Ten Thousand victories school of kung fu & Tai chi

 

Tai Chi Chuan Classes in Marin

Benefits of  Tai Chi Chuan:


  1. BulletHeal Yourself & Recover from Injury & Illness Tai Chi is a great way to heal your back and relieve back pain!  Tai Chi is great for relieving knee pain and arthritis. Tai Chi can help you rebuild your health after many types of illnesses and recover from illnesses that weaken the immune system or internal organs.  Tai Chi also helps you to improve blood circulation and lower your blood pressure.

  2. BulletRelieve Stress and Relax Your Mind and Body Tai Chi is very calming and relaxing.  During Tai Chi practice you move slowly, focus on your body and breathe deeply.  This helps your mind to relax.  As your mind relaxes your emotions calm down.  As your emotions become calm your body relaxes.  The more your body relaxes the easier it is to relax your mind even more.  As your skill in Tai Chi increases profound states of relaxation occur.

  3. BulletImprove Balance, Coordination & Awareness  Tai Chi is incredibly effective for improving the your balance!  Falling down is a source of dangerous injuries especially if your bones are not as strong as they once were.  Tai Chi improves your balance and will help  you avoid falls that could injure you.  Tai Chi increases your awareness of your body, posture and patterns of movement.  This improves your coordination for all types of activities.

  4. BulletImprove Flexibility  Tai Chi classes include gentle stretching and the postures of Tai Chi themselves open and rotate your joints.  This heals your joints and improves your flexibility.

  5. BulletImprove Concentration & Focus Tai Chi improves your concentration and ability to focus your mind.  As westerners we focus on ideas and actions and often ignore our bodies.  Tai Chi focuses your concentration on your bodies alignment and posture and maintain that concentration for consistent periods of time.

  6. BulletFeel Stronger with Tai Chi  Tai Chi builds your strength.  When you are practicing Tai chi your legs are bent, your arms are raised and you move slowly.  Bending your legs and moving slowly strengthens your thighs, calves, and feet.  Holding your arms up and moving them through the many postures of Tai Chi builds strength especially in the shoulders, back and upper arms.  Although you will definitely become stronger you will not get an over muscled look.  For women who want to look fit and still have a graceful feminine figure without excess muscle Tai Chi is an excellent choice.  Tai Chi does not make your arms look wiry or stringy but smooth and strong.

  7. BulletHave Fun! Tai Chi is fun to practice and learn.  If you like learning new skills and new ideas Tai Chi is fun!  There are lots of new things to learn and they are good for you!  We also have just have fun in class and relax and enjoy ourselves.  Tai Chi is more fun than lifting weights or using machines and being on treadmills etc.  Tai Chi connects your mind and body and feels great to learn.

  8. BulletYou can practice Tai Chi virtually anywhere. You can go to parks or on hikes to beautiful scenery and then practice Tai Chi it is really pleasant!

  9. Bullet Enjoy Beautiful Choreography Tai Chi is considered to be an art because it is so beautiful. The          movements are flowing graceful and pleasing to watch and to practice.

  10. BulletMeet New Friends Tai Chi Class is a great place to meet interesting new people and make friends.  Tai Chi players are cool people who take care of themselves and enjoy a healthy lifestyle.  They are fun people who like to enjoy life!

Contact Us                              Sifu Jensen’s Story                                         Site Map

Tai Chi is a great way to improve your health!


I have personally experienced profound healing from practicing Tai Chi.  I have also helped many other people heal themselves as well.  I have a great method for teaching Tai Chi that really works!


Scroll down to find out about the Health benefits of Tai Chi, a typical Tai Chi Class, our 8 Week Beginning Tai Chi Class, and Advanced levels of Tai Chi, why our class is different, Study with me and about advanced levels of Tai Chi Study.


Thank you for visiting!  If there is any information that you need but cannot find please call me at 415-455-9467 or email at sifujensen@10000victories.com

A Typical Tai Chi Class with Sifu Scott Jensen


  1. BulletLoosen Up - 10 minutes

Class begins with a gentle loosening of your entire skeletal system and mobilizing every joint in your body.  You start with the top of your head systematically work your way down.  This includes your neck, shoulders, rib cage, upper, middle and lower areas of your spine, sacrum, pelvis and hip joints, knees, ankles and wrists.  This prepares you for the rest of the class and is very therapeutic.


  1. BulletAligning your Body and Mind for Good Posture - 5 minutes

Learn correct body posture and align your ankles, knees, hips, spine, shoulders and arms in correct Tai Chi posture.  Then you stand and let your body adjust to this aligned open posture for a few minutes while you breathe deeply relaxing your mind and body. 


  1. BulletTurning and Circling - 5 minutes

Practice excellent Tai Chi posture while turning deep in the hip joints.  Perfecting how you use your hips joints is incredibly healthy.  This promotes deep blood circulation and increases your flexibility and improves your posture.  Then you add circling the arms to exercise the and relax the arms and shoulders while improving blood circulation to your hands.  This is actually a meditative and relaxing style of Qi gong called the Pre-Birth Qi Gong


  1. BulletPractice Stepping and Weight Shifting - 10 minutes

Stepping and shifting your weight while maintaining good body posture improves your balance and stability.  By slowly stepping and shifting your weight you will perfect your ability to move with perfect posture in a graceful balanced way.  You will also relax and balance the muscles around your spine relieving back pain.


  1. BulletBasic Technique Exercises - 10 to 20 minutes

Technique Exercises are long flowing lines of movements  done with on both sides of the body.  Adding arm movements to the same stepping drills you already know makes it easy to learn the basic movements of Tai Chi.    Practicing these techniques on both sides of the body balances your body.  This also improves your coordination with both sides of the body and builds your right brain / left brain coordination.  They are a beautiful and fun way to remember the moves.  Each class we review any previously learned Technique exercises for more practice and review.


  1. BulletPracticing the Tai Chi Sequence - 5 to 15 minutes

The main method of Tai Chi that you will learn is called the Tai Chi Form.  This is a sequence of moves that you will learn, remember and practice as frequently as you can.  The old sequence has 108 movements and takes about 20 minutes to perform.  This what you have probably seen people doing in movies or photos. The Tai Chi Form has three sections.  The first section is the shortest and easiest.    It is fun, beautiful, and great exercise!


  1. BulletCooling Off and Gathering the Qi - 5 minutes

As the class ends you will do a series of movements and a period of peaceful standing that cools off your body and gathers your Qi into the center of your body where it can be stored and help to build your health.

Your 8 Week Beginning Course in Tai Chi Chuan


Each Class in the 8 Week Beginning Class follows the format above.  Each week you will learn new Technique Exercises and part of the Tai Chi Form.  The Beginning Tai Chi Class gives you a great foundation in Tai Chi and teaches the first section of the Tai Chi Form.  This short form is fun, easy to learn, and is a great tool to improve your health.  You will also learn the 6 most important Tai Chi Technique Drills. 


                    Week 1  

  1. BulletThe Opening or Grand Circulation

  2. BulletWard Off and Grab a Ball Technique Exercise

  3. BulletMoves 1 - 4 of the Tai Chi Form


                    Week 2

  1. BulletWard Off, Roll Back, Press, Push Technique Exercise

  2. BulletMoves 5 - 7


                    Week 3

  1. BulletSingle Whip Technique Exercise

  2. BulletMoves 8 - 10


                    Week 4

  1. BulletRaise Hands, Play the Lute Technique Exercise

  2. BulletMoves 11 - 13



Most students repeat this class several times and find they learn more every time.  As you repeat the class the information and concepts really sink in.  With extra repetition you quickly build your skill level.  The more skillful in Tai Chi you become, the better you feel while practicing and the more beneficial each practice session becomes.   Every time you repeat the class I help you with additional pointers and fine tune your posture to enhance your circulation of Qi.


It is a really fun class that feels great to be in!

Advanced Study in Tai Chi Chuan


After you learn the first section of the Tai Chi form there is still a lot more fun things to learn!   They are also really good for you!


  1. Bullet108 Move Long Form - The first section of the form is great but the whole form is incredibly better.  When you learn the whole form you really experience a much deeper state of relaxation and Qi circulation.  This is because as you do the form for a longer uninterrupted period it affects you more deeply than practicing for the same length of time doing many repetitions of the first section.

  2. BulletTai Chi Sword and Other Weapons - Tai Chi sword and other weapons forms are really fun to practice and add a way for you to practice extending Qi further to the tip of the sword.

  3. BulletPush Hands - Also known as sensing  or listening hands is a famous series of exercises done with a partner that really develop your sensitivity to another persons energy, movement, pressure and intention.  This is the first level of self-defense training in Tai Chi.  Push Hands can also be played as a competitive game of off balancing the other person.  Sifu Jensen is a successful national and International level competitor in Push Hands Tournaments.

  4. BulletTa Lu - Push Hands focuses on the techniques of Ward Off, Roll Back, Press and Push.  Ta Lu adds Elbow, Shoulder, Split, and Pull Down as well as stepping to the corners. There are several Ta Lu exercises and they are very good for developing your evasive skills.

  5. BulletSan Shou - San Shou is a long (44 moves per person)  two person exercise.  San Shou is an elaborate choreographed Tai Chi battle that is usually practiced in slow motion.  Learning and Practicing San Shou teaches you how to use the movements contained in the Tai Chi form for self defense.  It is really fun but it takes commitment to learn because of its length and complexity.

Why our Classes are Different!


Many teachers begin teaching the moves of the form without preparing the students.  Sometimes without saying anything at all! This is considered traditional in China and the correct way to teach by many Asians.  Twenty years ago when I began teaching I taught this way, but with verbal instruction.  Quickly, I realized my students deserved a better method, suited to American students!

The silent follow along method is difficult for American students for these reasons:


  1. BulletFirst, it is hard for people to remember the moves. 

  2. BulletSecond, it is hard for them to get the posture correct. 

  3. BulletThird, because their posture is not correct it is very difficult  to feel the Qi. 


So I developed the method outlined above.  I immediately found my students liked it much better and got better results quickly.  My students posture improved quickly, they got into much deeper states of relaxation, developed sensitivity to their Qi and found it much easier to learn and remember the movements. 


Almost no one teaches in this clear and developmental way!  It really helps and it is lots of fun!

                    Week 5 

  1. BulletBrush Knee Push Hand Technique Exercise

  2. BulletMove 14


                    Week 6

  1. BulletReview All Technique Exercises

  2. BulletMoves 15 - 20


                    Week 7

  1. BulletLearn Deflect, Parry and Punch Technique Exercise

  2. BulletMoves 21 - 22


                    Week 8

  1. BulletReview Technique Exercises

  2. BulletFinish First Section of Tai Chi Form

Study With A Master


Just as there is a big difference in restaurants there is a big difference in Tai Chi Classes.  Tai Chi has exploded world wide.  There are millions of people practicing Tai Chi.  There are also countless amateur Tai Chi Teachers.  There remain few Tai Chi Masters. 


I was acknowledged as a Master or Sifu by the Chinese martial arts community in the early 1990’s.  I personally studied with 3 of the top masters in China, each considered to be a national treasure.  My main master, Wong Jackman is a legend in the Chinese martial arts community.   I studied with him for 25 years. 


There is a big difference between the food you get at Macdonald’s and how healthy it is for you and the food you get Chez Panisse and how healthy and tasty it is.  It is also much more fun to eat at Chez Panisse or other fine restaurants.  The experience is uplifting.  This is the same with Tai Chi Classes.  If think you deserve the best in life then come to my class.  I will make a personal commitment to help you learn Tai Chi and improve your health.

New Introductory Tai Chi Course in San Anselmo


Starting

July 13th !


5:30 - 6:20 PM

Knights of Columbus Hall

167 Tunstead Ave.

San Anselmo

East Bay Tai Chi Class


North Berkeley Senior Center

1901 Hearst St. at

Martin Luther King Jr. Way


Sundays  2:50 to 4:10 PM



The North Berkeley Senior Center is close to the North Berkeley Bart Station, four blocks from UC Berkeley and has a connected parking lot.  Most importantly the main room is very large and we have plenty of room for everyone!

East Bay Tai Chi Class


North Berkeley Senior Center

1901 Hearst St. at

Martin Luther King Jr. Way


Sundays  2:50 to 4:10 PM


The North Berkeley Senior Center is close to the North Berkeley Bart Station, four blocks from UC Berkeley and has a connected parking lot.  Most importantly the main room is very large and we have plenty of room for everyone!

East Bay Tai Chi Class


North Berkeley Senior Center

1901 Hearst St. at

Martin Luther King Jr. Way


Sundays  2:50 to 4:10 PM


The North Berkeley Senior Center is close to the North Berkeley Bart Station, four blocks from UC Berkeley and has a connected parking lot.  Most importantly the main room is very large and we have plenty of room for everyone!

New Introductory Tai Chi Course in San Anselmo


Starting July 13th!


Every Tuesday and Thursday

8 Week Course

(16 classes total)

$240 total per course

(2 free bonus weeks for preregistration)


5:30 - 6:20 PM

First Presbyterian Church -

in Duncan Hall

72 Kensington Road

San Anselmo

New Introductory Tai Chi Course in San Anselmo


Starting July 13th!


Every Tuesday and Thursday

8 Week Course

(16 classes total)

$240 total per course

(2 free bonus weeks for preregistration)


5:30 - 6:20 PM

First Presbyterian Church -

in Duncan Hall

72 Kensington Road

San Anselmo