Seeking Yang Family Tai Chi teacher in South Australia

[ChrisLimSA]

Hi all
I am living in Adelaide South Australia and I have been (slowly) learning the traditional Yang Family 108 barehand long form from internet resources e.g. youtube (Yang family tai chi chuan) and chinese internet 56 where Grandmaster Yang Zhengduo explained the moves and Master Yang Jun provides a demostration.
What I lack is someone to look at my technique and correct my posture.
Is there any recommendation of anyone living in Adelaide South Australia who knows this traditional long form of Yang family tai chi chuan and who is willing to share the knowledge? With thanks.
Much appreciated.
Chris Lim

[Audi]

Hi Chris,

Unfortunately, I know of no one to recommend; however, depending on your level of commitment at the moment and the direction of your interest, I might have some other recommendations.

Where does your current level of commitment lie between on a scale between casual interest and fanatical obsession? Do you have any other background in Tai Chi or martial arts?

Are you most interested in Tai Chi in general, Yang Style, or the Association's version of Tai Chi as shown in the resources you mentioned?

If you share a little of your motivation and goals, we might be able to make some suggestions short of providing teacher names?

Take Carey
Audi

[ChrisLimSA]

Hi Audi
Thank you for your reply, much appreciated.
I have only started Tai Chi this year and have completed learning the Beijing Form 24 early this year.
Through the internet and a local teacher, I was also introduced to another simplified form called 'Singapore Form 18' as this was invented by a Tai Chi Association in Singapore, utilising forms from the Beijing 24.
Through on-line resources, I can remember until 45th or 46th (depending on how one counts, at right heel kick just before strike tiger on left) move of the Yang Family traditional 108. A long way to go yet before learning the rest of the moves and even then, many moons to go before I could do the set with finesse.
I do not know any martial arts per se, but fortunately I am quite agile as I am reasonably atheletic.
Regarding my motivation, my aim is to be able to know the moves within the Yang Family traditional long form by January 2014. This will provide a base to start from and refine my practice. I also look forward to being able to have a closer connection with the association and attending the workshops etc.
I know that there are various schools and styles associated with Tai Chi, and I want to be aware of what I am learning. There are established Tai Chi schools and individual teachers in Adelaide South Australia that teach a whole range of 'different' Tai Chi; its just that at this point in time, I would like to concentrate and imbibe the learnings into a fundamental and 'root knowledge' first the Yang family traditional long form before 'branching' into other forms? Does that make sense?
with much thanks
Chris Lim

[Bob Ashmore]

ChrisLimSA,
While it doesn't look like he is anywhere near you I do know a superb Tai Chi Chuan Master who lives in Australia.
His name is Master Rod Ferguson and this is his schools contact us page: http://www.livingchi.com.au/contact
I met Master Rod at the Tai Chi Symposium in Nashville, TN, USA and he is one of the nicest people I have ever had the privilege to meet. I sincerely hope he is going to attend the Symposium in Louisville next year so I get to see him again.
Hopefully Master Ferguson will be able to assist you with finding a teacher near you, as the National Chief Instructor of the Australian Academy of Tai Chi and Qigong he might have some contacts for the whole country.

Bob

[Audi]

Hi Chris,

Sorry for taking some time to get back to you. I am glad Bob jumped in with a suggestion.

You seem to have come quite far on your own. Keep up the good work! If you are as far as Strike the Tiger, you are much more than half way there in terms of new movements.

I love our Association, I love our form, and I love our teachers; however, that does not mean that other folks are not doing wonderful Tai Chi. If you are not particularly devoted to our version, I think there are others teaching in Australia that are worth checking out.

If for whatever reason Bob's suggestion does not match what you are looking for, you might also want to check out schools affiliated with Fu Shengyuan and his family. His form and curriculum seems quite close to ours from what I have heard by reputation and what I see in Internet videos. From the map I have linked to, it seems they have schools on both coasts of Australia.

If you would like to stay with our version of the form, you might want to establish a long-distance relationship with one of the centers or teachers that could help guide you in your practice. Learning the form fairly well without a teacher nearby can be very difficult for most people. I do know of a few that have done so through videos and more that have done so through occasional travel to a far-off school. I suppose you could even workout a way for someone to review videos of yourself that you could send.

As for resources, I would highly recommend the Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan Traditional Form DVD sold here on this site. It provides good instruction in English as well as many viewing angles. It is technologically a step beyond the old video that has been duped in some places on the Internet.

You can also join the association and get the newsletter and, of course, ask questions on this site about form or other questions.

I hope you find this helpful.

Take care,
Audi

[ChrisLimSA]

Thank you Bob for your suggestion regarding Master Rod Ferguson. I will make contact and let you know.
Thank you Audi, for your suggestion regarding the DVD. I am a (recent) member of the YFTCC association, albeit one of the rare few from Australia, much less South Australia, and really look forward to be able to attend the seminar sessions one day! I have just downloaded the online pdf version of the YFTCC Essentials and have written to Mdm Fang Hong about my interest to purchase a hard-copy. Call me old-fashion, but I still prefer to read a physical book than a digital one.
Will let you know my progress.
with much thanks gentlemen,
Chris Lim

[RRathmann]

Hi Chris,

Adelaide is a lovely city, I have been there three times to visit with my wife's extended family and I hope to be back there again soon.

I would highly recommend face-to-face instruction if all possible, there is a dynamic there that is just hard to achieve otherwise. However, if you are looking into remote instruction, you may want to consider visiting plumblossom dot net and check out Grandmaster Doc-Fai Wong's information.

I do not intend the following to seem like a sales pitch or an assertion that what school or teachers I have attended are in any way inherently superior or more worthy in any way than any other school or teacher. I'm just trying to provide some information and context for how I have come to Tai Chi Chuan.

I myself am a 3 year Yang Tai Chi Chuan student at a White Dragon school in Oceanside, CA USA. The White Dragon schools are strongly affiliated with the Plum Blossom Federation, started by Doc-Fai Wong. Doc-Fai Wong visits the San Diego area once a year to teach advanced, unusual, or little known forms of both Yang Tai Chi and Choy Li Fut. All students at any level are allowed and encouraged to attend the seminars and I have done so since I started at the school.

What I find refreshing about Doc-Fai Wong is that he is very open about sharing the teachings of Yang Tai Chi Chuan, including the forms. There are many videos on YouTube from the Plum Blossom group and there are many DVDs available covering the core Tai Chi Chuan forms (as taught by Doc-Fai Wong) and more advanced or unusual ones as well. Fair warning, the YouTube videos are not complete forms, they are missing sections. However, you can look at them and judge for yourself whether or not you like the way the forms are performed.

Good luck on your quest,
Raul

[ChrisLimSA]

Hi Raul
Thank you for your response, much appreciated.
Will check out plumblossom and the associated youtube videos.
Best Regards
Chris Lim