There are many styles of Tai Chi Chuan. But are there any teachers that teach for free in the U.S.? The answer to that question is yes. My name is Dan Vasquez, and I live in Fresno  California. I have been practicing Martial Arts since the age of 10. I started with Boxing, Then Judo from books, and spent many years learning a Shaolin Based Kung Fu system called Choy Lee Fut. For the last 13 years or so, I have been learning the Internal Martial Arts of Wu Hao & Sun Tai Chi, Zhang Zhao Dong Bagua Zhang, Xing Yi Chuan, and Qigong (Along with Zen, Theravada, and Taoist Meditation). I have found that it does not matter what style of Internal Martial Arts you practice, as long as you just practice! I noticed that there are a few schools in the Fresno Ca area that teach their Tai Chi for free. I heard that they are revisions that have been modified for competition and or for simplicity, but it has recently come to my attention that most styles have different renditions of their original sets for various reasons.

Why is it free? Well, I don’t know the reason they teach for free, but if you ask me, if the Teacher is good and the development is apparent when you look at the students that have been there for more than 6 months, their should be a few students that are living, breathing, examples of the benefits of Tai Chi. I have never been to these schools to see it for my own eyes, but if you are looking to learn, there is your chance! (There should be no excuse.) As for me personally, I had to pay for my Internal Martial Arts lessons and these styles that I learned are a little more rare for the Fresno area (right now).

My Tai Chi story began back in 1998. I was a 13-year practitioner of a Shaolin-based style called Tsai Li Fo (choy lee fut) when I first learned of my Tai Chi Teacher. I was not too happy with the politics of the system and the self proclaimed Masters that came around to practice with their mouths and wallets instead of their bodies. Because I never said much, but ALWAYS practiced, I was one of the best students used demonstration purposes and was featured with my teacher: Master Ng, Fu Hang in an issue of Inside Kung Fu Magazine.

I had moved to Los Angeles in order to learn from the Master after meeting him through my previous teacher named Master Fred Spencer. (I had been with for around 10 years in Fresno California.) I began practicing with Master Fu Hang Ng for a couple years since I had moved there, but I remember leaving right around the time because that is when my friend and previous classmate Dutch Jenkins began driving down to learn from him directly too. (Dutch and I used to do the Two Man Fighting Set so powerfully that you could hear our bones clashing – hehe.) Anyway, long story short, a Choy Lee Fut classmate of mine- Wayne Carisi told me about this Tai Chi/Bagua/Xingi Master that he had finally found.

I met my dear friend Wayne Carisi in Master Fu Hang Ng’s back yard. He was a student there for a short time before, but we never seen eachother on Weekends because I was only there on Saturdays, and he would train there during the week. Anyway, he had told me a story about this Tai Chi Master that he heard about (when he still lived in New York) who was out here in Los Angeles kicking everybodys butt. (Unfortunately for me, I had no idea that Tai Chi was a fighting system yet). He ended up moving to Los Angeles to continue his writing career and work in Hollywood, and of course, see if he could find him. He left no stones unturned as he did when in New York, but ended up learning from Master Fu Hang Ng because he was a Great Grandson of the founder of Choy Lee Fut, and it was a good classical kung fu system. Wayne was a no-nonsense guy practiced Karate since the age of 12, and had practiced Fut Sao Wing Chun and Shaolin Black Tiger while growing up in New York. We clicked because like me, he had practiced Martial Arts since childhood.

One day (a couple years later), my friend Wayne called me to tell me that he had found the guy. I remember him saying: “Hey Danny! I found him!” I then asked Who he was talking about. Wayne then explained that it was that Master that he had come to LA to find in the first place (years before) and that his name was Master Wang Shi Qing. I remember telling him that I was not interested in Tai Chi, and that I wanted to wait until I was old before learning. He then told me that Master Wang also taught the Styles of BaguaZhang and Xing Yi Chuan. Well, with the way I felt about my current situation and Not knowing what the heck Xing Yi and Bagua were, I was interested.

When we went, he advised me that the first class was free, so I was relieved that I was going to out last these soft guys with my strong Shaolin stances and powerful core. (What a joke!) Anyway, The warm-ups and qigong were comfortable and the class was quiet, EVERYONE was practicing (Even the Teacher) and everything felt easy and smooth. Then the teacher comes up to me. He looked at me and asked if I practiced Martial Arts. I answered yes. He said that he could tell and wanted to know if I wanted to try him. So I did. He asked if I could try to punch him in any way, and so I did! That was the last thing I remember before waking up to giggles and a bunch of smiling faces looking down at me. I was on the floor! I was not hurt, but I was in disbelief because of my ego. I thought my hands were fast because of rigerous training and power of the shaolin training drills. I remember Master Wang saying: “External Kung Fu is like a big car with a small engine, and Internal Kung Fu is like a small car with a big engine.” What happened next was the best decision I ever made. I asked how much the classes were, and agreed to start the next day. The classes were $20 per session, and I thought that was not too bad a deal.

Ever since I found the Internal Martial Arts, I’ve become stronger than I was in my twenties, and my hands are much faster. I found that the speed and power hidden in Tai Chi were far superior to anything I had ever known, and also found that the repetitive movements of the Xing Yi 5 Elements and 12 Animals improved my fighting skills 10 fold. I was free from the politics and falsely inflated egos that comes along with a lot of classical and traditional styles; and with the Infinite possible changes of Bagua Zhang, the path to Tao is easier to follow (even while I practice!)

In conclusion, if you are in Fresno Ca or anywhere in the world, and there are free Tai Chi classes available, (Whether they teach the whole thing or not) I would recommend that you take them. It will change your life for the better. You can spend money learning from a direct lineage teacher as I did, but it will cost you! (Still worth it…)

Dan Vasquez

Fresno, Ca. 2011

For information on local Baguazhang, Xing yi Quan, and TaijiQuan in Fresno, please visit this link.