About T'ai Chi

An ancient art for today’s world... T’ai Chi imparts the experience of stability, a deep connection both to oneself and to others, and a wonderful lightness born of the awakened spirit. Affecting us in all realms: body, heart, mind and spirit, Tai Chi lets us relax into our true being and enjoy life fully. T’ai Chi practice helps us both slow down and wake up; to become stronger and softer at the same time; to relax profoundly while developing strength; to focus and clarify the mind while letting go of thoughts. A full “round” takes 7-10 minutes to practice and requires only a small flat space.

Other topics on this page include: T'ai Chi for Beginners, Eight Ways, Time in the Art, Arica^® Meditation, Hawaiian Swimming, Kid's Camp, About the Location, About the T'ai Chi Foundation, Program Highlights, Registration Information, and Schedule and Price.

Come and Do T'ai Chi with Us!

We invite you to experience a unique vacation, one that will leave you relaxed and refreshed as well as enlivened and inspired. Our five day residential program offers four hours of T’ai Chi Chuan and meditation daily, plus time to rest, explore, socialize and enjoy a varied agenda of enrichment activities.

A summer training affords the opportunity to relax more deeply than you ever imagined possible. Supported by the informal setting, the intensive T’ai Chi practice, and the energy of the group, you will feel the changes and benefits of Ta’i Chi more quickly and profoundly. Experience a relaxation that is alive and vital at the core. This is the special nature of T'ai Chi, the wonderful combination of softness and strength, relaxation and energy, which it confers.

The friendly social interaction is one of the best parts of the summer camp program. Meet T’ai Chi students and teachers at all levels and discover a new dimension to T’ai Chi in the good humor and happiness of the summer training program. Our international not-for-profit school has been teaching summer intensives in the United States and Europe for 26 years, and many of our students and teachers, old and new, will be with us in July. We hope that this year you will be there too!

T'ai Chi for Beginners

Our summer curriculum is ideal for beginners. In two one-hour classes per day the movements of the first third of the T’ai Chi form are learned sequentially. Instruction includes clear indications, demonstrations, practice and hands-on adjustment of positions by teams of experienced teachers. Additional opportunities to practice the material in the early morning and after-dinner hours help reinforce the movements.

The Eight Ways^sm

The Eight Ways are a delightful series of eight separate movements distilled from the T'ai Chi form by Professor Cheng Man-Ch’ing. Simple and beautiful, they complement study of the form by emphasizing the principles involved and reinforcing them through poetic imagery. Ways one through four and five through eight will be offered.

Arica^® Meditations

Our school has a long-standing relationship with the Arica School, a school of knowledge that presents a contemporary method for enlightenment. This relationship is based on the mutual respect and acknowledgment of three exceptional men: Professor Cheng Man-Ch’ing, who brought T’ai Chi to western culture; Oscar Ichazo, philosopher mystic and founder of the Arica Institute; and Patrick Watson, student of both men, and founder of our T’ai Chi school. The life work of these men has culminated inside our school to enhance and accelerate our T’ai Chi study and awaken us to our highest potential as members of all humanity.

We will offer a selection of coursework from the Arica Institute at camp. Experience the power of meditation to quiet the mind and calm the emotions, and learn useful exercises for balance in daily life from the Arica Daily Routine^tm. Feel the impact of the breath’s ability to infuse the entire body with vital energy through the practice of Psychocalisthenics^tm, an invigorating series of exercises. Enjoy learning the movements and mantram of the Nine Ways of Zhikr^tm, a profound merging of movement, music, breath and sacred sound. This class will culminate in a spirited performance at the end of the week accompanied by joyful live music.

Traditional Hawaiian Swimming^sm

Learn the original swimming technique used by Hawaiian warriors from the Huna tradition, using the T’ai Chi principles of timing, balance and relaxation.

Classes will be organized by comfort level in the water and taught in Goucher College's indoor pool. For non-swimmers, this is an opportunity to learn to relax in the water, overcome fear, and begin learning to swim. Beginning swimmers will learn the Hawaiian crawl with emphasis on special kick and breathing technique. Intermediate and advanced swimmers will refine the Hawaiian crawl and learn other strokes.

Vicki Caballero Shackford, who has many years of experience as an aquatics and Hawaiian Swimming instructor, will be teaching. These swimming classes are hugely popular with our summer students and consistently gets rave reviews. Give one a try!

Kid’s Camp (ages 3-16)

Kids' Camp gets high marks from all kids involved, from ages three to sixteen. Two dedicated and experienced staff members plan activities on campus and in the local area with the children. Hawaiian Swimming classes and T'ai Chi Games are included. Older children may choose to participate in T’ai Chi form classes. So that parents get the most benefit from their experience at camp, we have found it necessary that all children on campus participate in the children’s program. Mealtimes, late afternoons and evenings will be free for children to share with their parents.

About The Location

We will be returning to Goucher College, a lovely 287-acre wooded campus in suburban Towson, Maryland, just eight miles north of Baltimore with easy access to both Amtrak and Baltimore-Washington International Airport. SIngle and double dormitory rooms are available: many are air conditioned and share semiprivate baths. Classes will be held in large, bright classrooms and dance studios in the college's new Sports and Recreation Center, which also houses a swimming pool for Hawaiian Swimming classes.

Meals are catered by the award-winning food management service, Bon Appetit, using fresh, high-quality ingredients. Nearby attractions include numerous art and history museums, state parks offering rafting, swimming and horseback riding, music clubs, restaurants, and Baltimore's revitalized Inner Harbor. For those wishing even more adventure, Washington DC is an hour and a half to the south.

About the T'ai Chi Foundation

A not-for-profit educational organization, the T’ai Chi Foundation promotes the teaching and study of T’ai Chi Chuan through the teachers of the School of T’ai Chi Chuan. An international school with over 200 teachers in nine countries, the T’ai Chi Foundation teaches the Yang family short form as taught by Grand-master Cheng Man-Ch’ing. Our mission is to transmit the form with clarity, precision and respect for tradition in a way that makes learning both easy and fun and conveys the spirit and essence of T’ai Chi, for the benefit of all humanity.

Program Highlights

Refund/Cancellation Policy

A minimum $150 deposit is required to register. Cancellation notice received through June 15 will receive a full refund. We will be unable to honor refunds after June 15, 2005.

For More Information

Anne Smyers, Summer Training Coordinator:
703-318-6970

www.taichifoundation.org
www.goucher.edu