CULTURE
The True Tai Chi group is a traditional organization rooted in the rich history of Chinese martial and health arts. We promote the concepts and practices anchored to the culture of its origins that stem directly from Tai Chi’s founders and other proven lineages.
True Tai Chi’s founder, Stephan Berwick, is an alumnus of the Chinese Wushu Research Institute under the Chinese martial arts pioneer, Bow Sim Mark, and was a member of her son, Donnie Yen’s performance team. He and Yen were among the first Americans to study martial arts full-time in Mainland China and followed Yen to represent martial culture as a performer in Hong Kong action films. He went on to choreograph the musician and writer, Fred Ho’s first jazz opera that told Chinese American stories with African American-based music and stories. Berwick also authored dozens of published articles, while co-producing four authoritative books, contributing to Chinese martial art scholarship over nearly three decades. He later wrote, directed, and co-produced with Jose Figueroa, Final Weapon, a visual poem starring Chen Taiji’s Ren Guangyi, that featured an appearance by Ren’s student, musician and poet, Lou Reed. Berwick meticulously set the film to Reed’s classic music, marking the first time Taijiquan and Chinese martial culture were presented on film, fortified by distinguished rock and roll.
The Art of the Straight Line: My Tai Chi documents the martial arts odyssey and wisdom of rock musician and poet, Lou Reed, a beloved member of our Tai Chi family. Stephan served as a central editor, researcher, compiler, and interviewer of this labor of love, alongside Reed’s wife, the artist Laurie Anderson.
Lou Reed’s posthumous book ‘The Art of the Straight Line’ reveals a Tai Chi master
Lou Reed was a visionary rock ‘n’ roll musician. He was also a dedicated practitioner of the ancient Chinese martial art of tai chi. That passion is the subject of The Art of the Straight Line, a posthumous collection of Reed’s writing on tai chi and conversations with friends and teachers that is the subject of this conversation with Laurie Anderson and Stephan Berwick.
Kitchen Sisters audio documentary on the making of 'Art of the Straight Line
The Kitchen Sisters discovered that Laurie Anderson had recorded numerous interviews while writing her book, including conversations with musicians, artists, doctors, and others. They used these recordings to create a podcast exploring the book's creation, featuring voices of notable figures like Iggy Pop and archival recordings of Lou Reed.
How and Why Does the Chinese Art of Tai Chi Heal and Build Wellness
Nancy Kahn interviews the famed Chinese style marital arts teacher and researcher, Stephan Berwick about how Tai Chi healed and transformed the late rock music icon, Lou Reed in an exclusive discussion about his work bringing Reed’s dream book on Tai Chi, “The Art of The Straight Line. My Tai Chi” to fruition, with Reed’s wife, artist Laurie Anderson”.
Lou Reed’s Art of the Straight Line: Tai Chi as the Ultimate Wellness Practice for Life
Join Nancy Kahn and Chinese martial arts master, Stephan Berwick, learn more about Lou Reed’s Tai Chi training. From Reed’s story, Berwick details how to begin Tai Chi, how to maximize your practice, and recognize its amazing benefits. Berwick shares his personal experiences of how Tai Chi contributes to meeting essential human needs that include wellness, protection of the body and the freedom to change your energy.
Hong Kong action films, a retrospective: Stephan Berwick & Mike Woods at the Museum of The Moving Image
The Moving Image musuem in Astoria, Queens runs a pretty cool monthly series called Fist and Sword which is an event that screens contemporary and classic martial arts movies from all over the globe! Last sunday, they had martial artists Stephan Berwick & Mike Woods, both pioneers from the western hemisphere who graced hong kong action films as performers/stuntmen in the 1980’s & early 90’s!
VIDEOS
Capturing the energy of rock legend Lou Reed’s worlds of Tai Chi, music, and meditation.
Edited by Laurie Anderson, with Stephan Berwick, Bob Currie, and Scott Richman.
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藝術” heading_wrapper=”h1″ alignment=”align_center” heading_color=”{“solid“:{“id“:“Dark color“,“color“:“#2d3543“}}” heading_typography=”{“variants“:“700“,“font_size“:“50px“,“line_height“:“1.5em“}” css_animation=”wtbx-anim-bottom-to-top-small” css_animation_easing=”wtbx_easing-natural” css_animation_duration=”wtbx-duration-1000″ css_animation_delay=””][vc_separator align=”none” line_color=”{“id“:“custom_color“,“color“:“rgba(254,63,104,1)“}” width=”50px” height=”4px” css_animation=”wtbx-anim-fade-in” css_animation_easing=”wtbx_easing-natural” css_animation_duration=”wtbx-duration-1000″ css_animation_delay=”wtbx-delay-1000″][vc_empty_space][vc_text_element css_animation=””]True Tai Chi’s founder, Stephan Berwick has an early history as a martial arts film actor in Hong Kong. He later went on to write and direct a film starring Chen Taiji’s Ren Guangyi, with an appearance by Taiji adept, musician and poet, Lou Reed. The film marked the first time Chen Taijiquan was presented on film accompanied by rock music.[/vc_text_element][vc_row_inner consent_include=”include”][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″ css_animation=””][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsfRES9NpVw”][vc_empty_space][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvZq4a_Xkkw&t=60s”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″ css_animation=””][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezNJ2fOj-sE&t=25s”][vc_empty_space][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ks8HcPr5Ec&t=59s”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]