Er Qian of Shanghai Mainland China. Who was taught by his father, Grandmaster Deng Ke Yu, who trained directly under Grandmaster Yang Cheung Fu.

Grandmaster Deng Ke Yu was a very good friend of Chen Man Ching. Chen Man Ching went on to produce his own style of Tai Chi Chuan but he was also noted for his renowned Pushing Hand ability.

Deng Ke Yu was also very good friends with Ma Lu Liang of the Wu Style family Tai Chi Chuan.

When Bob first trained under Master Deng Er Qian, he was amazed by his skills in fighting especially in Pushing Hands. It was very interesting to see an art practised at such a slow pace, that when used in a self-defence situation it could be such a devastating Martial Art.

There are many different variations of Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan practised in the world today, but I am afraid that a lot of the Yang Style that is practised, especially in England, just would not be recognised in Mainland China. The reason for this is, because of its popularity in the western world, it has been watered down to such an extent that the Martial Art side of it has become almost obsolete. People who practice Tai Chi today are doing it merely for health purposes, and often are not even aware that it is a Martial Art.

On Bob’s last visit to China, he visited the Chin Woo Athletic Association’s Head quarters in Shanghai. His Master’s daughter Deng Ting Fen accompanied him and his student David Watts to the Chin Woo Head Quarters, and after a long and lengthy meeting, Mr Chang (who is the chairman of the Chin Woo Athletic Association of Shanghai), asked Bob if he would demonstrate some of his Yang Style Tai Chi for them. Mr Chang and his colleagues were very impressed with his ability in Tai Chi and Pushing Hands, that they said Bob was very lucky to have a Master like Deng Er Qian.

During this meeting, they informed Bob that the Yang Style he practices is recognised by the

Chin Woo Athletic Association as Fu Zhong Wen’s lineage, and as Fu Zhong Wen was noted as one of Yang Chen Fu’s top student’s, they were pleased to see that the Yang Style practised by Bob was the same

Bob then received the rare honour of a personal invitation to go back to Shanghai for the opening of the newly built Head Quarters and to have further discussions on the development of rules & regulations of pushing hands competition within the Chin Woo Athletic Association in Shanghai.

Bob feels that every one who plays Tai Chi Chuan seriously should at some point in their lives travel to China and see it for themselves.

You will find that Tai Chi is practised early in the mornings at every park or any unused area. The Chinese Community are only too pleased for you to join in, as they find it unusual to see a westerner playing Tai Chi.

YANG STYLE TAI CHI CHUAN - Practised within the National Academy of Martial Arts. Even though Tai Chi can be very complicated and sometimes confusing especially when learning Tai Chi for the very first time, it is now when the instructor plays an important part in you’re training. Master Deng always said keep it simple. So let us look at yang style tai chi what does it comprise of:

1. The Yang Long Form: 85 forms.
2. The Yang Broad Sword.
3. The Yang Straight Sword.
4. Pushing Hands.

Out of these four pushing hands training is the most important, simply because with out it you’re Tai Chi form will only be a form of exercise, not the training of the true martial art. Pushing Hands is the link between the long form and the execution of a martial art technique in a real life and death situation, the long form is where you are practising the moves of the martial art technique with co-ordination of breath, where as Pushing Hands is where you learn to apply the technique in an exercise of working together with a partner, through this training method you will learn to feel and adhere to your partner learning to sense when your partner is going to initiate an attack, by feeling through your hands this is also known as sticking and listening energy.

INSTRUCTOR-COACH - When you first set out to find yourself a Tai Chi instructor you have to sit down and think what is it that you want to learn from Tai Chi is it just for health and breathing exercise or is it for the martial art where not only are you doing it for health and breathing exercise but you also learn what each movement is for in a martial art sense. My advice is choose wisely there are a lot of instructors out there, preferably keep to the instructors who have only trained under one master as opposed to many different masters the reason being that many masters equals many theories resulting in a confused instructor and also confused students. You must also remember a book acts only as a reference not a teacher. So Good luck.