Tai Chi (Taijiquan) - Internal Martial Arts Training in Victoria, Texas
Tai Chi is martial meditation in motion. Slow, precise movements that develop internal power, body awareness, and combat principles through relaxation rather than force. What looks gentle on the surface conceals devastating martial applications refined over centuries.
Learn authentic Taijiquan from Grandmaster Madame Wang Jurong's lineage - one of the most influential figures in traditional wushu. This isn't fitness taiji. This is the complete martial art rooted in Taoist principles and combat effectiveness.
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What Makes Tai Chi Different
Most martial arts develop power through speed and muscular strength. Taiji develops power through structure, relaxation, and internal energy (qi). You learn to redirect force rather than meet it head-on. Efficiency through softness, not hardness.
Slow Motion Training
Taiji forms are practiced slowly and deliberately. This isn't because they're easy - it's because slow movement reveals every flaw in structure, balance, and tension. Speed hides mistakes. Slowness exposes them. Once you master slow, fast becomes effortless.
Yin and Yang Principles
Taiji embodies Taoist philosophy - soft overcomes hard, yielding defeats aggressive, circular neutralizes linear. Every movement contains both opening and closing, rising and sinking, advance and retreat. Balance in constant motion.
Health and Longevity
Taiji is the only martial art you can practice into old age and continue improving. Low-impact movement protects joints while building deep strength. Meditation aspects reduce stress. Many practitioners start for health, discover the martial depth later.
Martial Applications
Every slow movement in Taiji forms is a combat technique. Push, pull, strike, lock, throw - all hidden in flowing sequences. What looks like gentle arm circles is actually joint manipulation. What appears as simple weight shifting is devastating throws and sweeps.
What You'll Learn in Tai Chi Training
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Traditional Taijiquan forms teach fundamental principles through continuous flowing movement. You learn to move from your center, maintain root while shifting weight, and coordinate whole-body power. Forms take months to memorize, years to understand, decades to master.
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Partner exercise that develops sensitivity, rooting, and the ability to redirect incoming force. Two practitioners maintain hand contact while each tries to unbalance the other. Teaches you to feel intention, neutralize attacks, and issue power without muscular tension.
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Energy cultivation exercises that complement taiji practice. Breathing techniques coordinate with movement to develop internal power. Not mystical - practical methods for improving oxygen efficiency, reducing tension, and enhancing body awareness.
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Taiji weapons include straight sword (jian), broadsword (dao), and spear. Weapons are taught after you've established solid empty-hand foundation. Each weapon extends taiji principles - the sword emphasizes precision, the saber power, the spear reach and flexibility.
Our Tai Chi Lineage
Sifu Michael Thomas learned Yang-style Taijiquan from Grandmaster Madame Wang Jurong, one of the most respected and influential figures in traditional wushu. He became her lifelong student, studying under her guidance until her death in 2005.
Sifu Michael Thomas on-stage with Madame Wang Jurong, and other kung fu grandmasters
Madame Wang Jurong was instrumental in preserving traditional taiji during China's modernization. She taught the complete martial art - not simplified fitness versions, but taiji as it was passed down through generations with combat applications, weapons, and internal cultivation intact.
Before she died, Madame Wang directed Sifu to open his own school and preserve what he'd learned. The tai chi taught at Zhonghua Wushu honors that directive - authentic Yang-style Taijiquan passed through one of the art's most influential teachers.
Beyond Tai Chi - Other Internal Martial Arts We Teach
Tai Chi is part of our internal arts curriculum. Students interested in internal martial systems may also study Baguazhang (Eight Trigram Palm) - a circular walking practice that develops evasive footwork and changing angles. These arts complement tai chi's principles while offering different tactical approaches.
Internal arts aren't for everyone. They require patience, consistent practice, and willingness to work slowly for years before seeing results. But for students who commit to the process, internal systems offer lifelong development that improves with age rather than declining.
Ready to Train Tai Chi?
Call or text to speak with Sifu Michael Thomas about what you want to learn.
Or walk in Monday-Friday, 4:30-8pm at 2523 N Laurent and observe a class. Ask questions. See what authentic Taiji training looks like.
No pressure. No obligation. Just come see what traditional kung fu looks like.
