Grandmaster William C. C. Chen appeared on Arise Entertainment 360 to shed some light on t’ai chi ch’uan after Michelle Obama brought it to America’s attention. The first lady gamely tried to follow some schoolchildren as they demonstrated their gongfu, and the morning show wanted to know what exactly was going on. Chen commented, “Her form is better than mine. I can’t do t’ai chi in high heels.”
My 81 year old teacher then put on a clinic in his irrepressible style, astounding his hosts with his punches and humor, even punching one of them while holding a banana in his hand. He makes the distinction of t’ai chi as an exercise and t’ai chi ch’uan as a martial art.
Check out this video and others on YouTube. He is one of the most innovative thinkers in the t’ai chi world, and more important, a wonderful human being.
Grandmaster William C. C. Chen
