Chen Fake’s students’ forms

Chen Fake was Chen Xiaowang, Chen Xiaoxing and Chen Yu’s grandfather. He moved from Chenjiagou to Beijing in the 1928 and taught there until his death in 1957. He was well known for the quality of his taijiquan and had many students.

In the village, he is credited for having developed a new form — xinjia yilu (新架一路 xīn jià yīlù) — that emphasised small spirals and applications once he moved to Beijing. Others suggest that he learnt what is now called xinjia in the village but that it may have become lost there sometime in the early to mid 20th century. In any event, it is a wonderful form to learn and practise.

Several of his students came to him having already practised other martial arts. The following video shows some of his students’ body movements. It is ordered by their birth years as I could not find much information on when they studied with him.