About The Tai Chi Academy & your instructor.

It is important to understand who we are, how we teach and why we show things in the way that we do. Learn more about the Tai Chi Academy, our mission and the instructors.

On a mission to bring Tai Chi & Qi Gong training to those without access to high quality teachers.

Many people around the world are already practicing Tai Chi (taiji) with amazing and skilled teachers. But, there are still many more people who simply don't have high quality instruction in their area. We believe that everyone should have access to high quality information on Tai Chi and Qi Gong. You should be able to access the amazing benefits of Tai Chi and Qi Gong training. This is why the Tai Chi Academy was born.

Our mission is to provide you with real, easy to understand information and instruction in Taiji & Qigong.

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Your Instructor - Chris Davis

Chris has been teaching the Martial Arts for over 15 years and has been studying for over 30 (for training history scroll down).

From a young age, Chris has been immersed in the martial arts from around the world, from Japanese Aiki Arts to The Nei Jia of China, from Judo to BJJ. Chris has been practicing and studying the Yang style of Tai Chi Chuan for over 20 years and has had the privilege of meeting and learning from some of the foremost Nei Jia masters in the world.

Chris created a system of body method development based on traditional internal arts in 2016 called "MartialBody" which has been widely praised by people from every sphere of the Martial Arts.

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The student first approach

Hailing from a scientific family, Chris has always sought to understand the very core of the Tai Chi system and demystify its complexities. This has lead to him being sought out by teachers from various styles of Tai Chi, individuals with vastly more experience of the art, but who are seeking the plain language details that Chris is so well known for.

Chris' interpretation of Taiji is uniquely his, and is focused on maximising the learning and the depth of students' skills. The Student and their understanding comes before the art ... this is the way it should be.

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A desire to spread the benefits 

Ultimately the driving force behind the Tai Chi Academy and Chris' approach is to ensure that the amazing benefits of Tai Chi & Qi Gong can be felt by as many people as possible. In an age of technology there is no reason to be left on the side lines, simply because you dont have access to a high quality teacher.

Chris has healed a number of injuries that he has picked up throughout the years of training and knows that Tai Chi has been part of that process.

The benefits are clear and apparent to Chris, and he wants them to be clear and apparent to you.

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A unique Martial perspective

Chris has honed his fighting skills in both the competition and real environments with hundreds of real life encounters while heading security in Night Clubs and over 30 medals in submission grappling, inlcuding multiple British Titles. This extensive experience in real encounters has given him a unique perspective on the fighting art of Tai Chi Chuan.

Those interested in the combative art of Tai Chi as Chris teaches it, will need to have completed 6 months of tuition and membership in the Tai Chi Academy. This is to ensure that all of the body method concepts presented are fully understood within the context of Chris' Teachings.

(But who did you learn from?)

Frequently Asked Questions

So another very common question is, from whom did I learn Tai Chi. This is almost more important than the actual training to some people!!

The truth is that there is no one individual that I could claim is responsible for all of my Tai Chi, instead there are a few notable teachers, and a lot of that good old fashioned thing called training. I have addressed this question & the general question of lineage in this article. But a brief history of my training in the Nei Jia is as follows:        

My first interest and encounter with Tai Chi was in around 1998. I was fully immersed in the Japanese Aiki Arts. The soft but powerful nature of these arts led me to investigate other related practices. After witnessing a demonstration of Tai Chi, by an extremely capable teacher (whom I would later learn from) I decided to investigate further! I initially began training in Tai Chi with a local teacher Sifu Peter Cox, while also studying traditional Japanese Arts. He was a British Champion in the competition style of Tai Chi and from him I learnt several forms from Yang and Sun Style and competition style push hands. Peter was a direct student of Chen Li in competition forms & Liming Yi in Chen Style Tai Chi.

After a year or two of study I learned of a highly skilled Nei Jia Teacher and author. At the time I was beginning to build an interest in the other Nei Jia Arts of Xing Yi And Ba Gua and so sought this individual out for instruction. There was very little in the way of true authentic Xing Yi and Ba Gua available in the UK at this time and so travelling to find instruction was inevitable. This would change the course of my understanding and training in the Internal Arts, and in Tai Chi. My main learning in the 3 Chinese Nei Jia (Primarily Tai Chi and Xing Yi) is from this man, Shifu Alex Kozma. I would devote many hours per day to his teachings over a period of many years. As with most expert teachers, Alex sowed the seeds for my internal arts; it was up to my own training to make them grow. He remains an inspiration and a friend to this day. Alex is a direct student & disciple in a number of lineages and it is from these lineages much of my knowledge comes, through him. Notable among his Tai Chi teachers is Chen Yuen San of the Old Kunlun Style of Tai Chi under whom Alex is a closed door disciple and a Master renowned throughout Taiwan for his extraordinary level of skill in the art. Next would be Master Serge Augier of the Da Xuan Taoist School and General Li Tai Chi. Also of note is Master Hejinghan of Yin Style Ba Gua & Yang Ban Hou Taiji. Much of the Tai Chi Alex Taught me was based on these lineages.

I then continued to study and research the Nei Jia. I travelled to meet every "Name" in the internal arts that was in, or visiting the UK. This research gave me a constant flow of small snippets of information on the variety and breadth of methods found in the many styles of internal art. I met lineage masters of the Yang, Wu & Chen Styles, and also met and trained with experts in other, related arts, like Sam Chin of I Liq Chuan. One such individual is the brilliant Dr Serge Augier whom I met through Alex, and who I have had the pleasure of hosting in the UK a number of times. He remains one of the pinnacles of understanding in Taoism and the Nei Jia that I have encountered, and the details he kindly shared with me continue to influence my understanding and methods to this day. Through this exposure to top tier martial artists, and continued dedicated study, my understanding improved.

In roughly 2007 I opened a small training school in Gloucestershire UK. This school was frequented by highly experienced Tai chi exponents from the area and the country at large. Indeed, my original teacher Peter Cox would become a close student. The core training group consisted of Tai Chi Teachers and experienced martial artists, many with 35+ years of training. Direct Students of Chen, Lee, Yang and Sun style Tai Chi Masters would frequent my school to learn my expression of Tai Chi, in particular the combat and fighting sides of the art. My experience of teaching this excellent group, presenting my body method concepts to the world through projects like 'MartialBody' and my continued lifelong study are what forms the foundations of the Tai Chi Academy and its approach. Tai Chi has been a daily practice since around 1998 and continues to fascinate and captivate me with its complexity.

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