Chen, the original Tai Chi style, has long been revered for its combination of fluid grace, high energy, explosive power and devastating martial applications. Yet until recently, the fundamental training required to truly generate these remarkable results remained the closely guarded secret of the Chen Family's own inner circle.

This all changed when the leading modern-day Chen Style representative, Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang, decided to publicly reveal the true essentials behind Chen's superiority as a martial art. Extracting and distilling the absolute core principles of Chen Style, he created the now-legendary Silk Reeling Qigong system. To quote Chen Xiaowang, Silk Reeling represents the foundational roots, as opposed to the leaves and branches, of true martial mastery. A focus on mastery of these foundational roots will allow you to more quickly develop high-level skills in ANY of the myriad martial forms you may then to choose to learn.

Grandmaster Ren Guang Yi—Chen Xiaowang's most senior disciple and his leading representative in the US—in turn passed this knowledge to Jose Figueroa. Master Figueroa is uniquely qualified to convey these essential cultivation secrets in a way that makes them immediately accessible to a Western audience. After over 20 years of dedicated classical Chen Style practice, as the co-author of three Chen Style books and with a highly extensive teaching background, Jose Figueroa is able to break down the Silk Reeling methods with extreme clarity, precision and attention to the crucial detail.

According to the Chen Family, both superior movement and the mastery of Qi are grounded in impeccable body mechanics. Immense emphasis is placed on exact alignment, supreme coordination of movement, proper balance and a deep understanding of relaxation and tension in the body. Jose Figueroa has developed a careful progression of methods that ensure practitioners develop a solid foundation in each step of this powerful system.

Individual movement sequences and techniques are demonstrated from three angles, followed by a highly detailed explanation of every key element needed to extract maximum benefit from that method.

Series III reveals many of the Chen family's inner secrets for developing Fa Jing—that dramatically explosive release of power, which is considered to be a hallmark of their art. Series III represents the culmination and integration of all lessons learned in the Progressive Silk Reeling program.

While further enhancing your energy, power, strength and movement skills:

• Discover how to generate a powerful torque focused in both horizontal and vertical planes
• Learn how to recruit and suddenly express a powerful surge of Yang energy from may parts of the body
• Develop true waist power for highly effective pivoting, thrusting and striking techniques
• Develop a refined economy of movement and highly agile footwork