Tai Chi Curriculum

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Introduction to T’ai Chi Chuan

Check out our schedule of classes to see classes are currently available for your level of study. If you have questions about any of the classes or courses that you see listed or would like register, please click on this contact link to send us an email with your request. You may also reach us by phone at 212-502-4112.

Beginning Level T’ai Chi Courses

We teach the 37-posture tai chi form in 36 classes, divided into three sections: B1, B2, and B3 (beginning level 1st third, 2nd third, and 3rd third). See our class schedule for a list of available classes.

Tuition:

We are a volunteer-based, not-for-profit organization, aligned with our mission to spread Tai Chi Chuan. The tuition students pay is used to cover school expenses such as administrative costs, rent, insurance, and other necessities. Teachers do not receive teaching fees at our core locations, including Midtown Ripley-Grier, Upper West Side, and Inwood.

Please note our new tuition fees as of January 1st, 2025:
Each third of the tai chi form, beginning levels 1, 2, and 3 (B1, B2, and B3), is payable as a block of 12 classes paid in advance for $300, or as three installments of $110 for each 4-class set.
If you are unable to pay any of these amounts, please let us know.

Free make-up sessions are available for missed classes.

Repeat classes for students who have already taken classes with us within the past two years are $10 each.

Sunday noon ET Qigong (live-stream) and Wednesday evening practice sessions (hybrid or in-person only) are payable by donation.

In-person Qigong classes may be offered in different formats. Click on this contact link or call us at 212-502-4112 for more information.

Roots and Branches Qi Gong™

Based on the work of Professor Cheng Man-Ch’ing, these simple movements, taken from the T’ai Chi form, promote healthy energy flow, relaxed breathing, and stress reduction. They offer a very direct route to a deeper understanding of T’ai Chi principles that are the basis of the T’ai Chi Form — and they are fun to learn!

In Five Element Roots and Branches QiGong™, we cycle through the five elements, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, and Fire, to experience how they benefit us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Each element has a corresponding color, sound, emotion, and season.

This is an excellent course both for new students and advanced practitioners. Whether as a complete practice on its own, or to support your tai chi practice, learn the essential aspects of our Qigong in weekly classes, live-streamed via Zoom or in person.

The Eight Ways Of T’ai Chi Chuan

Instruction in The Eight Ways of T’ai Chi Chuan introduces the fundamental principles of tai chi movement essential to balance and relaxation. The Eight Ways are easy to learn and to perform and they require less time and space to practice than the T’ai Chi form.

For the T’ai Chi student, The Eight Ways deepens our embodiment of the form and accelerates our progress in the art.

The Eight Ways are also ideal for people who are recovering from injury or illness, or who have not exercised in a long time. They allow each person to practice at his or her own level.

Special attention is given to applying these principles of movement to our daily activities so that the benefits of T’ai Chi are taken into everything we do.

Advanced T’ai Chi Classes

We offer a complete curriculum for continuing study. Each course focuses on a different aspect of the art. Emphasis is on the principles of relaxed movement which are essential to progress. The following is a listing of our advanced curriculum of study. In most cases, each course is a prerequisite for the course that follows:

Fundamentals

As in any art, there are fundamental elements that provide a basis on which one’s practice may grow and flourish. In our course, Fundamentals, we include a thorough review of the Beginning Form to fill any gaps in our “body memory,” examining in detail each posture and transition. This helps develop the postures of your form with a stronger foundation. The movements of the form, based on deeper practice of T’ai Chi’s underlying principles, provide increased health, awareness, and balance. (30 hours divided into three sections: F1, F2, F3.)

jonkarenPush Hands 1

In this course, we introduce the work with partners known as “push hands.” Despite the connotation, “push hands” is taught in a non-confrontational way, focusing on our stability, balance, and ability to interact with each other in harmony. (20 hours)

Intermediate Form

In this course, we progress to a deeper and more internal understanding and practice of the form. New concepts are introduced that enable us to integrate our form and push hands practice as one body of knowledge. (20 hours)

Push Hands 2

A continuation of Push Hands 1, but with the two-hand sequence and the principle of yielding introduced. In this course we establish a clear understanding and embodiment of push hands practice, refining our technique, sensitivity, and awareness of ourselves in relation to others. (30 hours)

georgePush Hands 3

In this advanced course, we focus on both form and push hands using self-observation to increase our awareness and release tension from specific parts of the body. Relaxation is emphasized with various breathing and meditation techniques used. (30 hours)

Intermediate Form Consciousness

Our curriculum alternates the study of the form with the study of push hands. The insights we’ve gained in Push Hands 3 are used to further refine our intermediate form practice. (20 hours)

rogerOpen Push Hands / Sword Form

The art of T’ai Chi Chuan has three main branches: the Form, Push Hands, and the Sword. In the Form, we learn about ourselves: our health, our balance, our ability to relax. In learning Push Hands, we expand our awareness to include interacting with a partner. Listening for tension and relaxation, we learn to stay relaxed and rooted to the ground while playing with the energy of our partner’s movement. After Push Hands, we expand our consciousness still further with the longer reach of the sword. With the Sword Form and Fencing, we now have moving feet rather than the fixed feet of Push Hands. We use the sword as an extension of our body and feel, through this tool, the expression of our spirit.

Apprentice Program / Teacher training

An extensive program designed to train students to become teachers is available to more advanced students, on the recommendation of their instructors.