About
Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan
We teach Cheng Man-Ch'ing's Yang Style 37-movement form (solo exercise). Cheng Man-Ch'ing was a renowned master of Tai Chi Chuan as well as a poet, painter, and calligrapher.
Students will learn how to progress from exercise to sport to self-defense with maximum efficiency.
The instructor, D. Dale Parker, has studied Tai Chi Chuan for decades, including the original Chen style (in China), and the Yang style at UT Arlington.
Classes are held at Dallas-Fort Worth Jeet Kune Do Academy every Thursday night at 7:00 pm. Your first trial class is free. The monthly fee is $35. Here is our website www.dfwjkd.com. Private lessons available.
The Academy is located at 328 W. Pipeline Rd., Hurst, TX. The telephone number is 682-554-6584.
What is Tai Chi? Tai Chi is a centuries-old Chinese system of physical exercise and mental conditioning that elevates body and spirit. It is characterized by slow, relaxed movements and is unlike any other exercise system in either Asia or the West. One of our goals is to learn how to practice our movements with diminishing physical effort.
What are the benefits? In the beginning, Tai Chi will have a positive effect on your strength, balance, and peace of mind. In time, the harmony-bringing effects that result from practice lead to a unique composure that naturally allows us to better handle the trials of daily life. And that's just the beginning.
What style of Tai Chi is this? We teach the Yang style 37 movement form. Cheng Man-Ch'ing created this form. This remarkable series of linked Tai Chi movements takes about five minutes to perform and is ideal for those of us on the go who sometimes have limited space.
What else will I learn? You will also study Golden Ball Qigong and other qigong exercises. Qigong exercises are repetitive movements designed for specific purposes (to prevent arthritis for example) and involve correct movement, correct breathing, and correct energy control.
Is it easy to learn? The external movements are easy to learn once you get past the strangeness. The inside is an intellectual, physical and emotional voyage of discovery that goes on forever. The more you know and understand, the more there is to know and understand. It's a study of life itself in a very real and direct way.
How long will it take? The average student can expect to know the main pattern of the 37 movement form in a few months. The details and meanings of the movements require more time.
Why learn Tai Chi? Tai Chi answers many questions at the same time. It can be a practical and enjoyable way to maintain one's physical awareness and overall health. Tai Chi can also lead to an understanding about how things work--about how life itself is put together. And maybe best of all is this: Tai Chi is never boring. What comes to mind is that old Greek saying about how you can never step in the same river; for new waters are flowing on to you. Tai Chi is never the same river. Never.
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https://www.facebook.com/pg/Cheng-Man-Ching-郑曼青-377776005619671/community/
I enjoy the fact that Tai Chi is both an integrated exercise and an enjoyable sport for all, rich and poor, strong and weak, young and old, male and female. Weather does not inhibit his practice. Requirements of time and space are minimal. "Tai Chi" translates as "Supreme Ultimate" and is exercise for health, sport, and self-defense.
When I see students learning and practicing this seemingly effortless, rhythmical, ballet-like exercise, I'm grateful that I've helped them learn how to relax, utilizing slow, controlled breathing; they improve their balance and posture and the benefits ascribed to practicing Tai Chi include relief from neurasthenia, high blood pressure, anemia, physical and mental stress, and the list continues.
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
The class is on-going. New students are focused on learning the postures to join the group exercise together. We stretch, then warm up with the Traditional Chi Kung building exercises called "8-Pieces of Brocade," then work the form, and we end with a short seated forn.
Private lessons available.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Acadrmic:
B.A. in Asian Studies--Chinese from UT Austin. Minors in Biology, Psychology, Kinesiology, German, and Spanish
M.A. in Kinesiology (Biomechanics - Motor Learning & Performance).
Post-graduate work under Professor Michael Arbib at the University of Southern California and Blake Hannaford at NASA-JPL.
Martial Arts:
I studied basic Saholin martial arts (the 5 Animal Styles + the 5 Traditional Weapons) beginning at age 17 and for three years in Arlington, Texas, and Yang Style Tai Chi (118 movement long-form) from Taiwan's National Martial Arts Team Coach, Ho Qinhan, before traveling to China for college study. While in China I studied:
Wushu, under 3-time Jiangsu Province Wushu Champion Guo Zibin, the Martial Arts Team Coach at Nanjing University.
Chen Tai Chi Chuan, under Master David Wei, Professor at Jiangsu Chemical Engineering College in Changzhou.
Ba Gua & Praying Mantis, under Chinese Historian and Sifu Yu Zheng, of Suzhou University.
Yang Style Tai Chi (37 movement form) from Sifu Dennis Beck, TCU Associate Professor.
Jeet Kune Do for four yeas under Sifu Kirk Weicht at Dallas-Fort Worth Jeet Kune Do Academy, Hurst, Texas.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
On-site class at DFWJKD Academy, $35/month, every Friday @ 6pm-7pm.
Private lessons within 20 miles of 76053 (Hurst), $35/hour.
Will consider teaching a weekly class at a church or senior citzen's recreation center.
How did you get started teaching?
While studying Chinese language & culturre at Nanjing University in 1983-84, I learned 3 styles of martial art and was told, by all of my teachers, to "When you go back home--teach."
So I do and I enjoy it.
What types of students have you worked with?
Pretty much all shapes and sizes, which is characteristic of students in Tai Chi--all have some capability. I teach a seated form for students that are less mobile.
Have also taught in a children's class.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
The Bruce Lee documentary on ESPN.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
The total number of years teaching is important, as is knowledge of Kinesiology. Medical knowledge, both Western and Eastern is also a plus.
I have knowledge therein.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
Level of commitment, desired goals, frequency of instruction, and budget.