In 1996, Wang Yen-nien visited Great River to teach Advanced Taoist Nei Gong Mediation and Basic Sword Cuts. While in DC he often had lunch with GRTC senior students. Mark Zimmer had these recollections of his talks with Master Wang.
His Military experience
The five color star worn by all warlord and Republican troops
Master Wang talked about his time in the Shanxi provincial army fighting the Japanese and later the Communists. His province was known as having the best artillery division in China and one of the most accurate in the world (1940s and 1950s). From what I could tell, he worked his way up through the ranks to command an artillery battery (eventually reaching Assistant Division Commander).
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An Interview from Wushu Jian Shen Magazine
By Zhang Xinhua, September 1992, Beijing
“I’m Lou Si Xiu, from Washington, DC.” Scott M. Rodell introduces himself in Chinese. Although we have an interpreter. He suggests not mentioning his English name in this article.
I wonder whether this 32-year-old American understand the deep meaning of his Chinese name or not. However, I get a definite answer after the 20-minute interview.
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By Howard D. Parks
January, 1991
Rodell practicing tuishou with Wang Yen-Nien
Often you’ll hear of the importance of “lineage” in martial arts disciplines without really understanding why it’s important. Practicing a form the way it has been practiced for centuries can sometimes seem like a slavish adherence to tradition. But the importance of being connected to a lineage goes beyond form, according to Scott Rodell, director and founder of the Great River Taoist Center of Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, to the process of learning under the guidance of a teacher who appreciates the art in all its aspects.Rodell has spent over twenty years studying various Oriental and Occidental martial arts disciplines, devoting the past nine years to the internal art of Taiji Quan (T’ai Chi Chuan). He is a student of Wang Yen-nien in Nei Gong (Taoist meditation) and Old Yang Style Taiji Quan, William C.C. Chen in push hands and free fighting, and T.T. Liang in Taiji Jian (Sword).
Continue reading “An Interview from The Journal of Well-Being” »
