Tai Chi Bag Drills Video Series - Elbow Strikes Video

Here is the most recent video to go up on Youtube in our "Tai Chi Bag Drill" series.  This is the first video of the elbow strike section of this series and it focuses on elbow strikes that are directed forward.  We you you all find this video useful in your training at home.  Enjoy!  :)

Settling Into the New KSW Karate Dojo

We have been holding our Tai Chi classes are the new KSW Karate Dojo in Jackson, CA since March of 2015 and we are absolutely loving the new location.  Each week there are little improvements made here and there as both the Tai Chi and Karate classes are settling in to their new training environment.  Today we took a little time after class to put up the Tai Chi students' rank certificates and a few old pictures.  :)

A Beautiful Training Guide

We came across this picture today and had to share it.  It is a beautiful reminder of the proper mind set with which to approach any type of training, but most especially Tai Chi training.  There is a vast difference between mentally understanding how a technique should be done and actually being able to do it.  One of the most common things we hear from new students who are learning a new technique is, "I understand what I am supposed to be doing, but I can't seem to get my body to do it..."

The good news is, such a difficulty can be overcome through repetition, repetition, repetition......with a little extra practice in between.  You will receive little or no benefits from only understanding a move mentally, but if you do that move over and over and over, your body will be strengthened to perform the move more powerfully, you will begin to naturally understand how to do the move more efficiently, you will become more aware of your body's position and gain much better control over your body (which will not only improve things like balance, but will allow you to learn new movements more easily).......simply put, you will begin to actually experience, in a very deep and profound way, all of the benefits of Tai Chi that you have heard about.

Even more importantly, you will begin to experience the benefits that you don't often hear about, because they are not easily expressed in words and in most cases can only be experienced through determined practice and lots, and lots, and lots of repetition.

So, if you are waiting to hear the deepest, darkest, most profound, game changing, secret of the ancients that will catapult your Tai Chi training to the next level and help you realize all of the benefits that attracted you to Tai Chi in the first place......here it is....."Follow the advice in the picture below and don't ever stop following that advice."  ;)

New Dojo Pictures

This month the Pine Grove Karate Dojo moved to Jackson and began holding classes.  Today's morning Tai Chi class completed the first week of Tai Chi training at the new dojo location and we would like to share some pictures of the new facility with you.  :)

Here is the sign that we have up on Hwy. 49

This is the driveway leading up to the new Karate Dojo

Heading up this driveway, turn in the second parking lot on the right.  We are very excited about the large parking lot for training outside on days with nice weather.  We've had two classes outside so far and it has been amazing.  :)

The smaller portion of the building in front is the indoor training area.

Here is what it looks like on the inside.  

We are thrilled to have this new training area and we hope you will come join us for classes here. 

There have been some rumors that the Karate Dojo in Pine Grove closed, but the truth is, we just moved the Karate Dojo to Jackson and we are continuing to offer Tai Chi classes at the new location.

Help us spread the word about our new location, and stop by to try out a Karate or Tai Chi lesson if you live in or near Jackson.    

Holiday Class Schedule 2013

This announcement is to let everyone know which training days will be skipped during the holidays. 

November 2013
At the KSW Karate Dojo, Tai Chi classes will be skipped on the following dates:
Wednesday, Nov. 27
Friday, Nov. 29

At New York Fitness class will be skipped on the following date:
Thursday, Nov. 28 (Thanksgiving day)


December 2013 -January 2014
At the KSW Karate Dojo Tai Chi classes will be skipped on the following dates:
Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013
Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014

If any classes will be skipped at New York Fitness in December 2013 we will post that information asap.

We wish you all a wonderful, safe holiday season!

Class Schedule Change

Effective AUGUST 19, 2013 classes at the KSW Karate Dojo will be changing.  The new class schedule will begin on August 19 and will continue indefinitely.

The new class schedule is as follows:
Monday 6:00pm  to 7:00pm
Wednesday 6:00pm to 7:00pm
Friday 6:00pm to 7:00pm

If you have any questions please contact us.  Thank you for being understanding and helping us make this transition smoothly.  We enjoy having you all in class and appreciate all of the hard work and dedication you put into your training.  See you in class.  :)

Yang Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) 24 Posture Form Video

For those students who are working on the 24 form, here is a video for you.  We hope you will find it useful when you are practicing on your own time.  Enjoy!

Yang Tai Chi Chuan Long Form ~ Part 3 Video

We finally filmed the third part of the Yang Style Tai Chi Long Form and posted it on Youtube.  To those students who are learning this section, we hope you all find this useful.  Enjoy!

Congratualtions to Our Students!

Over the past few weeks we have had several students at the KSW Karate Dojo in Pine Grove, test for their next Sash Level in Tai Chi Chuan.  Due to their hard work and the time they have put into their training, they have passed each test with flying colors.  Here we would like to congratulate them on their accomplishment and show you all pictures of these students' promotions. We hope you will join us in congratulating them.

 Pete (AndrewPlitt's Dad) removing his old sash.

 Pete receiving his new Level 3 Orange Sash.

 Pete tying on his new sash.

 Pete Receiving his certificate.

 Pete showing off his new rank certificate with Andrew Plitt.

Kathy handing in her old sash.

 Kathy being presented with her Level 3 Orange Sash.

 Kathy being presented with her Level 3 Orange Sash certificate.

Kathy showing off her new rank certificate with Andrew Plitt.

 Samantha receiving her new Level 1 White Sash.

 Samantha receiving her White Sash rank certificate.

 Samantha Showing off her new rank certificate with Andrew Plitt.

 Elizabeth receiving her new Level 1 White Sash.

 Elizabeth receiving her White Sash certificate.

 

Elizabeth showing off her new rank certificate with Andrew Plitt

Congratulations to all of these students for their hard work, perseverance, and achievements!  We're proud to have them training with us!

A Video of Amador County's World Tai Chi and Qigong Day Celebration 2013

Here is a short video collage of the World Tai Chi and Qigong Day Celebration we had on April 27, 2013 in Pine Grove, CA.  We had Tai Chi and Qigong workshops, free chair massages, free ice cream, and tasty smoothies for everyone who attended.  We hope you enjoy this peek into our celebration and  we hope you will all join us again next year for more workshops and fun, at our 2014 World Tai Chi and Qigong Day celebration.

A big thank you to everyone who attended and to all those who helped make it happen!

Important Update for Qigong Seminar on 1-5-13

Here's a quick update. Please be sure to bring a thermos with hot water and really warm clothes for afterwards. After practicing this Qigong set it's important to rest and drink plenty of warm water. There will be an hour or so after the workshop where the participants are welcome to rest for a while before leaving. Qigong has different effects on different people. Some people feel very invigorated afterwards and others want to take a nap. This set especially can make you really tired when you are first learning it because the different exercises tend to knock loose toxins that are stored in the kidneys and other body tissues. I would rather have you all rest at the dojo for a bit than to try to drive home when you're really tired.  So feel free to bring a blanket just in case.   I hope you're all ready for a really relaxing and refreshing experience!

 If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

 More information about this workshop and future workshops is available on the Workshops and Seminars page.