THE NAME “THRIVE TAI CHI”
Thrive Tai Chi was initially named Warrior Tai Chi. Warrior Tai Chi was established as a 501c (3) non-profit in California to improve the mental, physical, and spiritual health of those who serve or have served in the military (have a disability rating) of the United States of America and their spouses. Hence the name “Warrior Tai Chi.” We are proud to have moved to San Antonio and offer separate classes for veterans. Classes are also available for the general public. We will consider individuals for private and semi-private instruction if appropriate. Company wellness programs are also available.
GET THE REAL BENEFITS OF TAI CHI
Tai Chi is a very deep art with no finish line.
It is also essential to know that the Tai Chi moves alone do not actually deliver the health benefits of Tai Chi unless combined with an understanding of breath & internal body states.
Unfortunately, most Tai Chi instructors would instead focus on hundreds of moves without teaching the internal principles that develop profound & long-lasting health benefits. Our beginner program is traditional Tai Chi, which follows the ‘Clear Tai Chi Curriculum.’ The Clear System believes in teaching honest Tai Chi in depth as soon as possible.
To reap the many benefits of Tai Chi, you learn structural alignments, efficiency of movement, and the various body states and energies of the art. These are some of the skills that bring about the real benefits, which we want you to receive as soon as possible. As a result, we teach a short form to avoid a common problem in Tai Chi.
Most schools spend a tremendous amount of time learning long choreography sets without developing the real components of Tai Chi. Essentially, these schools delay the health improvements that could come for their students. Sometimes, the internal skills are never developed because the choreography has become king. Many practitioners spend years and years on forms only to later discover that their Tai Chi is empty and watered-down.
HEALTH VS. FIGHTING
Another common misunderstanding occurs when learning Tai Chi for health versus martial fighting applications. To truly understand the form and have the proper structural alignments and movement efficiency, which are all part of bringing about good health, you must have exposure to the martial applications. This does not mean that you have to kick and punch – especially if you are a senior like me- but it does mean that you need to demonstrate at least the martial aspects for your understanding. Programs that do not teach this do not give you the full scope of the art and, thus, the full health benefits of Tai Chi.
ZOOM, VIDEO OR IN PERSON
There are a lot of body states in Tai Chi that are next to impossible to teach with words alone. You must have an instructor with whom you can touch hands. You need to feel and learn through direct transmission. Push Hands is the part of Tai Chi training that is also frequently missing from programs. Before you run away thinking that you do not want to be pushed, maybe you have bad knees (that’s me) or poor balance, please be assured that Push Hands in our classes is very gentle. It is taught to those who are wiser regularly. Students appreciate the benefits of this part of the training.
SELF DEFENSE
Yes, there are combat and tournament-style Push Hands – only those interested in that training will receive it. You are not pressured into the martial side if you are studying for health. But if you are interested in self-defense, we teach that also. We hope this brief description enables you to make wise decisions when searching for proper Tai Chi training. At Warrior Tai Chi, we teach everything we discussed above and much more. We are proud to represent Master Richard Clear, and we teach him his Clear Tai Chi Curriculum. If you have any questions, please write to Sifu Ty at: [email protected] or call 210-935-1649.