Tai Chi Master Lee Chang-Jen of Tainan
Tai Chi is practiced today primarily for health, personal development, competition and recreation. Its martial applications are still taught in some schools, but finding teachers who seriously practice the fighting side of the art is considerably more difficult.
One such teacher I had the opportunity to train with in Tainan was Mr. Lee Jin-Lin (李金霖), also known as Chang-Jen (章仁).
I had the honor of practicing at his school for approximately one year.
Master Lee teaches a traditional approach to Chen-style Tai Chi that places considerable emphasis on martial application. What interested me particularly was that the training was not limited to practicing forms. Students also worked directly with partners and explored how the movements function against resistance.
My Experience Training With Master Lee
Master Lee is a quiet and polite person. He does not talk unnecessarily, but when he explains something, his explanations tend to be concise and valuable.
Because I already had experience in other martial arts when I joined his school, I naturally evaluated what I encountered through the perspective of a martial artist.
One of the most memorable experiences was touching hands with Master Lee.
When I practiced with some of his long-term students, I could sometimes successfully apply what I was trying to do despite being a beginner in Tai Chi. My previous martial arts experience obviously helped.
With Master Lee, the experience was completely different.
I could not move him.
Whatever differences may exist between styles, that kind of direct physical experience is difficult to misunderstand. His ability to control structure, balance and pressure was far beyond mine.
This is, of course, a practitioner's observation rather than a scientific measurement of martial ability. But direct contact with another practitioner can reveal things that are very difficult to understand simply by watching forms or demonstrations.
Tai Chi Was Not as Easy as I Expected
There is also a slightly embarrassing part of this story.
One reason I originally became interested in Tai Chi was that I wanted to learn something softer and more relaxed.
I thought it might be something relatively easy that I could continue practicing as I became older.
I was wrong.
Training at Master Lee's school proved to be harder than I expected—and in some respects harder than martial arts I had practiced previously.
The movements could look soft from the outside, but maintaining correct structure, relaxation, coordination and control while working with another person was physically and technically demanding.
This experience significantly changed my understanding of what “soft” means in Chinese martial arts.
Soft does not necessarily mean easy.
The Fighting Side of Tai Chi
Another surprise was the amount of practical fighting material contained in the training.
Many applications involved controlling balance, disrupting structure, throwing and manipulating the opponent's body.
Because of this, some techniques reminded me of Japanese Judo, although the underlying body mechanics and training methods were not always the same.
Some applications also made it clear that the graceful appearance of Tai Chi forms can be misleading. Movements that look gentle when performed alone may represent considerably more aggressive actions when applied to another person.
That experience reinforced something I have encountered repeatedly in traditional Chinese martial arts:
A form and the fighting method represented by that form can look very different.
Without partner training, much of this information is difficult to understand.
Master Lee's Teaching Background
Master Lee graduated from Chinese Culture University (中國文化大學) in Taipei.
During his university years, he was selected to represent Taiwan in the United States in 1988. He was also involved in teaching students participating in programs for overseas Chinese youth visiting Taiwan.
He later taught Tai Chi through several university clubs in Taiwan.
These biographical details were part of the information available to me through the school and my contact with Master Lee. I include them here as part of this personal record rather than as an independently reconstructed biography.
The School
Technical skill was not the only thing that impressed me.
The atmosphere of the school was excellent.
People were polite, open and willing to help. More experienced students explained things rather than trying to demonstrate superiority over beginners.
Training could be physically difficult, but the atmosphere remained relaxed and friendly.
That combination is not always easy to find.
Unfortunately, a change in my work schedule eventually forced me to stop attending regular classes.
I continued practicing the forms I had learned, and I have always remembered my time there positively.
My year training with Master Lee also corrected one of my own misconceptions.
I went looking for Tai Chi because I thought I had found a softer and easier martial art that I could practice as I grew older.
Instead, I found a demanding martial system, serious partner training, and a teacher whose skill I could experience directly.
Sometimes the best thing that can happen when exploring another martial art is discovering that your assumptions about it were wrong.