I am always excited to share what I know and love about Tai Chi with others. Despite 23 years of daily practice, I remain enthralled with Tai Chi and yet still remember what it is like to start from zero–how puzzling and challenging it can be. Its apparent simplicity hides a complexity and attention to detail that can quickly frustrate the student who doesn’t put in the time to practice. I cannot teach you Tai Chi but I definitely can teach you how and what to practice and what deserves your attention, so that your skill and appreciation and (hopefully) love of this amazing art can grow and transform your life.

Those of you who are continuing know the following, but if you are new to Santa Cruz Tai Chi what I need from you prior to enrolling is a willingness to spend an hour weekly in class and at least 15-20 minutes a day practicing each week’s lesson. It is this repetition and focus that waters the seeds of each lesson so that they grow and flower in your mind and body and provide the foundation for the next lesson and the next and, hopefully, a practice that will last you a lifetime. Since each lesson builds on the previous ones, my experience is that unless the student has this expectation from the outset they will not develop their skill level or understanding, fall behind, and get frustrated. I don’t want your Tai Chi experience to be frustrating. I understand that you might miss a class, maybe a few, and you will undoubtedly miss some days of practice. That is the case with every student at all levels of experience and is why we spend part of every class reviewing the previous lessons before engaging with the new.

Perhaps your doctor suggested you “take up tai chi” to help your balance or you are simply looking for a “drop-in” class to provide an opportunity to move your body for an hour a week. If that is the level of your interest, this is not the class for you. I would suggest you look into a movement or stretching class at a gym, or a Tai Chi for Seniors program though Dominican Hospital, Cabrillo College, or a Senior Center. And there are many instructional videos on YouTube for improving balance if that is your only goal. My tai chi class will require a greater commitment of your time and energy than these, but the possible benefits will be exponentially greater http://santacruztaichi.com/?p=211. If you haven’t already, I recommend you also read some of the other articles on our website to gain a clearer picture of my approach to the art, science, and philosophy of Tai Chi http://santacruztaichi.com/?page_id=40  I regard the class as a study group rather than a one-way street from me to you. We are exploring Tai Chi together and it will be much more fruitful if everyone participates to the extent their life outside class permits. Devoting 15-20 minutes a day to learning something new, especially something as profound and rewarding as Tai Chi, is fairly manageable by most people. It just takes commitment. You definitely cannot drop in once a week and expect to derive much benefit. That would be a waste of everyone’s time.

The primary focus of the 20 weeks is the Tai Chi Form, the sequence of slow movements that is usually, for all of us upon first witnessing it, our initial introduction and source of fascination with Tai Chi. We will be exploring the entire Yang Style Short Form as developed and taught by my teacher, William CC Chen, plus the Ziranmen Qigong Form, 5 sequences known as Master Huang’s “Loosening Exercises,” another stretching regimen specific to Tai Chi, breath work, and several standing meditations (Zhan Zhuang). I will also provide you numerous printouts and links to pertinent instructional videos. Throughout the session there will be connections made to Daoist and Confucian philosophy and Yin/Yang theory. I will also introduce additional balance exercises that focus on the inner ear (Tai Chi has all the other components of balance well-covered except for the inner ear). Tai Chi can be a life-long practice and I hope it will be for you. Tai Chi is not about making the Form look graceful. It is about present moment awareness and developing, maintaining, and embodying a stable mental and physical equilibrium. The gracefulness is a by-product. Sifu Adam Mizner puts it this way: “The purpose of the Form is to perfect you…to train your body, your chi and your mind. It’s not for you to perfect the Form. Form is just an exercise. It is there to serve you.”

The 2024 session will last 20 weeks. It will be the only 20-week session in 2024. It will begin on 9/28 and continue for 9 weeks until 11/23. After a break for the holidays, we will reconvene on 1/4/25 for 11 more weeks, ending on 3/15/25. This is where I need you to make some decisions. First, consider what I have said above as far as the expectation of your dedication of time and interest. The second consideration is the class fee. I have learned from my 13 years of teaching that having “skin in the game” is an important level of commitment to the class, even for some of the continuing students. A commitment to regularity of class attendance fosters the cultivation of a dedicated practice that results in development and progress rather than one that slowly dissolves, devolves into occasional, inattentive “sleepwalking” through the Form, and/or results in the development of significant errors in the Form. For that reason all beginning students, will pay a non-refundable class fee of $240 for this 20-week session in order to be included in the class. The fee for each class is $15, so this represents a 20% discount. Another way to look at it, especially if you know you will have to miss a few classes, is you are getting 4 classes for free. Those students who have been through at least one 20-week session with me can attend on a drop-in basis at $15 per class. There will be two classes again: 9:30-10:30 and 10:30-11:30. Each class will cover the same material but the earlier class will be tailored to the continuing students and the later to the beginners. However, those who have made the $240 commitment, both beginners and continuers, may attend both classes on any Saturday they choose for no extra charge or can “double-up” occasionally if they miss a class some week and wish to not fall behind.

All classes meet in downtown Santa Cruz on Saturday mornings. The class will again likely be at the Veterans Hall on Front Street in downtown Santa Cruz, upstairs in the Post Room. There is plenty of available (free!) parking and bike racks nearby. So if you are comfortable with all you have just read and wish to be included in the session, contact me and I will send you further registration details.

Sifu (teacher) Mark Bernhard