​Welcome to Yiheyuan Martial Arts 

Thankyou for visiting Yiheyuan: "The garden where peace is cultivated".

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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
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In Loving Memory of Elizabeth Ashworth

We are so sad to hear of the passing from this world of Liz Ashworth, shown here proudly showing her Certificate in Tai Chi Chuan, which she achieved depite her illness and all the challenges of lockdown. A devoted mother and truly great person who showed incredible courage and selflessness, keeping right on smiling, supporting and uplifing everyone who knew her.

Here is a tribute to her from her teacher, Barbara, on behalf of all her many freinds and fellow students.

"Liz, you were an inspiration to all of us. Your enthusiasm and your wonderful, cheeky sense of humour brought a ray of light into every room. Your Chi is now free to shine down on us every day. To say you will be missed by your Tai Chi family is an understatement. Enjoy your journey, and keep on laughing at us. Bx"
🙌

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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. and so both achieved their Certificate in Tai Chi Chuan Level 1, the only students do that while in isolation.

Beginners classes available

Most of our classes have now re-started, in venues where it is safe to do so.

The following instructors have vacancies and are ready to welcome new starters:

Mark Fahy's class: St. Margaret's Hall, Methley, Tuesday evenings, 7.30pm

Colin Hunter's class: Parkway Hotel, Bramhope, `Mondays 7pm.

Barbara Doyle’s class in Kirkstall  Tuesday evenings 7pm.

Kath Pybus's class: Stanley Methodist Church, Wakefield, Wednesdays,  7pm.

Beginners and experienced students are welcome in the above classes.
See our classes page for details.


COVID-19

 We are by no means assuming that the pandemic is over, with Omicron numbers still sky high and hospitals struggling. Also Leeds has a high proportion of unvaccinated people, compared with the rest of the country, so our students have elected to continue to wear masks in most of our classes and participants are strongly advised to make sure they have received both Covid vaccinations and a booster, if possible.

In addition to the new indoor classes, we still have four classes continuing on Zoom:

Mondays: 2pm Tai Chi
Wednesdays: 2pm Tai Chi

Instructor: Colin Hamilton

Thursdays: 2pm Tai Chi
Thursdays: 7pm Meditation

Instructor: g Hamilton

For information about how to book a Zoom session, please email us at realtaichi@hotmail.co.uk


HOME STUDY OPTIONS

If you don’t yet have a class, and don’t want to Zoom, please take a look at our other home study resources below, including our books and the wide range of video tutorials on our YouTube channel.

In Loving Memory of

Paul Fozzard

We were devastated to learn of the sudden and completely unexpected departure from this world of our dear friend,  fellow-student and gifted teacher, Paul Fozzard.
Paul was part of our Tai Chi family for more than two decades and practiced the art wherever he went, including at the top of mountains! An intrepid mountaineer, wild water swimmer and a valued and well-respected member of the care profession, Paul was the kindest and gentlest person one coud ever meet. A quiet and thoughtful philosopher, he never had a harsh word to say about anyone and so was well loved by all. To say that he will be deeply missed is an understatement. 


Looking for a Tai Chi Class in Leeds?


If you live in or around Leeds, UK,
you can click this link to

Find a Tai Chi Class

Meanwhile, you might like to 
Meet our Instructors

and learn something about us and what we do,
or check out our many learning resources listed below:
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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! 
Last year's event was forms only and well spaced out in view of the current challenges. This year we did the same. We hope that by next year we will be back to normal and able to practice push hands again.
Venue: any park or open space near you, last Sunday in June, 2.30pm.


We constantly strive to produce learning resources to help you in your studies of 
Tai Chi Chuan, Hsing Yi Chuan, Ba Gua Zhang, Qigong and Meditation.
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Tai Chi in the Park gives you the opportunity to catch up with old friends...
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...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!
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Barbara of the House of Doyle adds a whole new dimension to Tai Chi weapons forms!
YIheyuan: "The garden where peace is cultivated". Come and join the fun!
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.

Our Amazing Yolande!

Then again, all our students are pretty amazing!
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Yolande Sowerby (front row, centre) receiving the UK Top Award for Community Volunteer in November 2014
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Yolande Sowerby receiving her award for teaching Tai Chi from Thomas Murray, Lord Mayor of Leeds.
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Monica Ludolf and Jane Middleton achieved their Level 3 Advanced Certificate in Tai Chi Chuan - equivalent to a black belt in other martial arts.
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.
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Ben Morris (right) receiving one of the three medals he won at the London Championships, 1st June 2014.

 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!
Farewell to an old friend

We were sad to learn of the passing of Dan Docherty, an internationally renowned martial artist who was a founder member and long-time Chairman of the Tai Chi Union for Great Britain. For decades, Dan worked tirelessly to promote Tai Chi Chuan throughout Europe and beyond.
Always down to Earth and often outspoken, Dan used his skills as an author, via several best-selling books and  lots of entertaining and informative articles for Combat magazine, to increase public awareness that Tai Chi Chuan is a complete martial art.
While serving as a Police Inspector in Hong Kong and training with his teacher, Cheng Tin Hung, he established a reputation as a fearless competitor in full-contact tournaments.
After winning gold in the South East Asian Open Full-contact Championships, he returned to the UK and founded his  school, Practical Tai Chi Chuan, where he trained many top level fighters as well as hosting the annual British Open Championships every year.
​In short, he was responsible for putting the real gungfu back into Tai Chi Chuan.
A gentleman, a scholar and a warrior.
Rest in Peace Dan. You did good!
 
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Saturday morning sword class. Many of our students who have qualified as instructors meet regularly to extend and hone their skills..
Here are our some of the students 
who achieved 
Instructor's Certificate in
Tai Chi Chuan just before the lockdown:
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Kieron Niven
Rob Kiss
Dave Cullen
David Holmes
Angela Losty
Jane Middleton
Martin Day

​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.
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Yiheyuan Martial Arts, Leeds, UK
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.

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

Here are some free eBooks for you to download:
(Please click on the links to download your free PDF files)
New to Tai Chi?

Your Tai Chi Companion Part 1 - Getting Started
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?

oon this page
Here's a Free eBook and video

The Ba Duan Jin
Eight Pieces of Brocade
Qigong Set

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.


Interested in Meditation?

You can download this free eBook on
Meditation

You might also  like to check out g's meditation Zoom class on Thursday evenings 7.00pm

And you can listen to, or download, two free meditations as MP3 files from 
The Onesong website

Namaste 
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The Martial Side
Due to the pandemic, we are unable to practice push hands and the fighting skills of Tai Chi at present. There are lots of demonstrations of Tai Chi on the internet but most of them need a willing partner and are not practical in real-life situations. See a video of our practical
Tai Chi Applications

The Wu Dang Stick Forms...FREE

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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.
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