Certification
Students can attend the Willow Tree School on a casual basis or, if they choose, work through our curriculum and achieve recognition for their accomplishments as they learn.
In order to progress through the curriculum of the Willow Tree School, students need to complete a certain number of points made up of a number of classes. At the completion of the full course of study students will receive an instructor certificate signed by Sifu Morgan Buchanan and the president of the Cheng Zi Tai Chi Study Association (Melbourne) Master Law Lun Yeung.
One class = 1point (attend as many classes as you wish per week)
One class (personal tuition) = 2 points.
As with any quality course of study, it is not sufficient to simply accumulate points to move up a level. Students are required to attend an assesment session in which they demonstrate the requirements of each level to ensure that they have absorbed the material.
Is it hard to complete a level ?
Not at all. All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other and attend the classes and do a small amount of training at home each day. You will learn everything you need to progress as you move through the course. If you attend 1 lesson per week it will take you about 40 weeks to work through Level One and recieve your certificate. At the end of the level students attend an informal assesment to ensure they have absorbed the material.Assesment/Grading :
The cost is $45 per assesment (one per level), in the form of a personal tuition lesson (counts as final point for each level). Whether you succeed or not, students attending an assesment are given instruction on where they can look to improve their level of practice.
If you are unsuccessuful in your first grading attempt, we encourage you to retry in four weeks time.
If you are at the point where you have acquired the necessary points to attempt an assesment/grading, you will not need much practice to successfully pass your assesment. An assesment is not meant to be a stressful or grueling test, only a means of ensuring that the student is able to recall and demonstrate the things they have been learning over the course of the level.
Students who succesfully complete a level are given a club t-shit indicating their rank and a signed certificate detailing their achievement.
Curriculum Chart for the total Willow Tree School course of study:
Beginner
Relaxing the tendons from the wrist to shoulder
Beginner
Relaxing the tendons from the hip to the bubbling well
37 movement form – Part 2.
Chi Kung Level 2.
Completed 100 Day Practice Sheet.
Beginner
FORM CORRECTION
Relaxing the base of the spine to the head-top
Tai Chi Foundation Level 3,
37 movement form – Part 3.
Chi Kung Level 3.
Completed 100 Day Practice Sheet.
Written and Practical Test for Assistant Instructor Qualification
Intermeditate
SENSING HANDS PARTNERED EXERCISE
Sink the Qi to the Tan Tien
Sensing Hands Level 1,
Chi Kung Level 4.
Completed Level 4 - 200 Day Practice Sheet.
Nei Kung Level 1 training.
Intermeditate
SENSING HANDS PARTNERED EXERCISE
Sink the qi to the bubbling well
Sensing Hands Level 2,
Chi Kung Level 5.
Completed Level 5 - 200 Day Practice Sheet.
Nei Kung Level 2 training.
Intermeditate
SENSING HANDS PARTNERED EXERCISE Rise the Qi to the headtop
Sensing Hands Level 3,
Chi Kung Level 6.
Completed Level 6 - 200 Day Practice Sheet.
Nei Kung Level 3 training
Advanced
TAI CHI SWORD
Listening energy
Tai Chi Sword Level 1,
Chi Kung Level 7.
Completed Level 7 - 365 Day Practice Sheet.
Advanced
TAI CHI STAFF
Understanding Energy
Tai Chi Sword Level 2,
Chi Kung Level 8.
Tai Chi Staff Level 1
Tai Chi Application Form Level 1
Completed Level 8 - 365 Day Practice Sheet.
Advanced
TAI CHI
SELF DEFENCEReceiving Energy
Tai Chi Sword Level 3,
Chi Kung Level 9.
Completed Level 9 - 365 Day Practice Sheet.Tai Chi Staff Level 2
Tai Chi Application Form Level 2
Written and Practical Test for
Independant Instructor Qualification.
Level One Requirements (40 points)
Ultimate Aim : Relaxing the tendons from the wrist to shoulder.
Foundation Exercises Level One : 13 points.
Master Huang’s 5 Loosening Exercises (Song Sheng Wu Fa)
37 movement form – Part 1 : 13 points.
Chi Kung & Taoist Philosophical Meditation Level 1 : 13 points.
Level One Assesment : 1 point.Additional requirements :
Tai Chi & Chi Gong Terminology & Theory :
Understand and be able to recite the names of our CMC Tai Chi lineage.
Understanding Master Lo’s 5 basic principles of Cheng Style Tai Chi –
Understand and demonstrate Master Hsu’s Tai Chi for Everyday Living principles and maxims –
Know basic TC terminology
Completed Level 1- 100 Day Practice Sheet.
Complete 10 minutes of self practice every day and provide teacher with either weekly, monthly or complete practice sheet totalling 100 days of continuous, unbroken practice.
Required Text Book for Level One Training :
Tai Chi Chuan, The Supreme Ultimate in Health, Exercise & Self Defence by Cheng Man Ching & Robert W Smith.
Book Description
The Chinese secret for youthfulness, health and long life lies at least partly in T'ai
Chi, the ballet-like calisthenics they've practiced for centuries. This rhythmical art
stresses slow breathing, balanced and relaxed postures and absolute calmness of
mind. The practice itself need take no more than ten minutes a day. This book is
a complete step-by-step manual for the beginner that will enable anyone to
master the sequence of thirty-seven postures that make up the T'ai Chi solo
exercise.
About the Author
The late Cheng Man-ch’ing was an international authority on T'ai Chi and wrote
two earlier books on the topic.
Robert W. Smith is also the author of The Secrets of Shaolin Temple Boxing and A
Complete Guide to Judo. He lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Available from Sifu Morgan for $29.95
