About This Course

The Tai Chi Foundation form is a comprehensive introduction to essential Tai Chi Ch'uan technique.  Created by Sifu Paolillo to support beginning Tai Chi students, this form is designed with a focus on cultivating the energetic qualities of Tai Chi Ch'uan in a compact structure.

If you are a beginning student new to Tai Chi training, this is the form we most recommend to start with.  This course contains in-depth explanations of each movement, covering the important details of body structure, rooting, and integration, as well as the mind development and energetic aspects. This is an excellent resource for currently active students, as well as new students who wish to dive into Tai Chi study.

Tai Chi training is highly beneficial for further developing foundational skills along your Qigong and Internal Martial Arts journey at the Tao Institute.  We recommend all students learn our Tai Chi curriculum at some point, as it provides an important foundation for stance training and Tai Chi principles that are applicable to all other training in our system.

Tai Chi practice should be partnered with all of the foundation skills included in the Qigong Foundation Course, and so it is highly recommended to include that course work in your daily practice as you learn Tai Chi. 

This course is currently IN PROGRESS.  New lessons will be released weekly until the course is complete.  

Tai Chi Foundation Form

Form Demonstration

About The Tai Chi Foundation Form

The Tai Chi Foundation form is a short Thirteen Methods form created by Sifu Paolillo.  The Thirteen Methods in Tai Chi Ch'uan refer to Tai Chi's 8 primary hand techniques and 5 steps (footwork directions).  This form contains these foundational Tai Chi movements, plus all of our basic stances, with flavors of Baguazhang.

A major emphasis of the Tai Chi Foundation Form is the energetics and subtlety of the technique.  The short framework allows students to focus more on the inner aspects of the postures without being bogged down by an extensive movement set.  This is also an excellent form for developing proper body mechanics, structure and Tai Chi Principle as we move fluidly through different stances. 

Since this form has become a part of our curriculum it has quickly become an essential foundational training for all of our Tai Chi students.  It is an excellent form for total beginners and also enhances the skills of long term practitioners.  For this reason, we now recommend all students study this form prior to studying the traditional Chen Style Tai Chi Ch'uan long form.  If you have already learned the long form, however, you will still find a lot of benefit in the Tai Chi Foundation form training.

The Tai Chi Foundation form builds upon all that is learned in the Qigong Foundation Course, and further develops the practitioner by establishing the fundamentals of alignment, posture, internal cultivation, mind directed energy, meditation and Tao philosophy as it is applied through movement.

Once you complete this course you may enjoy studying the Chen Style Tai Chi Ch'uan Long Form and Baguazhang Basics next.


Benefits of Tai Chi Training

  • Improved coordination, circulation & balance
  • Increased internal awareness
  • Develops subtle strength and suppleness
  • Balances yin & yang energies in the body, mind & spirit through the application of Tai Chi principle
  • Excellent for health & longevity
  • Strengthens our vital energy and by keeping energy flowing 
  • Nourishes the internal organs
  • Greater calmness in daily life
  • Increased mental clarity, intuition & creativity
  • Develops and deepens fundamentals of stance training
  • Deepened relationship with your spirit and the Tao



Pre-Requisite training

We strongly recommend taking this course before studying the Tai Chi Foundation Form

The Qigong Foundation Course is essential before learning the Tai Chi Foundation Form.  This course provides all of the basic techniques and exercises needed to understand the principle of movement that we work with in all of our courses.  It is highly recommended that all students continue daily practice of the Qigong Foundation Course material as you pursue additional training in our platform.

The Qigong Foundation Course is included in enrollment to the Online Resource Membership program of which this Tai Chi Foundation Form course is a part — so you don’t have to worry about purchasing an additional course if you enroll in the program.  You will have access to all courses on the membership program as long as you are subscribed to the website. 

Course curriculum

    1. Introduction

    2. This course is IN PROGRESS

    1. Lesson 1: Press up, Embrace, Sinking Palm & Splitting

    2. Lesson 2: Twist & Push Down, Sink Waist Elbows Down

    3. Lesson 3: Strike low, Deflect with Wrist, Wrap & Press, Double Push

    4. Lesson 4: Grounding Palm & Single Hand Push

    5. Lesson 5: Gather, Sweep to Single Leg, Brush Knee

    6. Lesson 6: Circle Walk & Close

    1. Tai Chi Foundation Form Full Walkthrough

    1. Basic Bagua Circle Walking Overview

About this course

  • 10 lessons
  • 4 hours of video content

Which option is right for me?

Many of our courses & online resources are available to access either through the Online Resource Membership, or as a single course purchase option.  Here is how this works:


Online Resource Membership:

The Online Resource Membership is a monthly subscription that grants you access to the many resources currently available in our online library.  This library continues to expand and grow as time goes on.  Membership includes early access to courses as well as exclusive content that is not available in the "a la carte" section.  Currently there are two Tier options for membership.  Please visit the Online Resource Membership page to learn more.


Purchasing the Course:

Purchasing a course will give you continuous access to a single course.  There is no monthly fee after the initial purchase.  At this time, all courses are only accessible via our website and are not downloadable.

Instructor

Mela Carreira

Assistant Instructor

Mela is a dedicated student and assistant instructor to Sifu Paolillo. A martial arts practitioner since 2001, Mela was called to the internal arts and Asheville area in 2011, where she first began training at Tao Institute. Over the course of her training, Mela has come to understand, live by and deeply respect the philosophies of the martial arts and Tao in every day life. Mela teaches the entry level classes at Tao Institute and is a main assistant under the direct supervision of Sifu Paolillo in classes throughout the curriculum.