About Sifu Mark Chen
Mark Chen is a 20th-generation lineage holder in Chen Family Taijiquan, and a formal, rumen disciple
of 19th-generation grandmaster Chen Qingzhou
(
, 1934-2015) of Xulü Village, Henan Province,
China. Mark has been teaching Taijiquan for well over twenty years. He holds an instructor's credential
(quan shi rank) from the certification board of
the Wen Xian International Taijiquan Conference
(
), the official accreditation body
for Chen Family Taijiquan instructors in
China. He is also a certified senior instructor in the Chen Qingzhou
Martial Arts Association (
, accredited
under China's Ministry of Education) and the public relations director for the
National Neigong Research Society (NNRS).
Grandmaster Chen Qingzhou (left) with Mark Chen
 |
Mark began Shaolin training in 1973 under the renowned master Guo Lianyin
(
, 1895–1984) , who was considered by many to
have been one of the top martial artists of the twentieth century. In 1979 he progressed to Yang
Style Taijiquan under Master Bill Gee, and in 1996 began studies in Chen style Taijiquan with Master Zhang Xuexin
(
) of San Francisco
(preferring the more vigorous, martial orientation of the Chen system). The following year, he met Grandmaster Chen
Qingzhou, a disciple of the great
18th-generation grandmaster Chen Zhaopi (
, 1893-1972).
Mark became a student of Grandmaster Chen at that time, and was granted disciple status in 1999.
Mark is the author of
Old Frame Chen Family Taijiquan and
Chen Style Taijiquan Collected Masterworks, both published by
North Atlantic Books.
