Peter Herman: William C.C. Chen

William Chi-Cheng Chen

Grandmaster William C. C. Chen was born in Chekiang, China. He started teaching Tai Chi Chuan at the beginning of the 1950s while training as a live-in student of the famous Great-Grandmaster Cheng Man-Ching who preferred to be called Professor Cheng. Besides being the youngest of Professor Cheng's senior student, he was also a favorite disciple. In the 1950s he was involved competitively in the various free-style, Chinese Wushu. In 1958, he won second place in the Taiwan National Olympic Competition.

Grandmaster William C. C. Chen is a senior disciple of the late, Great Grandmaster Cheng Man-Ching, has been a teacher since 1952.

Since 1967, he has been giving workshops on his concept of "Body Mechanics of Tai Chi Chuan".

Grandmaster William Chen has devoted his life to the study of body mechanics and the effects of Tai Chi Chuan for art of self-defense as well as on physical health, and to the application of the principles of Tai Chi Chuan. His approach is to make Tai Chi Chuan simple, easier, natural, enjoyable and productive.

Grandmaster Chen has been a teacher since 1952 in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hawaii and West Coast. In 1965, he established the William C. C. Chen Tai Chi Chuan in New York City's Chelsea area. He is invited to give special seminars on his Body Mechanics of Tai Chi Chuan on a regular basis in Asia, southeast Asia, Europe and throughout the United States.

On June 30th 1996, Grandmaster Chen was presented with the 1996 USA Wushu Kungfu Association's Lifetime Achievement Award. This honor was bestowed for his "dedication and perseverance in introducing and promoting the beauty of the Chinese Martial Arts."

For more information about Grandmaster Chen, you may visit his home page.