London School of T'ai Chi Chuan and Traditional Health Resources

Welcome

Welcome to the London School of T'ai Chi Chuan and Traditional Health Resources.  We have been teaching in London for 30 years. On our site you will find information about our tai chi classes, our school and T'ai Chi in general.

Learn Tai Chi with us in the new year

Our latest beginner's class has just started, so why not start tai chi with us in the new year? We have two FREE introductory classes in January and February 2010: 

Tuesday 19 January 2010, 6.30-7.45pm at St Anne's Community Hall, 55 Dean Street, W1D 6AF (nearest Tube stations: Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus). Followed by a 10-week course every Tuesday, 26 January to 30 March, at 6.30-7.30pm.

Sunday 21 February 2010, 5.00-6.00pm at Marylebone Dance Studio, 12 Lisson Grove, NW1 6TS (nearest Tube stations: Baker Street and Marylebone). This is a five-week intensive course over five Sunday afternoons (21 February to 21 March). If  you sign up after the intro, it is followed by class until 7.30pm.

Please download our January-March 2010 brochure (a PDF document) by clicking on the attachment at the bottom of this page.

How we teach

The distinguishing feature of the way we teach Tai Chi classes in London is via our team teaching method. This distinctive system makes our classes very easy to follow. Our method of team teaching provides our students with a setting where the emphasis is on the clarity of the work. When two or more of our instructors work together in a single class, the students always have one instructor's movements to follow while another instructor helps guide the class and follow up on specific needs of the group. 

We offer a comprehensive curriculum of tai chi classes in London for beginning and advanced students.  Tai chi classes are taught by teams of two or more specially trained instructors. We transmit the tai chi form with clarity, precision and respect for tradition, using a method that makes learning both easy and fun.  With a programme of weekday evening and weekend day classes, our tai chi classes are tailored to provide a moment of calm in the midst of busy London life.

The 37-posture tai chi Beginning Form is taught in 30 one-hour classes, divided into three separate sections: B1, B2 and B3. Each section is taught as a distinct course over a 10-hour period once a week. We also teach weekend tai chi intensives of two and a half hours on a Sunday, for five weeks. The moves of the tai chi form are thoroughly explained and practised in tai chi classes which normally meet for one hour, once a week. Daily tai chi practice is recommended.

We also offer more advanced tai chi classes for continuing study. Each tai chi course focuses on a different aspect of the art. Emphasis is on the principles of relaxed movement which are essential to progress. The curricula include advanced tai chi form classes, push hands and optional apprenticeships.

Yang-Style Short Form

The Tai Chi we teach here in London is the Yang-Style Short Form T'ai Chi Chuan as developed by Grand Master Cheng Man-Ch'ing (some call this Cheng Man-Ch'ing style). 

Our school was founded in 1976 in New York, USA, by one of his senior students, Patrick Watson. Teachers with our school are now spread out across the United States, and in Europe, primarily in London and Amsterdam. 

Information on our central body, the not-for-profit T'ai Chi Foundation, can be found at www.taichifoundation.org