Black - 1st to 4th dan
	Tai chi chuan syllabus - intermediate level

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Qualifying

Students have passed all 10 coloured belts. They must attend a minimum of 25 workshops/boot camps/private lessons per calendar year in addition to weekly tuition in class.
If you haven't signed-up for workshops, don't ask to be assessed/graded in class.


Uniform

Students wear:

• Black T-shirt, changshan or wrap-over
• School badge sewn onto the left upper chest and the neijiaquan patch on the right sleeve (suit)
• Black cotton martial arts/karate trousers
• Flat footwear; preferably not training/sports shoes
• Black sash


Martial responsibility

The student's responsibility is to practice the art frequently enough for the muscle memory to remember what to do. This takes time and patience.
Without a strong foundation a tai chi student is not going to get very far.


Hip kwa

Once the hip bend is familiar, work on relaxing the kwa on the vertical plane during tai chi practice. This will increase your connection to the ground.


We get good at what we do

If you want to get good at form, practice form. If you want to become proficient with weapons, then practice with weapons. The more often your body undertakes the practice, the more familiar it will be.


Intermediate belts

The first 4 black belts are intermediate-level tai chi chuan.
 

It is absurd to think you are going to get anywhere by giving only an hour a week to your practice or that you can regularly skip classes. Martial arts is not like a bridge club, where you drop in when you have nothing better to do. Martial arts will always make greater demands on your time than would most hobbies or avocations.

(Dave Lowry)
 

Black (1st dan)

2-person cane drill (regular & mirrored)
3-tier wallbag (4 sets)
5 bows
5 bows exercise
Chin na applications (3 sets)
Finishing-off
Gravity striking
Loose striking
Immovable elbow
Keeping the pressure on when attacking
Neigong (1-10)
The power/function of 'li'
Pushing peng (partnered)
Pushing peng (striking)
Pushing peng exercise
Ready/guard stance
Silk arms (1-6)
Speed striking
Yielding exercise
- finishing off

Challenge - 2-person cane drill (regular & mirrored) (60 mins x 4 weeks)
Challenge - chin na applications #1 (60 mins x 4 weeks)
Challenge - chin na applications #2 (60 mins x 4 weeks)
Challenge - chin na applications #3 (60 mins x 4 weeks)
Challenge – silk arms (30 mins x 6 weeks)

Assignment #1 - The Sword Polisher's Record
Assignment #2 - There Are No Secrets
Assignment #3 - The Essence of Tai Chi Chuan - The Literary Tradition
Assignment #4 - The Art of War
Assignment #5 - The Book of Five Rings          


Black (2nd dan)

Sabre form (regular & mirrored)
Long Yang form (5 bows)
Biomechanical advantage
Chops
Floor work
- chin na
Meditation on body sensations
Neigong (extras)
Newton’s Laws of Motion
Qigong revision
Shuai jiao applications (2 sets)
Strategic stepping
Tactics used by other arts
Using 3-D to gain optimal power

Challenge - 5 bows form (regular & mirrored) (60 mins x 4 weeks)
Challenge - floor work endurance (10 mins)
Challenge - sabre form (regular & mirrored) (60 mins x 4 weeks)
Challenge - shuai jiao applications #1 (60 mins x 4 weeks)
Challenge - shuai jiao applications #2 (60 mins x 4 weeks)

Assignment #1 - The Way of Chuang Tzu
Assignment #2 - Moving Zen
Assignment #3 - The New Lao Tzu
Assignment #4 - Zen in the Art of Archery
Assignment #5 - 5 Elements of Effective Thinking




Black (3rd dan)

Walking stick form (regular & mirrored)
Long Yang form (moving from centre version)
5 elements
Anti-sparring
Countering punches, kicks & grapples
Countering/pushing peng
Cultivating peng
Everybody falls
Floor work
- control
- expedience
Form applications (section 1)
Freeform triangle
Leverage principles (misplacing the bones)
Neigong (11-20)
San sau (peng)
Silk arms (peng)

Small stick drills
Small stick flexibility drills
Sustaining peng throughout your counter
Yielding/chin na

Challenge - chin na relay (5 minutes)
Challenge - moving from centre form (regular & mirrored) (60 mins x 4 weeks)
Challenge - san sau (peng) (60 mins x 4 weeks)
Challenge - section 1 form applications (120 mins x 24 weeks)
Challenge - silk arms (peng) (60 mins x 4 weeks)
Challenge - small stick drills (60 mins x 4 weeks)
Challenge - walking stick form (regular & mirrored) (60 mins x 4 weeks)
Challenge - yielding/chin na endurance (10 mins)

Assignment #1 - 36 Strategies
Assignment #2 - Commentaries on Living volume 2
Assignment #3 - Peak
Assignment #4 - Tao of Being
Assignment #5 - The Little Zen Companion




Black (4th dan)

Jian form (regular & mirrored)
Long Yang form (folding version)
4 ounces exercise
5 animals
5 centres
6 balanced pairs
Countering a knife
Cultivating sung
Disarming
Dying ground
Elbow
Escapes/knife
Fa li
Floor work
- multiple opponents
- tactics
- dying ground
Folding
Form applications (section 2)
Groundpath
Holding down the pillow
Kicking
Meditation on emotions
Moving with kwa
Neigong (21-30)
Punching from the centre
Pushing hands development
Stick/jian drills
Yielding/shuai jiao

Challenge - folding form (regular & mirrored) (60 mins x 4 weeks)
Challenge - jian form (regular & mirrored) (60 mins x 4 weeks)
Challenge - section 2 form applications (120 mins x 24 weeks)
Challenge - shuai jiao relay (5 minutes)
Challenge - yielding/shuai jiao endurance (10 mins)

Assignment #1 - Tai Chi Theory & Martial Power
Assignment #2 - Back to Beginnings
Assignment #3 - Chuang Tzu in a Nutshell
Assignment #4 - The Art of War (Cleary/Shambhala)
Assignment #5 - Tao Te Ching (various translations)




Reading is not optional

To complete each level, students must answer assignments to prove that they have taken the time to read this website and all of the required texts.
Failure to read the books will impede progress and hinder understanding.


Further reading

• Home routines
• Fit for combat?
• Are you a martial artist?

More...

school database

Page created 2 March 1995
Last updated 21 May 2015

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