There is a quality in Lao Tzu’s taoism of ‘beginner’s mind’, of raw, naked experience, unencumbered by philosophy or rules.

Taoist martial artists approach the experience of combat with this quality of spontaneity and lack of contrivance.

 (Ron Sieh)

Syllabus

Much of the syllabus has been developed from/inspired by the teachings of Mike Sigman, Yang Jing-Ming, Bruce Frantzis and others.

Although we are indebted to these teachers, we are not affiliated with them.
We follow our own path and explore tai chi our own way.

Study books

We have learned a great deal from studying taoism and encourage our students to do the same.

Reading Tao Te Ching and Chuang Tzu will help students to explore the way in which the physical world operates.
The books examine the how/the nature of reality and suggest that aligning oneself with the essence of reality might be good for health and wellbeing.

These books inspired both the culture and the principles which produced tai chi.


Five stages

The syllabus has been broken into five stages in order to ease learning:

1. Beginners

2. Intermediate

3. Experienced

4. Advanced

5. Teacher

Until a student can demonstrate full understanding of one stage they will not be introduced to the next.


Eight colours

We give out coloured belts relative to different stages of the syllabus. The colour indicates ability level:

1. White = beginner (part 2 onwards)

2. Green = intermediate (part 1)

3. Yellow = intermediate (part 2)

4. Blue = intermediate (part 3)

5. Red = intermediate (part 4)

6. Purple = experienced (part 1)

7. Brown = experienced (part 2)

8. Black = advanced

Home study

You must train according to your disposition.
Some people will commit quite a lot of time to home study, others none.
What you do at home will seriously affect your progress.

If you really want to be able to use tai chi chuan as a martial art, you should consider home study.

Any martial art requires commitment. Classes should only represent a small fraction of your training.
If you are keen, this should be appealing.


Evolving syllabus

The syllabus is not fixed, it is constantly being refined and developed.
New insights and stimuli are fed into the classes so that everyone can benefit.

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Page created 11 October 2000