When your teacher demonstrates something for you, you are obligated to practice it,
 or else you may invoke the following consequences of your own free will:
 
 1. Your teacher may not correct you because your actions have shown that you did not really want to learn the skill.
 
 2. You will not achieve the skill.
 
 3. If you learn the next stage of the skill, it will be weak because it has no foundation.
 
 4. Your skill will not rise to a high level until your attitude changes.
 
 (Bruce Frantzis) 

Our syllabus

We have highlighted key concerns for each stage of the curriculum so that it is possible for our students to assess where they are in terms of their tai chi progress.

The syllabus is unique to our school and is the product of decades of experience:
 

New starters/Beginners (part 1)

Highlights:

1. Alignment

2. Balance

3. Centre

4. Chin na escapes

5. Floorwork (intro)

6. Group work/melee (intro)

7. Monkey paws (intro)

8. Neigong (intro)

9. Penetrating defences (intro)

10. Posture testing

11. Pushing hands

12. Pushing legs (intro)

13. Qigong
    - 16 topics (intro)
    - 40 mins endurance challenge

14. Striking

15. Structure

16. Yang Cheng Fu form (section 1) (intro)

17. Yielding

Beginners (parts 1-2) cover approximately 2% of the overall curriculum.

Beginners (part 2)

Highlights:

1. 4 ounces

2. Central equilibrium exercises

3. Chin na

4. Floorwork

5. Form challenge

6. Punching rehabilitation

7. Pushing peng

8. Qigong
   - 16 topics (detailed)

9. Silk arms (1-5)

10. Stepping

11. Yang Cheng Fu form (section 1)

12. Yielding (cont)

13. Yielding basics

Beginners (parts 1-2) cover approximately 2% of the overall curriculum.

Intermediate (part 1)

Highlights:

1. 3-D

2. 5 challenges

3. Being hit

4. Countering punches, kicks and grapples

5. Countering/pushing peng

6. Dying ground

7. Everybody falls

8. Form application (section 1 intro)

9. Freeform

10. Gravity striking

11. Loose striking

12. Melee 1-5

13. Monkey paws

14. Neigong
    - 21 qualities
    - extras

15. Neutral state/composure

16. Penetrating defences

17. Pushing peng (partnered)

18. Pushing peng (striking)

19. Silk arms (6-10)

20. Speed striking

21. The waist

22. Yielding/chin na

23. Yielding/countering

Intermediate (parts 1-5) cover approximately 20% of the overall curriculum.

Intermediate (part 2)

Highlights:

1. 13 postures

2. 5 challenges re-considered

3. Assignments (5)

4. Balance, rhythm, timing

5. Challenge - endurance/relay (5 minutes)

6. Countering a knife

7. Elbow

8. Escapes/knife

9. Folding

10. Form application

11. Freeform

12. Knife drills

13. Neigong
    - incorporation

14. Qigong development

15. Short staff drills

16. Wu nien

17. Yang Cheng Fu form (section 2)

18. Yielding/knife

Intermediate (parts 1-5) cover approximately 20% of the overall curriculum.

Intermediate (part 3)

Highlights:

1. 3-tier wallbag

2. 5 elements striking

3. 8 powers striking

4. Becoming the centre

5. Challenge - 5 challenges re-considered

6. First hand/second hand

7. Floor-to-ceiling ball

8. Floorwork (control)

9. Form application (section 2)

10. Freeform grappling

11. Heavy bag

12. Kicking

13. Large rhythm, small rhythm

14. Latent movements

15. Massage

16. Meditation

17. Newton's Laws of Motion

18. Pushing hands development

19. Sparing yourself

20. Yielding/chin na/knife

Intermediate (parts 1-5) cover approximately 20% of the overall curriculum.

Intermediate (part 4)

Highlights:

1. Assignments (5)

2. Challenge - endurance/relay (10 minutes)

3. Chin na applications/misplacing the bones

4. Crude fa jing

5. Da lu

6. Disarming

7. Double pushing hands

8. Freeform (non-cooperative)

9. Holding down the pillow

10. Improvised weaponry/knife

11. Open & close

12. Overwhelming attacks

13. Qigong
    - 16 topics (complete)

14. Silk arms revised

15. Small stick flexibility drills

16. Yang Cheng Fu form (section 3)

Intermediate (parts 1-5) cover approximately 20% of the overall curriculum.

Intermediate (part 5)

Highlights:

1. Assignments (2)

2. Challenge - mass attack

3. Cultivating sung

4. Disintegration

5. Dying ground (intermediate)

6. Energy drainage

7. Form application (section 3)

8. Form application (power)

9. Meditation (continued)

10. Neigong
    - 11 qualities
    - incorporation

11. Reflex drills

12. Rhythm (intro)

13. Silk arms dismantled

14. Silk arms knife defence

15. Small circle

16. Throwing

17. Unite upper & lower

Intermediate (parts 1-5) cover approximately 20% of the overall curriculum.

Experienced (part 1)

Highlights:

1. 2 person stick form/drill

2. Cavity press

3. Chin na against a knife

4. Dividing the muscle

5. Fa jing

6. Jing
   - 13 postures
   - 44 expressions

7. Misplacing the bones

8. Sealing the breath

9. Small stick drills

10. Yang Cheng Fu form (mirrored)

Experienced (parts 1-2) cover approximately 10% of the overall curriculum.

Experienced (part 2)

Highlights:

1. 2 person form/drill

2. 3 challenges

3. Bone marrow washing

4. Flowing chin na

5. Freeform stick

6. Neigong
   - 8 qualities
   - incorporation

7. Reeling silk (intro)

8. Striking methods

9. Yin body

10. Yin/yang

Experienced (parts 1-2) cover approximately 10% of the overall curriculum.

Advanced (parts 1-13)

The advanced syllabus is split into 13 parts.

Highlights:

1. Fa jing (variations)

2. Freeform

3. Internalising

4. Neigong
   - 10 qualities
   - incorporation

5. Pre-natal breathing

6. Principles

7. Reeling silk

8. Rhythm

9. Self defence

10. Simplicity

11. Softness

12. Small frame

13. Strategy

14. Study

15. Sung

16. Tao

17. Tortoise breathing

18. Waving

19. Yang Cheng Fu form

20. Zen

Advanced syllabus (parts 1-13) cover almost 70% of the overall curriculum.
The teacher training component is separate.

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Page created 25 January 1999