WCTAG-Family

Grand Master Chen Xiaowang

Cohort 1946, born in Chenjiagou, PR China. Chen Xiaowang is the main official representative and heir of the Chen Taijiquan tradition in the world. He is the 19th generation of the patriarchs and the chief ancestor of the Chen family, like the leading masters of history before him, especially Chen Wangting, Chen Changxing and Chen Fake. Also as one of the world's leading masters of calligraphy, the Grand Master is officially recognized as “State Treasure of the PR China” among many other awards. He regularly gives seminars worldwide, including in Germany. Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang is already a living legend. His concern is not only the global spread of Taijiquan, but the preservation of the authentic apprenticeship. The WCTA founded by him with the help of Jan Silberstorff is the largest Taijiquan association in the world.

Master Jan Silberstorff

Jan Silberstorff, born in 1967, already as a child was interested in the Eastern martial arts. At the age of 18, he began to devote his life to Taijiquan, as he sensed that this would lead to his calling. In 1989 he passed the state Taiji trainer exam of the PR China, where he lived for several years. He was one of the first foreigners to learn in the place of origin of Taijiquan, Chenjiagou, and in 1993 he became the first western master student of the traditional holder of classical Taijiquan, Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang, and thus also the first foreign lineage holder in the 20th generation. He is fluent in Chinese and has published numerous books and articles as well as DVDs and television documentaries on the subject. After more than 25 consecutive tournaments around the world, together with Grandmaster Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang he founded the largest Taijiquan association in the world, the WCTA (World Chen Xiaowang Taijiquan Association), in 1994 and took over the management of the German association (WCTAG), which is now the largest of its kind in the West. Awarded several times by the Chinese government (including the highest Duan-level within the WCTA), he was the first non-Asian to be invited to the official Masters event of the State of Singapore in 1998. He teaches in over 15 countries worldwide and together with his students founded over 400 currently active Taijiquan groups and schools with over 500 annual courses in over 160 locations in Germany alone. He founded the leading Taiji associations in Brazil (WCTA-Br, 2006) and in Chile (WCTA-Chile, 2010). He founded other Taiji associations in Mexico in 2009 and in Cuba in 2014. In 2009 he founded the aid organization WCTAG-hilft e.V., as well as the 'Island of the children‘, which supports over 220 children in need in Sri Lanka and Brazil, and in 2013 the 'Institute of Daodejing Studies (IDS). The institute is a joint project to research and convey the Daodejing and was created through the collaboration of Huizhang Ren Farong, the Louguantai Temple, the Chinese Science Academy Xian, and its founder Jan Silberstorff. In 2015 he started an aid project for 180 refugee children in Germany and founded the Latin American umbrella organization WCTA-LA in 2017. Since 2016 he is a board member of the umbrella organization for Qigong and Taijiquan (DDQT). In the same year, together with Jan Leminsky, he founded the internationally successful Team Taiji Germany, an association and styleindependent tournament organization in order to develop the common spirit of all Taiji enthusiasts in addition to promoting youth and the sporting aspect. In 2020 he founded WeLaxx with Eric David, a health program for the broad masses of society. With his own focus on the practice, Jan Silberstorff spends most of the year in seclusion in a village in Bulgaria.

more biographical details

Instructor with 3rd Master Degree

Frank Marquardt

Instructor with 2nd Master Degree

Gerhard Milbrat

Instructor with 1st Master Degree

Ralf zum FeldeKai SchlupkothenHarald Bundschuh
Thilo PapenMichael SchaafRobert Waag
Manuela SchönfeldVera-Dorothea Neumann

Instructor

Hermann KoffendRalf AnlaufJens Oliver Howe
Andreas Schmidt

Teacher

Hadmut MühlendyckSunpill Yang-MilbratThorsten Tesch
Sonja WaagSasa KrauterHolger Samlowski
Guido StefanecFrederik WahlKarin Buttenhofer
Roger BerweilerAlexander CorneliusWolfgang Lucas
Michael MarxHuu Minh NguyenMichael Rüsel
Maren ScheibleAndreas HolthusenOliver Schubert
Barbara Nowak-KornwinkelDirk RothauptDaniel Bielenstein
Anne CoblenzAlmut Schmitz

Course Trainer

Thomas Graßhoff-SteinerJochen KöhlerJörg Schüler
Frank HagedornMiriam ZibellKlaus Handke-Prompan
Rainer SchönfeldAstrid Kilian-DiekmannHolger Neumeyer
Ulrich BroddeDietrich LackerUlrike Mitas
Ulrike SamlowskiDr. Philipp LichtenauerMichael Barth
Heike Michael-MurmannJens KurbjuhnCarolin Melcher
Rüdiger SchrammKatja Oanh BachJürgen Brammer
Thomas LaubAngelika RequardtKerstin Geiger
Günter OelgemöllerMarion SengerHeike Wichmann
Andreas HaberlachMonika LucasDr. Wolfgang Köppe
Imke KrügerAnnette RixenOliver Spott
Katja UhlischHelmut FuchsNotker Hilbrenner
Olaf QuiringClaus WichmannSören Mark Aissen
Günther RiedelTanja KöhnemannPatrick Schlüsselburg
Peter GeierChristoph Thomann-FuchsBarbara Wolf
Martin ErhardtAnne Le NaourLutz Dickow
Chris FrankeNorman KobowThomas Kosiol
Niclaas ThieleChristiane WedigHeiko Baumann
Claudia CandriaTorben Castillo HannigCarmen Kunst
Beate MessickShirley Müller de VriesChristina Thabe
Christiane DrewlingGerhard MaurerJürgen Seibold
Johann HauptNorbert HöllSven Koschoreck
Philipp AlexanderJens KochBen Xaver Oelmann
Sebastian GarbasSascha JenrichIna Heise
Klaus PontiusRaymond ThibeaultJens Schmidt
Claudia Weber-HaberlachDr. Klaus-Heinrich DedringJens Haase
Sabine Jenß-MeierHans-Georg KöhlerMarion Lowack
Barbara WyciskNatascha HowaniétzAlexander Popović
Simon SchnepfKatherine FernándezMichael Brantl
Martin FraschSabine FreudensteinMartin Goedecke
Steffen NeuburgerRobert TempelSabine Bramsiepe
Gabriele GoldbrunnerElena GrouchenkoHans-Joachim Kühne
Dominic SchafflingerEric DavidJens Mehm
Jan-Peter DonkerMartina RehfeldtKai Flagge
Tobias JungeTilo KramerAlexander Krohn
Ludger Schulte-LünzumMelanie SchiefelbeinDiana Rühle
Winfried BuschEric KlaiberElisabeth Danzer
Sabine SchneiderSebastian WolfNadine Hoppe
Christian BehlaRainer BohnenstengelReinhard Bügel
Martina DettkeKlaus GerhardtHelmut Hagen
Anke HauersteinHeiderose HezlerHans Karrer
Christina KlawitterLambert KlosMahesha Kodikara
Richard KonzelSusanne KrämerMartina Lawatsch
Jürgen LeischnerMichael LieseThomas Rienth
Hans-Werner RössingNiklas SchmidtSigrid Sommer
Ulf StenzelJoachim StuhlmacherSven Trepte

Assistant Trainer

Engelhard BerwianMatthias HoickeJulian Jones
Angelika BeyeHolger ZönnchenMyriam Sprockhoff
Karsten KramerRoland PokernLars Selka
Kay StegemannMonika SomeschanMonique Martin
Thomas StrehlowKarin PrinzOliver Mertsch
Dr. Bernhard FriedsamKatrin RohrClemens Ohlert
Mary KempenFrank van der HertenAlessandra Camara
Andreas JanulikMarcus SiewertDaniel Kasper
Gabriele RiemerSebastian StammsenHans Joachim Euler
Kathrin SperlichLudger BoomsJohannes Steffen
Michael S. HansThomas PfaffKaren Pallokat
Christoph KunthAngie Lin-StegmaierLeander Gailus
Leonard SchmidtTobias DrehsenXi Jonas
Heinz LudasSilvio PetersHelena Schlichting
Armin ReuterFlorian WelleBijan Boog
Birgit TimmerIngrid MutschlechnerReiner Dziewior
Jörg MeßbacherHartmut SchäferMaren Krone
Daniel MengesKlaus HetzelGerd Zemella
André ReckertStefanie KardinalBettina Dongowsky
Benjamin FingerSimone FleerOlaf Kistenmacher
Hermann ForsterSven KetelsenLeonie Schlüter
Stefan MoritzKester MielkeOlaf Ahlers
Ulrike AndersDirk BollmannGertraude Huber
Rudi KassnerDennis SchniederKlaus Hamatschek
Thomas AdolphAngelika KnobenJudith Schrötter
Aurica SchüllerDaniel BolligerHilmar Bründler
Michel StadelmannDaniel StegmeyerChristof Wetzel
Anita WetzelDennis ReisKaan Sanverdi
Christine AndersSascha BaeckerChristian Benz
Marika BergmannJörg BewigRalf Bürk
Birgit De BruynSabine DrägerMaxim Fadel
Christian FeltesKai Dirk HemmenAlexandra Hoppe
Cornelia KellerElmar KochImme Krauskopf
Benjamin KunsmannAnna Carina LangeAngelika Maisch
Sabine MargrafBirgit MöllerStephan Mross
Rosa Mathilde ParuchaLutz PauliMonika Pirklbauer
Manuel PlateThomas PrieweDragomir Rakinic
Axel ReissigSven RosiersGünter Schack
Andreas SchäferReinhard SchäferAnja Schmidt
Patrick SeiffartErich SparnHeike Theilmeier
Thi-Thanh-Tam TranDonald VermeulenHans-Joachim Weber
Inge WichMartin WielandDennis Ziegert

The Students