Taijiquan

"It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle."

Sun Tzu - The Art of War

The vast majority of people that gain an interest into Taiji do so for its health benefits, but at its root Taiji is a very effective martial art. Taijiquan translates into "Supreme Ultimate Fist" and its techniques are legendary when practiced at a high level of skill. The effectiveness of the techniques are due to incorporating natural law into the applications. "Go with the flow" and "neutralize but never resist" are the kinds of concepts that must be understood and practiced in order to gain a high level of skill in the art. We then train the student to incorporate those martial skills into everyday life. The techniques of Taijiquan are very effective in personal and business interactions, as well as for self defense.

The techniques taught are traditional Taijiquan practices that train the body, mind and spirit to naturally act in accordance with any challenge that is presented, whether it be verbal, emotional, mental, physical or spiritual. 

There are four aspects to all traditional Chinese martial arts which are striking, kicking, grappling and seizing. Today, unfortunately,  most Taiji is taught as a type of choreographed dance that abondons the very essence of the art, leaving the student with only a rudimentary understanding. Our lessons analyze each of the forms to uncover the core substance of each movement and then allow for hands on practice so that the student can gain a higher level of practical skill. This approach translates into enhanced understanding and performance of the forms. 

Yang Cheng Fu, in his book The Practical Application of Taijiquan wrote:

In Taijiquan, the ability to cultivate oneself physically and spiritually, but not to defend oneself, is civil accomplishment. The ability to defend oneself, but not to cultivate oneself, is martial accomplishment. The soft Taiji method is the true Taiji method. The ability to teach the art of self-cultivation and self-defense, both cultivation and application, is complete civil and martial Taiji.

-- (translation adapted from Douglas Wile's translation).

Our goal is to incorporate and cultivate, knowledge, understanding and practical application to guide the student on their path to mastery.