For a tai chi school

What your school has to keep

Long forms are memorised in fragments, and it is easy to lose track of what has been taught to whom. Add the weapons — sword, sabre, fan — and students who enrol by the year, sometimes mid-term. Many schools welcome older people who come for the practice itself, with no rank in mind.

• Long forms, taught in fragments.
• Weapons: sword, sabre, fan.
• Enrolment by the year or mid-term.
• Students who practise with no rank in mind.

What Martialnote does for this style

The program is split into sequences rather than levels, and nothing forces you to set a rank. A school that awards ranks ties them to items; a school that does not follows the program as it is. Dues are tracked by the year as well as by the month, and the family rate applies when several members enrol together.

• Sequences rather than levels, if you prefer.
• Optional ranks, with no pressure.
• Yearly or monthly subscriptions.
• Family rate for group enrolments.

The starting Tai chi program

When the school is created, Martialnote offers the “Tai chi, Yang style, foundations” template. Every item can be renamed, moved or removed; the categories are: {Fs}, Qigong, Push hands, Weapons.

• {Fs} : Short {f} — section 1
• {Fs} : Short {f} — section 2
• {Fs} : Short {f} — section 3
• {Fs} : Long {f} — section 1
• Qigong : Eight pieces of brocade
• Qigong : Breathing and rooting
• Push hands : Fixed hands, one arm
• Push hands : Fixed hands, two arms
• Push hands : Moving steps
• Weapons : Sword — short {f}

Ranks

A rank template is offered as a starting point, with no official character: it describes a common usage, which your school renames and recolours freely. Promotion conditions — age, months of practice, attendance — are set per rank.

• Duan wei — Eagle · beginner, Tiger · intermediate, Dragon · advanced
• Kung fu sashes — Sashes