We believe the Wu Style of tai chi is the best for promoting health in the West.

Its high stances protect your knees, and its emphasis on developing “yin energy” leads to deep nervous system relaxation.

You first learn our Wu Style Mini Form and "tai chi essentials" - fun exercises through which you learn movement patterns and principles essential to the practice of tai chi. Through this form and these exercises you begin to gain many of the benefits of tai chi practice.

Then you continue to learn the Short Form, of which the Mini Form is the first part. Practice of the Short Form promotes better balance and whole body health, and is particularly helpful for lower back conditions.

You can use it to calm and steady your mind and deeply relax your body.

We offer the following courses in this subject. Please click on any that interests you:

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Introduction to Wu Style Tai Chi

In our Introduction to Tai Chi courses we give you a thorough introduction to this wonderful art and its core principles, at a relaxed pace and in an accessible, fun, and easy-to-learn manner.

Over three 7- to 8-week sessions (Parts 1, 2 & 3) you will learn foundation tai chi movement skills, relaxation principles, healthy posture, the Wu Style Mini Form, and the Wu Style Short Form. You will also learn complementary qigong exercises.

The Wu Style Mini Form - which is the first third of the Short Form - contains many important tai chi movements for health and meditation, and takes only a couple minutes to perform. Below instructor Dan Winter presents it as practiced at a beginner level.

Introduction to Tai Chi: Part 1

In Part 1, we will teach you the Mini Form, i.e. the first third of the Short Form.

This course will not be offered this session.

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Introduction to Tai Chi: Part 2

The Mini Form is the first third of the Wu Style Short Form. In this course, you’ll learn the second third of the Short Form.

The Short Form consists of a sequence of eighteen precisely-choreographed movements. It was developed by our teacher Bruce Frantzis, drawing from the Long Form of Wu Style founder Wu Jien Chuan, who taught Bruce’s teacher Liu Hung Chieh.

These movements are specifically designed to help one develop calmness, flexibility, coordination, balance, stamina, and greater energy.

The form takes about four minutes to perform.

This course will not be offered this session.

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Introduction to Tai Chi: Part 3

In this class, you will learn the last third of the Short Form. The movements of the form gradually build in complexity and difficulty from beginning to end.

This course will not be offered this session.

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Wu Style Tai Chi Short Form Refinements

Tai chi single whip posture

In this class, students who have learned the Short Form will explore tai chi subjects such as circularity, bending and releasing, and the details of particular moves.

WINTER SESSION - January 9 to February 22

For our Winter session schedule information, please click here.

EARLY SPRING SESSION - March 5 to April 18

Course Content: 

This session we’ll begin to explore the four energies of tai chi: Peng, Ji, Lu, and An. These four energies or directions occur in various patterns and combinations in every movement in the form.

Along the way we'll work with other key tai chi concepts such as bending and extending (the next stage after sitting and rising) and being fully lengthened (tai chi's approach to gently stretching your body).

Prerequisite:

Completion of our Wu Style Short Form courses (see above), or you must know the Wu Style Short Form as taught by Bruce Frantzis.

To request Dan’s permission to participate, click here to send him a request to join the course.

Class Times: (Eastern Time)

The same material will be taught on Wednesday and Thursday of each week. You are welcome to come to either or both of the classes each week.

  • Tuesdays
    11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET 
    Dan (In-Person)

  • Wednesdays
    11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET 
    Dan (Hybrid)

  • Wednesdays
    6 to 7 p.m. ET
    Dan (Hybrid)

  • Thursdays
    6:45 - 7:45 p.m. ET
    Dan (In-Person)

Course Format:

This course has in-person, online, and hybrid sections.

For more information on coming in to the studio for a class, please click here.

For more information on how our live, interactive online courses work, please click here.

Dates:

7 weeks, March 5 to April 18.

Registration and Payment:

Please click here for information on pricing, how to start a subscription, and how to add a class.  

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Wu Style Tai Chi Medium Form

The Medium Form was developed by our teacher Bruce Frantzis. It contains all of the Short Form moves and several additional more complex and difficult moves drawn from the Long Form of Wu Style founder Wu Jien Chuan. 

The form takes about 7 minutes to perform. It provides greater challenges to your balance and develops stronger cross-body connections than the Short Form.

Prerequisite:

Permission of instructor based on skill in the Wu Style Short Form as taught by Bruce Frantzis.

This course will not be offered this session.

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Wu Style Tai Chi Medium Form Refinements

In this series of Refinements courses, students who have already learned the Medium Form will review the moves, exploring them in more detail. Dan will also choose particular tai chi principles and teach how to integrate them into the form.

WINTER SESSION - January 8 to February 19

For our Winter session schedule information, please click here.

EARLY SPRING SESSION - March 4 to April 15

This session we’ll seek to integrate everything we’ve covered so far in these medium form refinements courses. This is in preparation for moving on to the long form.

The process of learning the long form will necessitate, for quite some time, a focus.on learning new movements and memorizing their sequence. So we’ll aim to use this session to internalize the tai chi principles we’ve been working on, so you can take them with you into the long form.

Prerequisite:

Permission of instructor based on skill in the Wu Style Short Form as taught by Bruce Frantzis.

To request Dan’s permission to participate, click here to send him a request to join the course.

Class Times: (Eastern Time)

  • Mondays      
    7:45 - 8:45 p.m. ET
    Dan

Course Format:

This is a hybrid class.

For more information on coming in to the studio for a class, please click here.

For more information on how our live, interactive online courses work, please click here.

Dates:

7 weeks, March 4 to April 15.

Registration and Payment:

Please click here for information on pricing, how to start a subscription, and how to add a class.  

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Wu Style Tai Chi Long Form - First Half

bill-doing-tai-chi.jpg

The Long Form we teach was developed by Wu Style founder Wu Jien Chuan as a health-oriented version of his self-defense form. It takes 30 to 40 minutes to perform.

Each move amplifies the moves before it; if you go through the Long Form once, you get far greater benefits than if you practiced the Short or Medium Form for the same amount of time. 

The Long Form consists of what classically are known as the First, Second, and Third Sections. 

The First Section is very similar to the Short Form and contains about two-thirds of the Short Form's movements. The First Section's movements open up the soft tissues and energy of your upper body, especially your neck and shoulders. 

The Second Section movements primarily open up the soft tissues and energy of your legs, connecting you to the ground.

Together the First and Second Sections make up the First Half of the Long Form.

This course will not be offered this session.

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Wu Style Tai Chi Long Form - Second Half

The Second Half of the Long Form is actually the Third Section, which is as long as the first two sections combined.

The Third Section movements link the legs and arms through the torso, opening the soft tissues and energy of the spine and internal organs and integrating all parts of your body into a whole. 

WINTER SESSION - January 8 to February 20

For our Winter session schedule information, please click here.

EARLY SPRING SESSION - March 4 to April 16

Course Content:

In this series of courses Dan will teach the basics of how to do the movements of the Second Half of the Long Form.

Prerequisite:

Participation in this course beginning in our Late Fall 2022 session, or permission of instructor based on knowledge equivalent to that of students who have participated in this course series.

To gain permission of the instructor, you must know the Wu Style Medium Form and the first half of the Long Form as taught by Bruce Frantzis.

To request Dan’s permission to participate, click here to send him a request to join the course.

Class Times: (Eastern Time)

  • Monday Section  
    6:45 - 7:45 p.m. ET
    Dan

  • Tuesday Section
    1:30 - 2:30 p.m. ET
    Dan

The same material will be taught on Monday and Tuesday of each week. You are welcome to come to either or both classes each week.

Course Format:

This is a hybrid class.

For more information on coming in to the studio for a class, please click here.

For more information on how our live, interactive online courses work, please click here.

Dates:

7 weeks, March 4 to April 16.

Registration and Payment:

Please click here for information on pricing, how to start a subscription, and how to add a class.  

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Wu Style Tai Chi Long Form Refinements Series 1

In this series of Refinements courses, in any particular session Bill and students choose a sequence within the form of several movements. We then explore that group of moves, both reviewing and deepening the movements and exploring key principles important in those moves.

WINTER SESSION - January 9 to February 20

For our Winter session schedule information, please click here.

EARLY SPRING SESSION - March 5 to April 16

Course Content: Dynamic Balance

This session we’ll continue our multi-session focus on how you develop and maintain Dynamic Balance while doing the Long Form. Balance is a primary goal of tai chi, as expressed in the tai chi symbol of yin and yang intertwined.

This session we’ll explore how to relax all parts of your body downward as you balance your physical body in tai chi. This will include trying to keep your awareness in all parts of your body as you do so.

We’ll continue our exploration of these principles in the 3rd 3rd (2nd Half) of the form, beginning with the movement Snake Creeps Down.

Prerequisite:

Permission of instructor based on knowledge equivalent to that of the current students.

To join this course, you need to have learned from a live instructor and be able to manifest well in your body: the movements and basic bending/stretching methods of the Short, Medium, and Long Forms; Tai Chi Circling Hands; and the Energy Gates qigong Cloud Hands, 1st and 2nd Swing, and Spine Stretch exercises.

To gain Bill’s permission to participate, click here to send him a request to join the course.

Class Times: (Eastern Time)

  • Tuesdays
    5:30 to 6:30 p.m. ET
    Bill

This is a hybrid course, with both in-person and online students.

For more information on how our live, interactive online courses work, please click here.

Dates:

7 weeks, March 5 to April 16.

Registration and Payment:

Please click here for information on pricing, how to start a subscription, and how to add a class.  

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Wu Style Tai Chi Long Form Refinements Series 2

In this series of Refinements courses, in any particular session Bill and students choose a sequence or sequences within the form of several movements. We’ll have a particular emphasis on moving from the ligaments of the body (the five bows of the body), twisting the soft tissues of the arms and legs, and opening and closing the joints of the upper body.

WINTER SESSION - January 11 to February 22

For our Winter session schedule information, please click here.

WINTER SESSION - January 11 to February 22

Course Content:

This session we’ll learn the micro-alignments of the body, which are maintained while doing all moves of our tai chi forms. These will be taught in preparation for our exploration in the following sessions of learning to twist the soft tissues of our bodies at the ligamentous layer.

Prerequisite:

Participation in these Refinements 2 courses during our recent 18-month exploration of learning to bend and stretch the ligaments of the body.

To gain Bill’s permission to participate, click here to send him a request to join the course.

Class Times: (Eastern Time)

  • Thursdays
    10:10 - 11:10 a.m. ET
    Bill

This is an online course.

For more information on how our live, interactive online courses work, please click here.

Dates:

7 weeks, March 7 to April 18.

Registration and Payment:

Please click here for information on pricing, how to start a subscription, and how to add a class.

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