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TaiJi/Qigong (Tai Chi)

"Light like scattered flowers, Solid like tempered metal. Competing with the tiger for ferocity, Challenging the eagle for speed. In movement it is like a flowing river, In stillness it is like a solid mountain, The spirit concentrated at the brink before emitting" Chen Zhongsheng (1809 - 1871)

Hundreds of years ago, people struggled with the apparent paradoxes of tai chi in order to gain martial arts mastery - training slowly to build incredible speed, not moving in order to build strength, and being supple and yielding to overcome strength and power. Along the way, they also achieved inner peace, excellent health and long life.

Today, most people come to tai chi seeking the health benefits, but many decide to delve deeper and gain an understanding of the subtle understanding of correct body movement that makes tai chi such a powerful martial art. At Jing Ying Institute, we offer a complete set of programs that can meet your needs whatever your interests are. Our focus is on Chen Style TaiJiQuan, the original style that all other major styles came from.

Chen TaiJi/Qigong for Health and Wellness - This is the core of our program and where new students should start. Students will work on life enhancement exercises, or "Yang Sheng Gong," using tai chi to enhance your health and wellness. Three primary areas of focus will be basic exercises (spiral rotations of silk reeling, bending of the joints and coordinated footwoork), Qi nurturing exercises (QiGong, seated meditation and standing post meditation), and forms practice (integrating body awareness and movement into practice of the Chen Tai Chi Essential 18 Forms). The 18 Forms (also called the "Jing" form, "Essence" form or shi ba shi) are distilled from the longer LaoJia YiLu form. They can be practiced with high stances or low stances to accomodate a wide variety of fitness levels. At this level, students may also learn the Chen TaiJi Sword 18 Form.

Comprehensive Chen Style TaiJiQuan - Once students have learned the 18 forms, they may desire to expand their practice. Our Comprehensive program allows students to pursue a complete program of all aspects of taiji including advanced forms, weapons, push hands and combat applications. This will begin with learning the 74 movement LaoJia YiLu form. Practice of this form is designed to remove stiff energy and open up the joints. It is characterized by large movements, upright posture, smooth but light footwork, and spiralling energy. Movements are performed continuously and smoothly and when energy is realeased it uses a relaxed and elastic strength without stiffness.

Students may move on to LaoJia ErLu (also known as "Cannon Fist") This form was considered an important training method to prepare the body for actual combat. It contains many leaping, stamping and striking movements with an emphasis on the release of energy. Students may also learn straightsword, broadsword, spear, guandao and other forms and weapons as well as push hands, qin na, and combat applications. We are one of a handful of schools that offer an official Chen Style lineage. We are an offical branch of the Chen ZhengLei TaiJiQuan Federation.

Tai Chi for Arthritis/Chronic Conditions - This is Dr Paul Lam's program based on Sun style tai chi. This is the program approved by the Arthritis Foundation. If you have fibromyalgia, osteo-arthritis, rheumatoid-arthritis, or other conditions that make it difficult or painful for you to exercise, then this simple and safe program may be for you. If your symptoms are relatively mild, you may prefer our TaiJi/QiGong for Health and Wellness program which will provide more opportunities for growth as your condition improves.

Why is a lineage important and what is the tai chi lineage at Jing Ying?

Shifu Billy Greer presenting: Tai Chi - Why is moving slow so hard and how does it make you faster? This was at the first Ignite Annapolis event.

This event required speakers to do their presentation in a 5-minute timeframe along with powerpoint slides.