Welcome to Yiheyuan Martial Arts
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"A school should exist not only to teach but also to investigate, not only to formulate prematurely a finalized system but to remain creative, to go on testing theories by applying them and by validating ideas by experience." Paul Brunton _________________________________ Still locked down - but Zooming!
Most of our classes had recently resumed or were just about to start when the second lockdown began. The lockdown has now been replaced by a tier system and Leeds is in the highest tier as of 26th November 2020. Although gyms are reopening, indoor classes are still not allowed at present. Outdoor classes are allowed but the cold weather may be a limiting factor! Although all our classes have had to close, most are ready to restart as soon as we are allowed to go back indoors. Meanwhile, we now have classes available on Zoom, which are open to all students at all levels of experience. At present, these are: Thursdays: 2pm Tai Chi and Qigong Thursdays: 7pm Meditation Instructor: g Hamilton To participate in a Zoom class, you need a device with a webcam (eg PC, laptop, iPad, Phone) with the free Zoom app, which is free to download from www.zoom.us or the App Store For information about how to book a Zoom session, please email us at realtaichi@hotmail.co.uk When our normal classes resume, existing covid-safe conditions will continue. In most classes, numbers will be restricted to allow for social distancing, which means that places in some classes have to be booked in advance. We respectfully request all our students to wear a face mask in all of our indoor venues. While this has not been a requirement nationally in classes involving more strenuous types of exercise, Tai Chi is no more physically demanding than slow walking, as when walking around a shop, and our students have not found them to be a problem. Your safety is our greatest consideration and we will only be returning to venues where we can be sure that there is no risk to your health from attending our classes. For example, all sites will need to have adequate space and fresh air. Please note that, where windows or doors have to be left open for ventilation, warmer clothing is advised. We strongly recommend that you do not use public transport or car sharing to travel to and from classes. We would also ask everyone to be mindful of social distancing requirements outside the venues as well as inside the buildings, eg while waiting to get in, or when leaving, and when speaking with friends in the car park. The continuation of all of these classes will be dependent upon local and national decisions regarding the pandemic. We will try to keep you updated week by week if we hear of any changes. If you don’t want to join a Zoom class at present, or if (when real classes resume) you are unable to get to a class due to lack of transport or quarantine or shielding, please take a look at our home study options below, which may help to tide you over until we get back to some semblance of normality. As well as the resources listed below, we are currently developing a step by step home study guide for beginners. We’ll keep you posted. Keep safe, keep well. We’ve missed you guys! Let’s hope that we can get together again soon to practice our Tai Chi. All the best, g and Col Memories are Made of This Yiheyuan students at Tai Chi in the Park in years gone by, enjoying an afternoon of sunshine, Qigong, Tai Chi, Bagua and other relaxing and tranquil pursuits! This year's event was forms only and well spaced out in view of the current challenges. We hope that by next year we will be back to normal and able to practice push hands again. Proof Positive that Lockdown
does not have to stop you learning Tai Chi! Elizabeth Ashworth and her daughter, Shelley Tyson, were determined not to let a mere national lockdown stand in the way of their Tai Chi. From their own homes, they kept right on practicing and stayed in touch with their tutor and assessor, Barbara Doyle, submitting video evidence of their progress. We are delighted to tell you that they have now both achieved their Certificate in Tai Chi Chuan Level 1, the first to do that while in isolation.
Well done both of you!!! 
Home Study Options
If you don’t have a class at the moment, we have lots of online home study options to help you to stay fit and well and continue to develop your Tai Chi skills: YouTube Videos Please go to our YouTube channel to view a series of warm-up exercises with Colin, including loosening, stretching, silk-reeling, qigong and seated strength training. You can also follow Colin through the whole of the Cheng Man Ching form, as seen from behind, exactly as you would in class, with verbal instructions and subtitles showing the names of the moves as you go along. Just click on this link: www.youtube.com/user/yiheyuantaichi Get Tutorial Support If you want to progress with your forms and receive guidance on how to improve, individual online tutorial support is also available, providing you with lots of helpful feedback based on the short video clips you submit. If you are interested, just send us an email to realtaichi@hotmail.co.uk Books Please remember that we have already written down practically everything we felt you might like to know about Tai Chi, from beginner to advanced and instructor level, in our books, which are all listed below. Perhaps, in the present situation, you might have time to read them. We would also welcome any news of how you are getting on, especially if you live alone or you feel the need of a friendly chat. We are still your family and we are here for you, so do keep in touch. Stay safe and well. Love, g and Col xxx
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Here are some free eBooks for you to download:
(Please click on the links to download your free PDF files) This 17-page guide is designed to be like a best friend, with some knowledge of Tai Chi, who can help you to find the right class for you, let you know what to expect when you get there and explain what's going on in your first few lessons.
For those with a little more experience, an intermediate level guide:
Your Tai Chi Companion Part Two - Moving On As you progress through the beginner to intermediate stages of your Tai Chi journey, this 44-page "guide by your side" allows you to check your skills, troubleshoot problems and explore some of the deeper aspects of the art. 
Interested in Qigong?
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For very experienced Tai Chi practitioners:
Are you interested in moving towards mastery of your martial art? Would you like to know more about the martial side of Tai Chi and how it could help to protect you on the street? Or are you thinking of becoming a Tai Chi instructor? For you, we now have three Advanced Level Guides covering forms, applications and how to teach Tai Chi. available worldwide on Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats. 
...and if you've enjoyed g's stories and poems in class, here they all are, for a bit of bedtime reading:
The Wu Dang Stick Forms...FREE
See our free tutorials on You Tube showing the Wu Dang San Feng Gun Stick Forms Both forms and the two-person stick drills! There's also an illustrated Training Manual, as a PDF, to accompany the videos of forms 1 and 2. Other Learning Resources from Yiheyuan
In addition to the above resources, we also have also produced a range of comprehensive DVDs on Tai Chi and Bagua which are for sale on Amazon.co.uk, and some free self-help guides, lists of the movements of some of the most popular Tai Chi forms and free audio guides as mp3 files to listen to as you practice the Cheng Man Ching Form and the Yang Style Long Form. |
Tai Chi in the Park gives you the opportunity to catch up with old friends...
...and engage in meaningful activities!
At Yiheyuan, we take Martial Arts seriously...
...but not too seriously!
Some of us spend more time rolling around on the floor than others...
...while some rise to new heights!
Barbara of the House of Doyle adds a whole new dimension
to Tai Chi weapons forms!
Whatever brought you to our website, we hope you found what you were looking for.
If there is anything else we can help you with, please contact us by email.
Thank you for dropping in.
If there is anything else we can help you with, please contact us by email.
Thank you for dropping in.
Yiheyuan Martial Arts, Leeds, UK
Congratulations!
To all our new instructors
who have achieved the full syllabus
Instructor's Certificate in
Tai Chi Chuan:
Kieron Niven
Rob Kiss
Dave Cullen
David Holmes
Angela Losty
Jane Middleton
who have achieved the full syllabus
Instructor's Certificate in
Tai Chi Chuan:
Kieron Niven
Rob Kiss
Dave Cullen
David Holmes
Angela Losty
Jane Middleton
And Congratulations to
Gloria Simons
who has achieved the Instructor's certificate in
Tai Chi for Health and Relaxation
Gloria Simons
who has achieved the Instructor's certificate in
Tai Chi for Health and Relaxation
Congratulations also to our newest assessor,Kath Pybus, who has now helped several of her students to achieve their level 1 Certificate in Tai Chi Chuan. Here she is with Phil Hill, Suzette Garland-Grimes, Mark Rowbottom, Andrew Freer and Julie Ware. Well done all of you!
Assessors Barbara Doyle and John Donegan, enabled two of their students, Keith Manders and Steven Hambleton, to achieve their level 1 award earlier this year.
Meanwhile, well done David Cullen, Rob Kiss and Kieron Niven, Col's students at the University of York Tai Chi Club, pictured below when they received their Level 2 awards. They have now achieved Level 3 and become qualified instructors.
Here's Martin Day when he received the Level 3 Advanced Certificate in Tai Chi Chuan and the Instructor's Certificate in Tai Chi Chuan at Advanced Level.
Ben Bisco also achieved the Level 3 Advanced Certificate in Tai Chi Chuan and the Instructor's Certificate in Tai Chi Chuan at Advanced Level.
Well done guys!
So proud of all our students who work tirelessly towards improving their Tai Chi and passing on this awesome martial art to future generations.
A Tribute to Jon Cooper
"A bloody great bloke!"
Our long-time student and very dear friend Jonathan Cooper has passed away unexpectedly.
Those who turned up to say farewell filled two chapels to capacity - a testament to how well-loved this man was and how many lives he touched.
Jon, you are truly a legend and we can't imagine this world without you.
As you embark on the next stage of the great journey, we wish you well.
You will always be in our hearts
till we meet again in the quantum substrate or in the Halls of Valhalla!
Those who turned up to say farewell filled two chapels to capacity - a testament to how well-loved this man was and how many lives he touched.
Jon, you are truly a legend and we can't imagine this world without you.
As you embark on the next stage of the great journey, we wish you well.
You will always be in our hearts
till we meet again in the quantum substrate or in the Halls of Valhalla!
Instructor Richard Morley has published a book for beginners on the Cheng Man Ching short form.
It contains some useful warm up exercises, followed by step-by step form instructions - all fully illustrated with clear photographs.
Available on Amazon, in paperback and on Kindle, it is a great home study aid for anyone new to Tai Chi.
It contains some useful warm up exercises, followed by step-by step form instructions - all fully illustrated with clear photographs.
Available on Amazon, in paperback and on Kindle, it is a great home study aid for anyone new to Tai Chi.
Our Amazing Yolande!
Yolande Sowerby (front row, centre) receiving the UK Top Award for Community Volunteer in November 2014
Yolande Sowerby receiving her award for teaching Tai Chi from Thomas Murray, Lord Mayor of Leeds.
Then again, all our students are pretty amazing!
Monica Ludolf and Jane Middleton achieved their Level 3 Advanced Certificate in Tai Chi Chuan - equivalent to a black belt in other martial arts.
Ben Morris (right) receiving one of the three medals he won at the London Championships, 1st June 2014.
Saturday morning sword class. Many of our students who have qualified as instructors meet regularly to extend and hone their skills..
A Tribute to
Ronnie Robinson
In loving memory of a great man and a great friend, Ronnie Robinson
who, for decades, was the heart and soul of Tai Chi in this country, as the Secretary of the Tai Chi Union for Great Britain and as the Editor of Tai Chi Chuan Magazine. He worked tirelessly to raise public awareness of our art via the media, books, events, videos and links with Europe and China.
His Tai Chi Caledonia has become the place to be every summer, attracting instructors from all over the world.
To tell you how much we, all of us, owe to this man - we wouldn't know where to begin. Without him, Tai Chi in this country would not have been what it is today.
Rest in Peace Ronnie.
*About our move to our new home
Our old web host instigated many changes, eventually losing functionality so that we were no longer able to update information about our classes, or indeed edit the site at all.
Here in our new home, we can easily keep our essential information up to date for you and provide resources for you to download.
We hope you find your visit enjoyable. If there was any content on the old website that you miss, you may find that it is still available here in a page on this site or in one of our Books.
Thank you for visiting us.
Have a great day!
Our old web host instigated many changes, eventually losing functionality so that we were no longer able to update information about our classes, or indeed edit the site at all.
Here in our new home, we can easily keep our essential information up to date for you and provide resources for you to download.
We hope you find your visit enjoyable. If there was any content on the old website that you miss, you may find that it is still available here in a page on this site or in one of our Books.
Thank you for visiting us.
Have a great day!
