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Profiles
The founders and main instructors of Chenjiagou Taijiquan GB are David Gaffney and Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim. The school started in 1998.
David Gaffney
David’s interest in East Asian martial arts began in 1980 when he started practising Wado-Ryu Karate under the notable Kuniake Sakagami Sensei. Attracted by the holistic nature of the Chinese martial arts, he subsequently trained in the Shaolin Southern & Northern Fist system, attaining black belt status. Since 1996 he has focused exclusively on Chen Taijiquan.
In his quest for authentic training, he travels to Chenjiagou annually to train with Chen Xiaoxing, and has also trained a number of times with Chen Zhenglei in China. In Singapore he trained with Zhu Tiancai and throughout Europe with the 19th Generation Standard Bearer Chen Xiaowang. He has competed successfully in Push Hands competitions at British and International level, and was awarded an instructor’s certificate by the Wenxian Chen Taijiquan Research & Promotion Centre. David writes regularly for T’ai Chi magazine and The Journal of Asian Martial Arts, among others.
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Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim
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Born and raised in Sarawak, Malaysia, in a family with a rich tradition of Chinese martial arts and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Davidine trained with the famous 19th generation Chen Taijiquan descendants Chen Xiaowang, Chen Zhenglei, Chen Xiaoxing and Zhu Tiancai, among others, making numerous study and research trips to China and the Far East.
She has competed successfully at British and International level and was awarded an instructor’s certificate by the Wenxian Chen Taijiquan Research & Promotion Centre in 1998.
As writer and recognised authority on Chinese arts and culture, Davidine conducts workshops throughout the UK and has been featured on both BBC and Granada TV demonstrating and explaining the benefits of Taiji.
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