Tai Chi
In 1983, I took Tai Chi lessons in a group led by Sifu Chen Wong, an engineering professor visiting at the U of KY . We met twice a week for roughly nine months, by which time I had fully absorbed the Yang-style short form he taught. That was a little over 39 years ago, and I have been practicing that form since then. In roughly the fall of 1993, some students observed me practicing outdoors and asked if I would teach them. I agreed and off and on for the next 20 years taught this 34-position form as part of the college continuing education program.
Recent Innovations
Mad Max's Taoist Tai Chi
Pre-pandemic, I took class in FL from Max, who offers a long form adapted from the Taoist Tai Chi Society. It has quite a lot of repetition, including three sections of wave-hands-like-clouds, varied repetitions for each set.
Lea's Forms
Also In FL I have taken classes from Lea Williamson, author of Surfing the Sea of Chi, (linked to Amazon site) a book that is part memoir and full of tai chi wisdom. I hope to learn more from her this winter/spring, 2022.
Shi Shi Fu
Master Shi taught me a 24-position form he learned while growing up at the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, China. So good! He is also teaching a 42-position form.
A New DVD
Soon after I began teaching tai chi, students asked for me to record the form. Initially I did so on VHS tape, but with the help of camera expert Ron Elliott, we produced a DVD that I made copies of to give to my students. Ron recently had me repeat my recording of the form, and a new DVD now exists. I'll be exploring ways I can make it available to others.