Notes for Go Around the Centre Online Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/12/go-around-the-centre-online-video-trailer/

Notes:

1. Do you change Master Chen Zhonghua's words. Try to understand his words.
2. The principle is don't move the dot, go around it.
3. Do not show your most important thing until the last minute.
4. The Taiji Method: Never attack people, never fight.
5. A tiger's power and a sheep's power are useless when falling into a cliff.

最

在身体的部位的训练上，胯是最难的。 
在动作要求上，不动是最难的。
在原则上，分阴阳是最重要的。
在用力上，间接力是最首要的。 

Ling Zili's Notes

14年12年9日大青山听课笔记:
1  分阴阳是大原则  
不动和间接力是核心概念    对拉也是分阴阳的  
间接力可以多重  
功夫的高低在于有几重间接力
2  公转和自转配合好，就分了阴阳，就是有了掤劲  练到最后就是协调
3  最难的不动是中点不动，两边反方向对拉
4  不搭界  用了三脚架的伸缩管做了不搭界的比喻  更形象的展示了间接力 力从腰出来，反复练，在接触的点上不使劲  推手时要注意进，快速进入对方的空里

2014年12月10号下午大青山训练笔记:
1  整个身体的不动，脚移动多少头就移动多少，等于头没有动过，就像汽车，从上到下不动，只是轮子动。中正在拳里很关键
2 满进去不是发力，是让对方无处可去，其外无大，其小无内。
3 力不要有碰撞，像水一样顺进去
4 转了方向，不变位置。 手只管瞄准，腰胯发力，手不要晃悠
受教了，用笔，记在本子上了。

Daqingshan Training Schedule

大青山新训练时刻表
早上5:50点名，练习内容:十趟一路。
晚上:7:00点名，
7:00-8:00  十趟一路。
8:00-8:30  大杆，橡皮筋，单杠。
8:30-9:00  推手。
9:00-9:30  推手单式、两人配合练习动作。

Daqingshan Training Schedule
5:50 am, Mark Attendance, 10 yilus
7:00 pm, Mark Attenance,
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm: 10 yilus
8:00 pm - 8:30 pm: Pole Shaking, Rubber Band, Single Bar
8:30 pm - 9:00 pm: Push Hands
9:00 pm - 9:30 pm: Push Hands 2-Person Drill

Master Chen Zhonghua's Quote

社交，需要包容。
练拳，须知对错。

Notes for "What is to get it" Online Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/10/what-is-to-get-it-online-video-purchase/

Notes:

1. Gravity is the natural energy, which means we should strive to confirm our actions to that.  We normally move horizontally which is not conforming, so we get tired.
2. We are naturally afraid of falling, but animals are not.
3. We didn't come from earth. We want to go back up to heaven.
4. We normally use energy that comes from food. We don't tap into our natural energy.
5. People who meditate eat very little, and don't eat meat. They want to train that natural energy.
6. Babies hear everything in the womb, but after they are born, they make connections to those sounds. When the connections are made incorrectly, they have trouble when they grow up (mentally). We can live with most of these connections made correctly, and can tolerate not being 100% correct.
7. You have to trust your teacher. There is a risk, which is what if the teacher doesn't know. Well, since you don't know, you can't really tell if one knows or not. My thought: If you know what you are looking for, you really know already, then you don't need to learn from the teacher.

Practical Method Toronto Pushing Hands Training

Cannon Fist Complete

I started learning cannon fist through the detailed cannon fist instructional video about a year ago, and had been working on it on and off. I probably had watched the moves in the first half of the routine multiple times as I had not been constantly practiced what I learned. Every time I tried to pick it up again, I would watch the video from the beginning again. So I never seemed to be able to finish it. Today, I finally finished learning the cannon fist choreography and completed 9 times of the routine.

Notes for Bypass Strong Point Online Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/09/bypass-strong-point-online-video-trailer/

I have heard phrases like "go around it", "3-way split", "trust the system" multiple times in Master Chen Zhonghua's workshops and videos before, but I am enlightened by this particular video. It is such a gem. No one should miss this.

Notes:

1. 2:10 - We can understand how a lever works, but to make it work in the body is highly difficult. I have trouble recognizing the lever, needless to say to use it.
2. 2:30 to 3:35 - Find the strongest point, go around it.
3. 5:45 - Master Chen Zhonghua talked about that we had to reverse our thinking. He emphasized this over and over in his teachings. The participant was saying that Master Chen controlled the powering point, in contrary, Master Chen moved everything else but the powering point, and that caused the participant to forget about the powering point. Master Chen used the powering point and did not control it. The result might seem to the participant that it was controlled.
4. 6:55 to 8:00 - We don't look for the point, we triangulate. I look up what triangulation means, it means if we have one side and two angles for both ends of the line, we can locate the third point of a triangle. Master Chen said he didn't need to look for the (third) point, he just needed to perform the demonstrated action, one point went here, the other point went the opposition direction, the third point had to be there. The fact that people looked for the point, it was the reason taiji was lost. The opponent would not be standing still to let us find the point, something must be done by us to cause the point to appear.
   
   With the A-B-C triangle in this diagram, A and C are the two points that are being moved in opposite directions along the A-C line, B is located through triangulation because it is connected to both A and C physically. In Master Chen's demo at 6:55, the participant's right hand was point C while the participant's right foot was point A, and point B (the dot) was created somewhere at the participant's waist, and it would come to the A-C line.
5. 10:15 - We need to trust the system. The form and foundations are the methods. We need to build confidence in the system, such as that we will keep using it and make our actions better and better.
6. 11:24 - Master Chen drew the above diagram in the air explaining 3-way split.
7. 11:49 - Each part can only do its designed job. It cannot go into another place. A, B, and C each has its own job.

Notes for Two Lines and Stretch Online Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/08/two-lines-and-stretch-online-video-trailer/

Notes:

1. Develop two different channels/paths for the incoming and outgoing energies. That is separation of yin and yang, which must happen at the same time. It is not yin and yang when you have one path coming in and then one path going out. Two paths must exist at the same time.
2. The two paths are developed by stretching outside of the arm at a time while keep the inside of the arm fixed, and vice versa.
3. For a stretch to happen, there must be a fixed point. We first practice by keeping one point fixed, and another point moving. The non-moving and moving parts are yin and yang. We must eventually be able to stretch with any part of the body at any time. At higher level, two points can go in opposite direction on the same line. When you can stretch while your opponent is moving, it is said that you know how to fight.
4. We don't necessarily need to train every part. Once we truly know how to do it with one part, we will know how to do it for any other part.
5. Grandmaster Chen Fake used to put his hands inside his sleeves and continuously practice the stretch of the fingers from the elbow. Master Chen Zhonghua demonstrated that when he stretched his fingers, his hand would come out of the sleeves by a little bit.

Notes for Yin Yang Separation Oakland Online Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/08/yin-yang-separation-oakland-online-video-trailer/

Notes:

1. Yin and Yang must exist at the time. Their existence came from separation.

Notes for Singapore 12-6 Online Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2012/12/singapore-12-6-online-video-trailer/

Notes:

1. How to the find the dot?
• The dot is the opponent's centre, the point that the opponent's doesn't want to move. Since he doesn't want to move, it can be used as the centre of the rotation that you want to do.
2. Direction of Power
• Once you know the direction of the push of your opponent, align yourself such that the push through you goes to the ground. You can adjust your front side or your back side. If the opponent's power is less than yours, you can adjust the front side (e.g. your front hand), if the opponent's power is greater than yours, you adjust the back side (e.g. your back leg). You don't move the front hand when the opponent's power is greater than yours because you need to keep the peng. Putting the opponent's direction of his power on the line connected to the ground, is to bring his power to the ground.
3. Level of power and distance
• We need to establish 5 points on the opponents. It is like establishing a perimeter for the opponent, so he can't get away. We start with 2, then 3, and so on.
• 力要发出，劲要合住。
• All the points can't merge to the same point on the opponent. Each must has its own direction.
• With 1 point having lots of power, it is very difficult to control. With 5 points, each has less power, and it is easier to control. We need to practice between 1 and 5 points, and eventually we can use them. (I don't understand this at this point, and I am just writing it down).
• If the opponent only has 1 point on you, you move around it easily (NOTE: don't move the point itself).
• To issue, bring all points back to the line (to one point).
4. Switching of Power
• At first, we need to big actions (exaggerate our actions) to achieve the goal. In this case, it is to get under the opponent. Later, you can get under without physically going lower. You need to learn to control your body to achieve. The demonstration was that the student was bending quite low and Master Chen Zhonghua was standing taller than the first student, and his hands was top of the student, and yet he made the student feel that he was under the student. The next student pushed his belly, then his thigh, and finally his ankle, and yet he was always under the student.
• Joke: 鹰抓趾功, A real eagle's claws are on its feet, Master Chen Zhonghua's are on the feet too while other people's Eagle Claw is with the hands. This joke came from the above point about how he was able to get under the opponent, like always holding on the ground.
• Six sealing four closing: Master Chen Zhonghua demonstrated how he used his hands to hold/catch the opponent to cause him to tense up, and at that moment he turned his waist, and the arm would be broken. An arm couldn't fight the power from the waist.

Notes for Segmented Moves Online Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/07/segmented-moves-online-video-trailer/

Notes:

1. Segmented moves avoid double heavy. Why? When we only move one part at a time, there is something else not moving. The two parts are not moving at the same time, and therefore, it is separated. Separation means no double heavy. It can be "moving hand and not moving waist", or "moving waist and not moving hand". By "moving", I mean to move from Point A to Point B.
2. That's why we perform our yilu in a robot fashion, in order to train the ability to move any of our body parts at will without affecting another part that shouldn't be affected in an involuntary way.

Practical Method Practice on July 20, 2014

The Sunday Practical Method Practice included Ernie Aleong, Bing Sum Lau, Dominic Lo, Linda Lui, Aeda Ho, Steve Man, and myself today.  With Ernie and Bing Sum pushing us, we finished foundations and 10 yilus without a break in 1.5 hours. We also invited someone who was watching and imitating on the side to join us. He ended up doing the foundations and following 3 yilus with us.

Photos on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152312042260369.1073741909.606930368&type=1&l=faa1e001c7

Later, we focused on Step Back to Double Shake Feet today, and we broke it down to 9 steps as seen in this video:

Here are some points to remember:

1. Right hand does positive circle, while left hand does negative circle as one steps backwards.
2. Don't let the right elbow come out first, and the right hand leads the stretch.
3. The left hand stretches to the back, and the left elbow pulls the hand over the left shoulder to bring it to the front.
4. Just before the jump, convert the horizontal force to vertical force. Line up the left kua on top of the left heel, like you are sitting on it. The left kua, left knee, and left heel form a triangle. There is an invisible line between the left kua and left heel, and it is the rod/stick.

We also covered the triangle, double lock and single lock. Ketong Lin wrote an excellent article on this topic: http://dqstaiji.cn/archives/11907.

Double lock means truly not moving the point in the 3D space. The solid line means that the two points are physically connected, while the dotted line represents that two points are not physical connected (there is as if an invisible line connecting them).

Figure 1

By creating a double lock at point A and C, and forcing point B towards the invisible link, we turn an "A" into an "Arch". Points A,B,C can present different parts of the body, e.g. Shoulder-Elbow-Hand, Foot-Shoulder-Hand. Right Foot-Dang-Left-Foot. For the Right Foot-Dang-Left-Foot case, this is how we make a dang rounded as supposed to be pointy.

Figure 2

Single Lock means the point is allowed to move along a specific direction, like running on a train track. By turning point C from double lock to single lock, and point B towards the invisible link, point C will shoot out allong the A-C line. Let's use A-B-C for shoulder-elbow-hand as an example, the hand is squeezed out while the shoulder does not move.

Figure 3

Consider the following mapping:

A - Right Foot

B - Right Knee

C - Right Kua

D - Right Shoulder

E - Left Shoulder

F - Left Elbow

G - Left Hand

In order for the shoulder not to move, it needs support from other triangles, so the left hand can find a connection to the ground for the true support. Each invisible line is a rod/stick that we need to realize in our bodies. Instead of using the E-F-G triangle, we can use the C-E-G triangle instead. Essentially, with this concept, we can create a triangle with any points having 2 solid sides, and 1 invisible side.

Figure 4

Earlier we talked about turning an "A" into an "Arch". Figure 4 shows the S-Curve (Taiji Symbol). It also shows that our internal actions (color arrows) are different from what the opponent will perceive (black arrows). Often in reality, we are affected by our opponent's actions, and we lose these internal actions as soon as contact with the opponent is made. We need to train enough such that we can maintain these actions regardless of what happens externally.

Open Kua Video in Chinese

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNzQxMjI5NTI0.html

Notes:

1. 当你真正的懂的时候，你可以用不同的方法说同样的东西，也即是做到万变不离其中。When you really understand it, you can express the same thing in many different ways.
2. To open kua, you can need to fix your knee, like in fetch water.  Is that the only way to open kua? No, but it is an important way.

Sunday Group Practice

Practical Method Toronto Sunday Group practices at Oriental Centre from 8:00 am to 10:30 am. Today, we focused on not moving the knee.

1. 1-2-3 stepping exercise: push out with left heel (body weight stay on right leg), shift your body forward until the left knee is on top of the left heel, pull the right foot forward closer to the left foot without moving the left knee at all. Repeat with right foot forward, and continue to alternate between left and right feet.
2. Hold onto a bar with the left knee on top of the left heel. Without changing the shape of the arm or moving your left knee forward, pull up the right foot with the ball of the right foot touching the ground all the time. Repeat with right foot forward.
3. Practice yilu with focus on which knee shouldn't be moving in each step of each move.

Why do we need to practice this?
In push hands, we often need to adjust our leg positions, or get closer to your opponent without him detecting our movement. We want to pull ourselves up, and not push ourselves up.

100-yilu-in-a-single-day challenge

After hearing Chen Xu and Ling Zili finished 170 yilus in a single day on June 29, 2014, I was inspired to challenge myself to do 50 yilus in a day myself the next day. I completed the challenged with 52 yilus. This is my personal best at this time.

I lost 2 pounds after the challenge, and my kua was aching, The muscles behind my right leg were quite tight, but I had always had tighter muscles there compared to the left leg. Of course, I felt tired, but actually not too bad. My time:
07:50 - 8:45: 7 yilus (55 mins) - 7 mins 51 secs per yilu
Breakfast
10:10 - 12:46: 18 yilus (2 hours 36 mins) - 8 mins 40 secs per yilu
Lunch
13:37 - 15:48: 15 yilus (2 hours 11 mins) - 8 mins 44 secs per yilu
Break
16:15 - 17:45: 10 yilus (1 hour 30 mins) - 9 mins per yilu
Dinner
19:30 - 19:45: 2 yilus (15 mins) - 7 mins 30 mins per yilu

Chen Xu and Ling Zili's time:
06:30 - 11:50 80 yilus (5 hours 20 mins) - 4 mins per yilu
Lunch
12:30 - 18:30: 70 yilus (6 hours) - 5 mins 9 secs per yilu
Dinner
19:50 - 21:30: 20 yilus (1 hours 40 mins) - 5 mins per yilu
These are very, very fast yilus.

In the Chinese QQ group, Master Chen Zhonghua gave some history about the 100-yilu-in-a-single-day challenge in Practical Method:
When Master Chen Zhonghua went back to China in 1991 to visit Grandmaster Hong Junsheng, one day, he and his senior taiji brother Yi Wei (以为) discussed with Grandmaster Hong Junsheng about how many times of yilus should be practiced. Grandmaster Hong Junsheng asked Master Chen Zhonghua how many he practiced, Master Chen Zhonghua replied with 7 yilus. Grandmaster Hong Junsheng said 7 was too few. The senior taiji brother asked Grandmaster Hong Junsheng how many he was practicing before. Grandmaster Hong Junsheng said not fewer than 20 when he was still a student, and it was also the same with Grandmaster Chen Fake. When the senior taiji brother asked how many one should practice per day, Grandmaster Hong Junsheng didn't answer directly, and but said the key was perseverance. He then said that he heard Grandmaster Chen Fake used to practice 100 yilus a day, and asked if that was real. Grandmaster Hong Junsheng again didn't answer directly, but asked the senior taiji brother and Master Chen Zhonghua why they didn't give it a try. Not sure if the senior taiji brother even tried it, Master Chen Zhonghua didn't try it until 10 years later in 2001, which was the year when Master Chen Zhonghua resigned from his day job, and started teaching taiji professionally. Since then, he started asking his full time students in the last month of a 3-month training program to challenge themselves to do 100 yilus in a single day. From 2001 to 2005, he took the challenge with his students every time. Note that Practical Method did not require students to do a certain number of yilus per day. When the students passed the mark of 100 yilus in a day, there was a lot of negative comments about it. Others assumed it was about asking students to do 100 yilus every day, and would simply say that it would be bad for the students. The following are the people who have made it so far:
Carl Lindberg - 103 yilus
John Dahms: 103 yilus
Todd Elihu:104 yilus
Dave Dahms: 114 yilus
Steve Chan - 124 yilus (and he has gone over 100 multiple times)
Brennan Toh - 150 yilus
Chen Xu - 170 yilus
Ling Zili - 170 yilus

How to handle the teacher's teaching?

十年之内，对老师的东西要坚信不疑，一字不能差。
十年之后，要对老师的东西全部重新确认。一字不漏。

For the first 10 years, believe everything the teacher says without any doubt, with no changes to any word.
Beyond the first 10 years, verify everything the teacher says without missing any word.

20 yilus a day for 20 years

Master Chen Zhonghua says if you want the real gongfu, you will need to give up something. To have real change, you will need to find someone who you can't defeat no matter what you do today. 20 yilus a day for 20 years are also needed to get real taiji.

If you don't understand something, write it down in your notebook

Master Chen Zhonghua: "If you don't understand something, write it down in your notebook." (Don't just remember it in your head, or say that you will not forget it, literally write it down)

Notes for Every Move Must Be Adjusted

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/06/every-move-must-be-adjusted/

Notes:

1. Every right move we make, we will make a wrong move as well. We need to strive to conceal or eliminate the wrong move.
2. 5 parts must disappear: wrist (same as ankle), elbow, shoulder, kua, knee.
3. Open one door, close it behind before opening another one. (I see sequencing in this description of actions).
4. Train enough to the point where you can do what you are supposed to do automatically. Training means following a procedure repeatly until you get it. No need to think about why you are following that procedure. When you can do it, you will know why you did it the way you did it.

Notes for Todd Elihu and Wu Shaozhi Testing Energy Online Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/06/todd-elihu-and-wu-shaozhi-testing-energy-online-video-purchase/

Notes:

1. If you don't know how to squeeze (ji), you cannot start, and are just fighting (i.e. not doing taiji).
2. By comparing how Master Chen Zhonghua did the squeeze himself to how the two students did it, I can see the difference between the correct and not-so-correct ways, and hopefully in due time, I can get closer to the ideal. 
3. Take note of Master Chen Zhonghua's commentary while the two students were trying the squeeze action. It is important to associate what he said to what was happening at the time, so one can start to recognize the deficiency in one own's action during training. The ability to recognize the issue paves the path to a higher level.

Notes for How to Create a Hole in the Opponent Online Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/04/how-to-create-a-hole-in-the-opponent-online-video-trailer/

This video is a refreshing way of looking at separation of yin and yang. This first half talks about a theory, and the second half is a push-hand demonstration on the theory.

Notes:

1. 2:04 - If there is no hole or tunnel in a rock, when you push on it, you hand can't get through, and you will just move the whole rock. Now if you with the hands held in front are the rock, the fact that the hands can come back without you moving, it is because that you (the rock) has a hole, which the hands go through.
2. 2:59 - Your opponent fights you (the rock), he is going to find that there is a hole in you, and his energy will just go into it without him knowing why. With Practical Method, when you do it correctly, you are totally stealing your opponent's energy or it's like you put a virus in your opponent's software, and his brain starts to listen to you and he doesn't even know why his brain listens to you. It's because you are activating the opponent's muscles without going through his mind. This is called indirect power. You access your opponent indirectly by creating a hole.
3. 4:55 - Master Chen Zhonghua pushed against the opponent (creating a rock), and then he moved something at the bottom (creating a hole in the rock). The opponent then fell into it. This definitely required repeated watching and trying.
4. 5:44 - Another way of creating a hole, it is called a sand pit. It is like you standing on a boarding, and someone digs a hole under the board, and you will eventually fall into it.
5. 9:00 - Master Chen Zhonghua demonstrated how the stepping part of Brush Knee created a hole.

Notes for How To Move Without Losing Power Online Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2013/11/how-to-move-without-losing-power-online-video-trailer/

This video showed clearly what it meant by losing power while doing the circle. Master Chen Zhonghua demonstrated it to each of the students in the workshop. For people who haven’t had the chance to attend any of his workshops, this is how one gets the hands-on transmission of taiji.

Notes:

1. 0:52 - In order for the gears to work, each gear (disk with teeth) must be made of the same material, i.e. one cannot be made of steel, while another is made of cotton or other softer material.
2. 3:10 - There is no slack as the opponent pushes or put force on you. In other words, there is no free move. You must carry the force, e.g. if you are moving a box of china from the table to the floor, you must carry the weight the whole time during the transfer.  This just reminds me of another lesson from Master Chen Zhonghua, who said Grandmaster Hong Junsheng said one must do yilu like carrying a 5-lb ball all the time without dropping it.
3. 7:30 - The problem is when you are loose, the opponent attacks you; when you are strong, you can't move. What we want is when you are strong, you can still move. "Strong" is the peng energy.
4. 16:28 - The power is in all the joints.
5. 17:00 - Yin and Yang are distinguished while you have action.

Notes for How to Apply a Lever Online Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/03/how-to-apply-a-lever-online-video-trailer

Notes:

1. To make the lever work, we need to anchor the end point which is the fixed point, make sure that the contact point with the opponent does not move (called Zhuo), and lastly the hand or the powering point does not slide on the lever or change position.
2. We need to train to change the quality in our bodies. We need to be strong enough to be the crowbar/lever that can be used to pry the opponent.  If the lever breaks or changes shape, the action won't work.
3. Some people train for speed, some train for muscle power, we in Practical Method train for structure and the ability to adjust the structure.

Master Chen Zhonghua's Biography

陈中华简历：
1961年生，五莲县人。加拿大籍在华企业家，陈式太极拳正宗传人。历任加拿大中国商会理事、埃德蒙顿哈尔滨友协副会长、埃德蒙顿沈阳友协会副会长、加拿大国务院翻译局翻译、加拿大萨省文化协会理事、加拿大萨省翻译家协会会员、加拿大亚太基金会会员、加拿大埃德蒙顿市政首席中文翻译等职务。创办加拿大西诺灵有限公司、轮胎有限公司、国际混元太极学院。现任国际混元太极学院院长、大青山旅游风景区总裁。
在五莲县大青山上，人们每每可以看见一群高鼻深眼的大汉，在旭日朝霞的映衬之下，正一板一眼地盘架子。这是大青山国际太极拳培训班的学员，是从世界各地专程来到这里学习太极拳的。他们的老师叫陈中华，一位在海外漂泊多年的游子。他计划投资4000万元，将大青山建设成以中国国粹文化为主题，以国际文化艺术交流、教育展览培训、旅游度假酒店、休闲娱乐设施为主要服务内容的生态保护基地森林公园。如今，已完成投资2000万元。
两手空空远渡重洋
1979年，18岁的陈中华考取山东大学外语系英语专业，高考成绩英语单科全省第一。大二时，他就把图书馆所有的英文书看完了，饱览了英美文学。为了更好地学习英语，他硬是背下了六万词条的整本《新英汉辞典》，还学了法语和俄语。从大学三年级开始，和学校的外籍教师、学生们沟通已经到了地道的水平。
大三时，陈中华就考取了外交部的外交官，本应有机会赴外大使馆工作，但他放弃了这个机会。大学期间，陈中华认识了他的太太，一位加拿大籍华裔。
1985年3月，陈中华和他的太太取道香港，赴日本转乘飞机去加拿大。当时他一共攒了160元钱，在路上花掉一些。从罗湖桥出境时，陈中华把剩下的人民币都换成了加元，一共16元。
太太说，这些钱在加拿大连吃一顿饭都不够，还是把这些钱寄回老家吧。陈中华想了想，又把钱换回人民币，从罗湖桥附近的邮局寄给了父亲，一共七十多元。
就这样，陈中华两手空空到了加拿大。他的太太在里加纳大学读社会福利学学士学位,他考入里加纳大学读教育学硕士。
他们居住在岳父家，岳父和太太的姑父都是加拿大华人社团的领袖，巨富。但是按照他的太太的要求，他们俩吃饭交生活费，住宿交房租。为了生活，陈中华同时打了两份工，妻子打了三份。在餐馆洗碗、看护病人、洗厕所……，什么累活、脏活都干过，有时为了挣20加元，陈中华需要骑车40分钟赶到打工地点。
“人的开始都会很困难的，这能为以后积累克服困难的经验。”陈中华说，
靠“英语”闯出了一片天地
陈中华大学学的是英国文学，研究生读的是教育学，他初到加拿大的几年间，从事的工作大多与英语、教育有关，短短几年间，他就在大洋彼岸站稳了脚跟。
毕业之后，陈中华先后在当地小学、高中任教，后来进入维多利亚艺术学校，教授英语。一个中国人去英语国家，给以英语为母语的学生教英语课，可以说是个奇迹。
当时，阿尔伯塔省准备推广中文教育，陈中华为阿尔伯塔省编写了中文教学大纲，并长期担任该省的中文主考官。
1987年，陈中华加入萨省翻译家协会，考取加拿大国务院翻译局英文翻译，并出任埃德蒙顿市中文首席翻译。
黑龙江省与阿尔伯塔省是姊妹省，埃德蒙顿市与哈尔滨、沈阳是友好城市。陈中华从埃德蒙顿哈尔滨友好协会秘书一直做到副会长，后来又出任埃德蒙顿沈阳友好协会副会长。经常参与组织两省、两市之间的经济、文化交流活动。
上世纪 80年代中后期，随着中国对外开放的发展，对外国专家的需要越来越迫切，成立了中华人民共和国外国专家局，专门负责招引外国专家，并为他们提供服务。陈中华就是外国专家局第一个北美地区全权代理人。
当时，国内工资水平很低。大学里一个外教一年的收入仅为8000元人民币，几乎不够买一张北美到中国的飞机票。所以很少有外国专家愿意到中国工作。
加拿大的大学教师工作七年后，可以带薪休假一年，其中有些人希望利用这一年的时间到世界各地游历。陈中华通过各种协会、组织，招募自愿到中国服务的专家志愿者，条件是工作一年，可以利用暑假的两个月在中国国内公费旅游。几年下来，他帮助国家引进外国专家400多名。
1991年，哈尔滨市政府有人建议陈中华：你长期做文化交流，但只管接头、联络，许多后续的、实质性的工作还是不好开展啊。你能不能自己成立个公司，搞点贸易，也能赚点钱。陈中华考虑后，就成立了西诺灵公司。开始，公司只出口哈尔滨啤酒。随着对贸易的熟悉，公司的贸易领域越来越宽很快就将触角延伸到旅游、模特、房地产、文化发展、音乐演出等多个领域。
大火烧出创业灵感
1989年，加拿大蒙特利尔市200多万条废旧轮胎堆成的一座轮胎山失火，大火烧了几个月，造成了巨大的污染。这场大火让陈中华琢磨起了轮胎。
四年间，陈中华参加了世界上所有有关废旧轮胎回收利用的研讨会议，搜集、学习处理轮胎的方法。到1993年，陈中华对处理废旧轮胎已经有了一点眉目。他在1996美国肯德基州路易威尔国际轮胎大会上，确立了废旧轮胎处理的项目。通过一系列的竞争，得到了加拿大阿尔伯塔省轮胎委员会的政府轮胎处理执照。同年，他在美国佛罗里达购买了处理轮胎的设备——一辆60英尺长的粉碎车。并成立了第一个拿到加拿大政府许可的轮胎回收公司。当时对轮胎回收后只能粗加工，粉碎成1英寸长的碎块，卖给美国卫士康森州一家屠宰厂作燃料添加剂。
1997年，美国政府提高了燃料污染的控制标准，禁止把废旧轮胎当做燃料添加剂。陈中华将轮胎处理转向深加工。
他遍请世界各地专家，改进技术，亲自到四川乐山深山的兵工厂里花500万订购了设备。这种设备能将轮胎粉碎成碳粉一样的碎末，并能将轮胎中的铁丝提取出来。陈中华经营的废旧轮胎处理公司在世界上有很高的地位，几乎代表了轮胎处理的最高水平。
这些橡胶粉末可以掺在油漆中使用。麦当劳儿童游乐区铺的垫子、高架桥防锈护甲、汽车底盘护甲、车斗护甲，最早都是陈中华公司的产品。1996年，世界上第一个塑胶跑道在加拿大温哥华郊区的一所大学里投入使用，就是用了陈中华的原料。
“处理轮胎带来了非常可观的效益，但是只能做三年，因为很快别人就会蜂拥而上，效益就变得非常低。”三年后，陈中华将他的轮胎公司卖给了一家跨国公司。
生意如日中天时，急流勇退
陈中华善于把纷繁复杂的表象糅合到一起，站在全盘的高度综合考虑，从中理出一条主线，作为自己努力的方向。
当他的工资达到86000美元的时候，他毅然决定辞去这份努力了15年的“铁饭碗”的政府工作去重新挑战自己。
2001年，在他在商界已取得了巨大的成功、工厂已经开到了非洲约翰内斯堡、贸易公司已经达到每月十几个集装箱的时侯，突然决定退出商界。
“做生意是一件非常累但极其刺激的事情，虽然赚了很多钱，但是很难有长久性!”陈中华跟太太说起这些事情的时候，太太说：“从我认识你，你就没有离开太极拳，你去专门练拳吧!”
陈中华自幼便与武术结下了不解之缘。1961年，陈中华出生在五莲县，他是家里第三个儿子。各种疾病贯穿了他的整个童年。
那年月，即使在县城也是缺吃少穿，偶尔有点荤腥，孩子们就馋的睡不着觉。陈中华一岁半的时候，家里烤了一盘咸鱼。或许是饥饿太透彻心扉，刚长出奶牙的陈中华，趁别人不注意，把整盘咸鱼全都吃了。那时他还不会说话，就只知道大哭。等到大人发现那盘烤咸鱼不见了时，已经太晚了，嗓子已经咸坏了。整天的咳嗽导致了慢性支气管炎，在五莲农村，叫做“齁儿”，也叫“痨病”。
三岁，因为麻疹治疗不利，得了一种皮肤病，一到冬天，就全身奇痒无比。十三岁，得了猩红热，给他留下了风湿症和关节炎。十五岁，被诊断为先天性心脏移位。 病魔缠身，这些病又都不是大夫可以治好的。他小小的年纪开始“习武”，希望能通过武术强身健体。
上大学后，跟随学校会武术的老师学习弹腿、飞子拳、吴氏太极拳和查拳。后来机缘巧合，先后师从陈式太极拳第十八代正宗传人洪均生、冯志强两位大师学艺，并得到他们的真传。
在加拿大的多年间，陈中华也从没有让自己的拳术荒芜。刚到加拿大时，陈中华攻读硕士学位每天课余时间都在教学大楼外边的草坪上练拳，慢慢地有人开始跟在他后面乱比划。不久，就开始有人跟着他学习。
陈中华对太极拳达到了痴迷的境界，一旦练拳，所有的烦恼就烟消云散。
多年来，世界各地慕名前来挑战陈中华的人不计其数，但这些人几乎无一例外的拜入陈中华门墙。如今他在北美洲、中美洲、欧洲等地设有十几处武馆，学生遍布全世界128个国家和城市。
那么这位优秀的学生，企业家、商人、又是怎样一个太极拳家呢？我们看看曾任残联9年驻联合国代表的孙中华先生是怎么说的。孙先生是著名太极拳家，香港陈式太极拳协会永远名誉主席。
“我目击了一件令我十分震撼的事情，2008年，在五莲大青山，陈中华跟克林顿推手，克林顿学过六年实用拳法，是陈中华的徒弟之一，身高一米九出头，体重一百一十公斤，体格非常结实匀称。我和十几个人在一边台阶上坐着看。突然，陈中华身体微微一震，克林顿惊叫一声，仄着身，头前脚后，止不住脚，直冲着八九米外的巨石撞去，我们都吓得往前一探身（其实事出无兆，谁也来不及拦救）幸好克林顿在岩石边停住了。后来，陈中华在美国的一次讲座中，因为克林顿也在场，陈中华就以这件事为例讲解肘劲的用法，谁知问到克林顿时，他却当众说不记得了。事后，陈中华再问他怎么不记得了，他一脸无辜地说：“这种事情太多了，我怎么记的起来是哪一次！”
人需要的是能力，不是钱
教太极拳几乎赚不到钱，但陈中华依然乐此不疲。多年在海外生活，让他形成了独特的价值观和人生观。他认为，人需要的是解决问题的能力，而不需要很多钱。
尽管陈中华拥有巨大的财富他的生活是极为简朴的。就说吃饭，在家从来都是一菜一汤。在学生和朋友家，都是只吃现成的，不特别做，学生朋友请在餐馆吃饭，不许超过14块99分美元。有一次在加拿大开车，前面车上掉下来一块木板，陈中华将木板捡回家里，四个角用砖头一垫，上面盖块台布，就成了茶几，用了几十年。
但他热衷于慈善、公益事业。有人生病，他会往治疗这种病的基金会会里捐钱。有些生活拮据的学生跟他学拳，不仅不收钱，他还会帮他们买飞机票、帮助安排住宿等。“一个人不可能拯救世界，但你可以从小小的事情做起。”在大青山，他曾经为了救下一窝小鸟跟外地来吃饭的客人大吵一架。小女儿出生，他向自然保护组织捐出能养活一条鲸鱼的钱。对女儿说：你来到这个世界上，有一条鲸鱼活了。“做生意的时候，每天的收入过万美元，但是我和我的家庭根本不需要这么多钱。人开始都是很困难的，等有了钱就要回馈社会。所以经商时，每年我都把赚的钱捐出去。现在我教拳几乎挣不到钱，太太工作每年有70多万的收入，足够我们家庭的开支了。我的女儿们都很争气，我没有必要给她们留一分钱。”陈中华说。他的大女儿在大学获得了38000加元的奖学金，小女儿高中没毕业时已经是一个出色的化妆品评论家，国外许多知名化妆品品牌都希望通过她的博客宣传自己的产品。
2005年，陈中华来到五莲县大青山的时候，就萌生了开发大青山的想法。开发需要钱投资，但他没有现金。“当时我跟妹妹说我没钱，她就显得很担心。我说我没钱，但有赚钱的方法。很快，我就筹到了启动资金。”
报效家乡 发展大青山
2006年，陈中华正式接管大青山。几年间，他在这里盖了漂亮的宾馆和别墅，建成了“大青山国际太极拳培训基地”，已经连续举办了五届大青山国际太极拳培训班，大青山作为一个休闲度假区的功能已经日趋完善。
“现在我还在不断往里投资。10年后，这里肯定会盈利。租赁合同期满后，我肯定会把它返还给社会。”陈中华说。

Notes for Slow moves to train the core Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/02/slow-moves-to-train-the-core-online-video-trailer/

Notes:

Our movements need to be clear to ourselves and to the teacher. Practicing slowly is a method to get the core movements ingrained. This simple, yet very important, point is key to learning taiji.

Notes for Foot in Ground Dragon Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/02/foot-in-ground-dragon-online-video-trailer

Notes:
1) The sequence is powered by the rear foot/leg, the front foot/leg, and then the waist.
2) Do not pull the opponent when it is supposed to be pushed by the front foot.

Notes for Three lines of entry: Berlin 2013-2 Video

http://practicalmethod.com/2014/02/berlin-workshop-2013-2-online-video-trailer/

Notes:

1. Turning of the joint - When one pulls the opponent, one often pulls roughly perpendicular to side of the circle. This becomes a power struggle. We should pull along the tangent of the circle, and this can turn the circle easily.