My Approach
Tai Chi is about releasing internal energy (chi) and learning how to control it. Whether a student is interested in cultivating the numerous health benefits of Tai Chi or in learning how to use Tai Chi in martial applications, the underlying process of learning and the actual work that must be done is the same in both cases. It is up to the student to choose what they wish to emphasize in their practice.
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My role as teacher is to work together with you to help you define your own path. I recognize that each of my students has their own individual interests, needs, and abilities. It is my responsibility to make sure you do not ever get discouraged. Positive, positive, positive.
I teach form practice, including the mirror image, warm up and stretching exercises as well as Qigong, and self defence applications. The entire Wu Style Tai Chi form consists of 123 ‘units of movement.’ Each unit of movement can have between 1 and 5 parts. Each of the parts consists of three ‘actions.’ Each action can be just one thing, or it can consist of several different component movements, performed either sequentially or at the same time. Beginners typically begin by learning Stage One of the form, which is the first 14 units of movement.
I teach the form in the same way I was taught it. As we move through the form, we count each ‘action’ as 1, 2, 3 in a consistent tempo. This teaching system was developed first by Cheng Wing Kwong in Hong Kong and later improved upon by my teacher Sifu Philip Mo of Toronto. Students are provided with detailed descriptions of the form they can use to study and learn it. Videos are also available to students. Altogether, it is an excellent system of teaching that provides the student, especially beginners, with all the tools they need to perform self correction and also memorize more easily the elements of the form.
The 'Tai Chi' in the name of this art refers to the Yin/Yang principle of opposites. 'Chu'an' means palm, or fist. So, it is an empty handed system of self defence that embodies the principle of opposites. It does so in many ways, some of which are obvious and some of which are more subtle.
From the moment you begin your journey through all that Tai Chi has to offer, you will experience an inner feeling that is relaxing, calming, yet energizing. This feeling will expand and mature more and more over time. You will come to learn to love to live from this beautiful, inner, and peaceful place.