Chen Laojia Yilu

Quick Facts

About the kata

Laojia Yilu (老架一路) is the first form of the old frame of Chen-style taijiquan: laojia means old frame, yilu first routine. Per the English Wikipedia it is the basic form in Chenjiagou, always taught first, and its list there gives 74 postures. Teachers divide the form differently, though, so other lists have a few postures more or fewer. The Chinese Wikipedia writes of the first routine that softness dominates it and that coiling is the axis of the whole form. David Gaffney adds that the slower tempo lets one watch posture accuracy, balance in motion, and leg strength. Smooth passages are nonetheless broken by fajin releases. Jingang daodui, the Buddha's guardian pounding in a mortar, repeats four times and ends in a stamp; the form also contains a jumping kick, ti erqi, and the low postures die cha and que di long. Per both the English and Chinese Wikipedia, the form was arranged together with the second routine, cannon fist, by Chen Changxing, of the 14th generation of the Chen family, from routines the family attributes to Chen Wangting. Yang Luchan studied under him, and his teaching gave rise to the Yang style.

The kata in different styles

Creator and history

Chen Wangting, the family's ninth-generation leader, organised the village's older training into seven routines, per the English Wikipedia. Chen Xiaowang's instructional video (egreenway.com) names as laojia's forebears his fifth routine, the first cannon fist, and the first section of the 108-movement long fist; Wang Haijun speaks of a synthesis of five early routines. The Chinese Wikipedia gives Chen Changxing the years 1771–1853. Per the English Wikipedia, Chen style was not taught outside the village until 1928, when Chen Zhaopei moved to Beijing, then Beiping, followed by his uncle Chen Fake. Per the Chinese Wikipedia, the old frame as taught by Chen Fake is still passed down today by Taiwanese lines of his students, for instance Pan Yongzhou.

Differences between styles

The new frame, xinjia, grew out of laojia: per the Chinese Wikipedia it was composed by Chen Fake, and its shape was settled by his son Chen Zhaokui. The English Wikipedia counts 83 movements in xinjia's first routine and sees the main difference in small circles that show the wrist turning and the chest and waist folding. The number of postures in laojia also differs between teachers depending on how they divide the form: Wang Haijun gives lists of 72 to 76 postures, Ken Gullette and Master Gohring count 75. Jou Tsung Hwa, in The Tao of Tai-Chi Chuan (1980), lists 83 movements for the old frame.

Prerequisites

The second routine of laojia, cannon fist (paochui), comes only once the practitioner has mastered the first routine, per the English Wikipedia. The Chinese Wikipedia therefore calls the first routine the basic, training form and writes that only the relaxation gained in it lets the second routine's springy releases develop fully. Per David Gaffney, practising the form is also the foundation for the skills of push hands, tuishou. Wang Haijun states that the style's great masters reportedly practised it up to twenty times daily.

Related katas

• Followed by: Chen Laojia Erlu (Cannon Fist)
• Gave rise to: Chen Xinjia Yilu