Free beginner classes in Arundel.
A new founding group is planned for Driftwood Park near Arundel Tavern and Seachange Arundel. Complete beginners are welcome and no payment is required.
Begin together
Learn gentle Tai Chi foundations progressively, with plain-English instruction and short practices you can repeat at home.
What do you want your practice to support?
Maybe you want to stay active, move more freely, keep enjoying travel or recreation, feel less tense, or simply learn Tai Chi properly. Personal instruction lets us start with your goals while still teaching the art, not a watered-down exercise class.
You do not have to keep up with a group. We start with what you can do now and build from there. Where appropriate, Capability for Life gives us a repeatable way to establish your baseline and look at your progress over time.
What can we work on?
- Balance
- Mobility
- Mind + Movement
- Resilience
Private In-Person Tai Chi Training
Work directly with James in a lesson tailored to you.
Rather than trying to keep up with a group, private training allows us to work at your pace and concentrate on the areas that will help you most.
Your lesson can focus on Tai Chi foundations, posture, balance, weight transfer, stepping, coordination, breathing, relaxation, Qigong or developing your existing Tai Chi practice.
Why learn in person?
The advantage of face-to-face instruction is immediate feedback.
Small differences in posture, weight distribution, alignment and movement can be difficult to recognise yourself. In person, James can observe your movement from different angles, demonstrate alternatives and help you understand not only what to do, but what you should be feeling and why.
For seniors or anyone with restricted movement, we can also explore smaller movements, supported practice or seated alternatives where appropriate.
Available on the Gold Coast by appointment.
Personal instruction wherever you are.
You do not have to live on the Gold Coast to train directly with Shang Tai Chi.
Live one-to-one online lessons provide many of the benefits of private instruction while allowing you to practise from home.
James can watch your movement, answer questions, demonstrate techniques and give you individual feedback in real time.
Live online lessons can be useful if you:
- live outside the Gold Coast
- prefer learning privately
- want feedback on material from the online course
- have questions about a particular movement or principle
- want a lesson adapted to your experience or mobility
- simply find training from home more convenient
All you need is enough space to move comfortably and a phone, tablet or computer with a camera.
Sun style and Yang style.
Shang Tai Chi teaches underlying Tai Chi principles first, then gives students different ways to explore and express them.
Sun style Tai Chi is an important part of our specialist direction in adaptable practice, balance, arthritis and falls prevention. Its upright posture, agile stepping and flowing movement can make it especially useful when practice needs to be adjusted to the individual.
Yang style Tai Chi provides a broader traditional pathway through smooth, continuous movement and is one of the most widely practised Tai Chi styles internationally.
The goal is not to collect forms. It is to understand the principles well enough to recognise how they appear in different styles.
Why learn Yang style as well?
For students who want to explore a widely practised form of Tai Chi, Yang style can add another important benefit: community and social practice.
Learning a common Yang-style form, including the Simplified 24 Form where appropriate, can make it easier to recognise and join Tai Chi practice in community groups, parks and classes when opportunities arise at home or while travelling.
The principles connect the styles. The expression is different.
Tai Chi for seniors.
Keep moving. Stay independent. Continue doing the things you enjoy.
Shang Tai Chi is for adults of all ages, but we have a particular interest in helping older adults maintain movement, balance, coordination, confidence and independence.
You do not need to be particularly fit or flexible to begin.
Training can be adjusted to the individual. That may mean reducing the range of a movement, slowing the progression, using support or practising seated where appropriate.
Tai Chi should adapt to the person, not require the person to fit Tai Chi.
Personal instruction can help with:
- understanding posture and body organisation
- developing controlled weight transfer and stepping
- working at an appropriate range and pace
- building confidence before progressing
- adapting movements where necessary
- connecting Tai Chi principles to everyday movement
Use a private lesson to check your progress.
The online course gives you a structured way to learn and practise at your own pace. Private lessons can complement it.
If there is something you do not understand, a movement that does not feel right or you simply want someone to check your progress, book an in-person or live online lesson and we can work on it together.
Tell me what you would like Tai Chi to help you with.
You do not need to know which type of lesson you need before contacting me. Tell me a little about what you would like Tai Chi to help you with, your previous experience if any, and whether you would prefer to train in person or online.
We can work out an appropriate starting point from there.