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| We are a traditional Tai Chi school. We have found the enduring value of the practice in Professor Cheng Man-Ching's teaching. We try to preserve that. Our school seeks to cultivate a community where participants treat one another with respect and kindness. Our practices are guided by the principle of mutual benefit. Wear comfortable, loose fitting clothing and shoes that create less friction than everyday shoes. Tai Chi practice requires freedom of movement. Loose clothes, along with shoes that don’t create much friction, such as cloth-soled Chinese slippers (“kung fu shoes”), are recommended. Shoes with a moderate grip may be beneficial in Push Hands practice. Inform the instructor of your physical limitations and please be forgiving if the instructor doesn't remember from week to week. Exceeding your limitations leads to injury. Injury leads to time lost, increased tension or dropping out. While you learn the form, try to make it to every class. Please let us know if you are going to be absent. Learning Tai Chi is cumulative. Students will find that they learn from their fellow students as well as from the school’s teachers. Continuous participation will enhance your own progress as well as that of others. Missing classes will impede your growth and understanding. Professor Cheng recommended practicing the form, or what you have learned to date, twice a day, every day. Missing classes will make it difficult for a student learning the form to catch up. Please keep your dues up to date. We have to pay rent and other expenses to keep the school open. |
| Practice Philosophy Pay attention to internal sensations This is the beginning of “know yourself.” When you practice Tai Chi as mindfulness meditation, it is the key to living aware, not on automatic pilot. When doing form in class, synchronize your movement to other people. Don't do your form in a bubble. This is the practice that begins developing the skill of “Know the other.” If you do your own thing, you miss the chance to begin this part of your study. Please ask questions. Tolerate uncertainty rather than accepting an over-simplified “truth.” If you feel what you are being told contradicts sense or other teachers, raise the question. There is a saying in Tai Chi: “If one asks, ten want to know.” Best of all, sometimes questions open a perspective nobody has seen before. Do not teach either in class or outside of class unless you have been given formal permission. Refer fellow students’ questions to the class instructor. In a traditional school of any martial art, teaching without permission is the height of discourtesy and disrespect. Do not practice other arts or schools of Tai Chi either in class or the lead up to class. Warmups, stretching and yoga postures are acceptable. Tai Chi is unique. There are very few systems that teach “sung” and take “wu wei” seriously. It's difficult enough to grasp without introducing confusion. Kindness and respect for other students are valuable characteristics for effective practice of Tai Chi. Kindness and respect are consistent with the Tai Chi principle, “Abandon self, follow the other.” As a member of a study group, particularly in the beginning, individual progress is nurtured by the progress of the group. |
Class location James V. Harmon Community Center 44 Main Street, Hastings-On-Hudson, NY Walking directions from the Hastings-on-Hudson train station |