At the Dan Lee Academy of Tai Chi Chuan, we have a curriculum that offers an opportunity for students to learn systematically the whole spectrum of the Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan.

Dan Lee's Academy of Tai Chi Chuan is unique in that more than just T' ai Chi is offered. There are two days of classes. Thursday evening for basic instruction in Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan and Saturday morning for instruction in Traditional Stretching, Chi Kung (Chinese Holistic Breathing) and practice of Tai Chi Chuan and Sensing Hands/Push Hands instruction.

Thursday evening classes start at 6:20 for new students and end at 8:00 PM.. Thursday evening is the time for basic instruction. Starting times are staggered so that each level has the benefit of personal instruction by Dr. Lee for one-half hour. The remainder of the class time for review and practice is led by at least one if not two or more of Dr. Lee's experienced Teaching Assistants.

Saturday mornings start at 7:00 AM for all students. Saturday mornings begin with learning and practicing a traditional Chinese Stretching routine, followed by learning and practice of one of the four Qi Gong sets and practice of Tai Chi learned in the previous weeks. The four Qi Gong systems taught at the Academy are; The Soaring Crane Qi Gong Set, The Wild Goose Qi Gong Set, The Yang Family Qi Gong and The Eighteen Movements of Tai Chi Qi Gong. Class is over for Levels 1 through 4 by 9:45 AM.

Levels 1 - 4
Basic Instruction in the 108 movements of Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan is divided and taught in four levels. Each level is three months long. Training manuals for each level are provided. Instructional video tapes for each level are available for purchase.

Level 5
The Refinement Level is for those students who have completed the first four levels of instruction in the Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan In the Refinement level, the student's form is corrected and the movements refined. The Refinement level is 6 months long. At this level, the student is introduced to the study of the various weapons sets.

Level 6
The Intermediate level: Students are taught the Mirror version of the standard set in order to balance their neuro-muscular co-ordination. The Refinement of the standard form is continued.

Level 7
The Advanced level: The students are taught the Symmetrical set of Tai Chi Chuan which was developed by Dr. Daniel Lee. In this set, the movements of the standard form and the mirror form are combined into a 60 form set in which each movement appears only once.Once profiency is shown in the Symmetrical set, the student may start the study of the Fast Set of Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan. In this set, the students learn to do the standard long form, with some modifications, rapidly. For example, the long form takes about 29 to 33 minutes to complete. The Fast Set takes from 3.5 to 5 minutes to complete.The students are also offered additional instruction in weapons sets, consisting of Sword, Saber and Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, as well as the martial arts applications of the Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan This includes the two person Combat set and a Two-Person Sword Set. Refinement is, of course, always ongoing and continuing.

Teaching Assistant Level
Students who have completed the Intermediate and Advanced levels and wish to deepen their knowledge of Tai Chi Chuan and learn how to teach Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan may apply for this level of instruction.

In addition, all levels are offered training in Sensing Hands/Push Hands (two person interaction) this training is normally offered only to intermediate and advanced students, however in our academy, Sensing Hands/Push Hands training is offered starting with the very first levels of instruction and progresses along with the basic training in T ai Chi Chuan. This approach enables the students to greatly improve their yielding skill, stability, sensitivity and understanding of the Tai Chi principles. Self defense techniques using leverage are offered to all levels on the last Saturday of each month.

Calendar || Curriculum || About Dan Lee || About T'ai Chi || Directions || Contact
Reading List || Photo Gallery