I have been working behind the scenes for some time now trying to develop our ranking/certification system in order to achieve a distinguished level of credibility that will help our students in their future internal arts careers or endeavours.

When a student of the internal arts reaches a level of competance they inevitably desire to share what they have learned. That's just the nature of the mind set of the people that love tai chi or qigong. In todays litigious world, to teach at any 3rd party establishment one has to prove credibility not only to the prospective employer but often to an insurance company as well. This is why I have formed a relationship with not one but three international organizations.

After almost 15 years in the internal arts I finally put what I knew to the test and submitted to testing for international rank recognition and it looks like the thousands of hours I have put in have paid dividends as I have been granted rank in all three organizations.

The first organization is the I.W.S.D. - International Wushu Sanshou Dao Association headed by Grandmaster Shou-Yu Liang.

The IWSD is an organization that recognizes martial artists that can put their skills to the test in real situations. Sanshou translates to "free fighting". This is important recognition for Barrie Tai Chi as it shows that what we teach from a martial perspective is in fact useable skill. The vast majority of our students will never seek to attain rank from the IWSD but now we know that it is achievable.

The 2nd organization we are recognized by is the IIMAA - International Independant Martial Artists Assoc.

This organization is headed by Soke Goepfert and backed by a distinguished board of life long martial artists from diverse MA backgrounds. The IIMAA has awarded me Instructor Certification as well as a 5th duan in Taijiquan Fa.

The 3rd organization is the AMAWW - Assoc. of Martial Artists World Wide

This organization is headed by Soke Jonathan French and backed by a 10 member board, again with many, many decades of combined MA expertise. The AMAWW has been very generous to not just myself, but also our club as Barrie Tai Chi & Qigong has been granted a School Charter. This means that every student that choses to participate in our ranking/certification system will now be internationally recognized for their practice and achievements.

Personally I have been awarded Certified Instructor status and recognized as 5th duan Master in Taijiquan Fa

Our relationship with the AMAWW has been solidified as their board has offered me a seat in order to help guide their growth into the internal arts disciplines. (Which I humbly accepted :)