Since returning from China 21 years ago, Bruce has chosen not to offer the opportunity to certify in the Wu Tai Chi Long Form-until now!

Bruce will share his 40 years of experience practicing and teaching Tai Chi including his knowledge as a Lineage holder in both the Wu and Yang Styles of tai chi. Of the 200-million practitioners of tai chi, 85% do Wu or Yang Style tai chi. These styles and their long forms are essentially the same in principle, both in terms of physical movement and inner chi work. For those unfamiliar with tai chi's history, members of Wu's family were the best students of the founder of the Yang Style and his sons. Wu's family taught alongside the Yangs in the Yang's original tai chi school in Beijing.

The Wu Style tai chi Long Form that Bruce teaches was developed by Wu Style co-founder Wu Jien Chuan. He personally taught it to Liu Hung Chieh, who taught it to Bruce. This style takes 20 to 30 minutes to perform. Bruce developed his Wu Style Short Form from this Long Form.

Theme #1: Tai Chi for Mental and Emotional Stress

Bruce gained top-level training in China in both the Yang and Wu Style of Tai Chi. Yet he decided many years ago to teach almost exclusively the Wu Style in the form passed on to him by his teacher, Liu Hung Chieh. The reason is that Bruce feels that Liu's Wu Style has great potential to help people manage the stresses of modern life.

Liu's Wu Style has this potential because after Liu learned the Wu Style through private study with one of its founders, Wu Jien Chuan, he devoted his life to the study and practice of meditation, first Buddhist and then Taoist. In the process, he transformed his tai chi practice to be a form of TAO Meditation.

When Liu went to live and study with Taoists in the mountains of Western China they told him that for thousands of years they had been practicing long moving Chi Gung forms. Liu discovered that some of these forms were similar in many respects to tai chi forms.

The Taoists used these long Chi Gung forms as vessels within which they could practice Moving meditation. Liu learned the Taoists' forms and the energetic and meditation methods within them.

In turn, Liu altered his Wu Style form to make it completely consistent with the energetic and meditation design parameters of the Taoists' Moving meditation forms.

This is the form that Liu taught to Bruce and which Bruce teaches. This fall, however, will be the first time that Bruce will teach the movements of the Long Form from the meditative perspective of what you do with your mind and your emotions - and how to begin to calm and quiet them - while you do each movement.

All well-designed tai chi forms can help you relax and manage physical stress. However, among all of the forms of tai chi that Bruce has studied - including variations on the Chen, Yang, and Chen Pan Ling forms - only in Liu's Wu Style was he taught methods for how to use the form's movements to manage emotional and mental stress.

Theme #2: The Primary Energies of Tai Chi

Another major focus of the October teaching will be how within each movement of the form to manifest and use the four major energies of tai chi - peng (ward off), Lu (roll back), Ji (press forward), and an (push downward). Bruce also will explore the use of the combination energies of tsai (pull down) and lieh (split) within certain Long Form moves.

Knowledge of these energies transforms tai chi from a set of physical movements into a vessel for exploring energetic flow. The Long Form is particularly valuable in this regard because of the complexity and variety of its moves and the intricacies and interconnections of its energy flows.

Although Bruce has mentioned aspects of this subject in the past, especially when he has taught the Short Form, this will be the first time he will present systematically this information as it relates to the Long Form.

Experienced Yang Stylists are Welcome to Attend All or Part of the Training

Bruce is fond of saying that the Wu Style is just a variation of the Yang Style. If you know a Yang Long Form well, then the movements of Liu's Wu Style probably will look very familiar to you. You also are welcome to come participate as a "Learner" for one or both weeks.

In the October training Bruce often will demonstrate as he teaches a movement how the same movement is done in various Yang styles that he has studied. He'll often also discuss why one style does a movement one way and the other a different way. Although he won't do this for every move, this training will provide insights into the designs of different tai chi styles. So if you are an experienced Yang Stylist, then this training may be ideal for you.

In addition, although Liu's Wu Style is ideally suited for the meditative practices regarding the mind and emotions that Bruce will teach, the movements of the Yang Style provide a more-than-adequate vessel to explore such practices. So if this subject interests you, you should be able to glean many insights that you can apply within practice of your form.

Finally, the same primary energies of tai chi are used within the Wu and Yang Styles. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find high quality instruction in the use of these energies within any style. So what Bruce teaches about their use in the Wu Style - and sometimes he will draw comparisons to the Yang Style - may be of great interest to you.

To attend the training as a Yang Stylist, you do not have to know the Wu Short Form. However, to maximize your experience, you may wish to study the Short Form, either in a week-long setting as described above about Brookline Tai Chi's offerings or in a weekly class or by studying a DVD. Energy Arts sells a DVD that shows Bruce performing the Short Form as a master does it.

If You Just Want to Learn, You May Attend All or Part of the Training

When Bruce teaches a training through which he will certify Instructors, he goes deeper and more intensely into the subject material and expects and demands more of the participants than when he teaches a workshop or retreat. (See complete details about these differences.) However, if you just want to learn part or all of the Long Form from him, you are welcome to participate in the October training for either one or both weeks as a "Learner."

Bruce is allowing people to participate as Learners because he will go through the Long Form move by move, except the movements which comprise the Short Form. So if you've never learned the Long Form before, it will be possible to learn it during this training, so long as you already know the Short Form movements.

The experience of learning will be challenging. All Instructor certification candidates will already have learned the form at least once previously. Thus Bruce will be able to move through the instruction at a rapid pace. The pace will be slow enough, however, to enable a capable and diligent newcomer to learn the form.

If you are up for the challenge, this will be a great learning opportunity. It may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn the Long Form directly from Bruce. After this training he will have certified Instructors available to offer the form, so it is very possible that he won't teach the form on a move-by-move basis again.

Bruce's plan is to have Instructor trainees occasionally help the Learners who are attend. So there will be some assistance available to you if you want to come as a Learner.

You may also attend only for the First Week or the Second Week or as a daily visitor.

More Information about Bruce and the Wu Style Long Form of Tai Chi

This training is the culmination of four years' preparatory courses and will teach you:

• How the outer form, physical postures and movements are done.
• How the inner form and inner-chi techniques hidden within the form are done (as appropriate for Level 1 & Level 2 participants).
• Medical Chi Gung technology and self-defense techniques hidden within the Wu Long Form.
• How the same physical and energetic principles cross over in the Wu and Yang styles of tai chi.

Only Certified Wu Short Form Instructors may ask Bruce questions during class; others may ask questions of Certified Instructors who are there to help you. Instructor certification in the Wu Style Long Form will be awarded to those who show sufficient knowledge and teaching competence. All others will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

Prerequisites for Certification Training:
Attendance only: You must know the Wu Style Short Form which Bruce teaches or have in-depth knowledge of and experience with a Yang Style Long Form.

Level 1 Certification Track: At a minimum, you must know the Wu Style Long Form which Bruce teaches. Persons most likely to receive certification will have attended one or more of the preparatory trainings held in Boston from 2003 through 2006 or otherwise have trained in the Long Form with Bruce.

If you are not already one of Bruce's Certified Short Form Instructors, you may participate in this track, but you will not be allowed to test for certification during this training. However, if you later become a Certified Short Form Instructor, you may petition Energy Arts to be tested for Long Form certification.

Level 2 Certification Track: You must know the physical mechanics of the Long Form very well and have extensive prior Long Form training with Bruce.

Learn more about the difference between workshops, retreats and Instructor trainings in Bruce's words.

Get complete contact details for Energy Arts Wu Style Instructors.

Daily Schedule

During each course, Bruce Frantzis will teach four hours a day, rotating between groups throughout the day. Following each morning and afternoon session, Senior Instructors will work with each group for an additional hour to lead practices, answer questions, and provide individual instruction. Although infrequent, Bruce may require class to run long or short depending on group dynamics.

Places to Stay

Brookline Accomodations.pdf