T'ai Chi is an oral tradition, which in the past has relied upon direct teacher to student contact on a regular basis. In a time when we are going through a communications revolution, it seems possible that T'ai Chi might be able to find its way to people in a new way. Inspired by the Toastmasters model of peer learning, which has grown to international success over 70 years we decided we would like to pursue this idea further.

Master Lee's organizational principle of T'ai Chi Family is very much a peer learning kind of environment. In the T'ai Chi Family, elder students mentor junior students, junior students ask the elder students for more information and the master teacher helps to keep the order and maintain the quality of instruction.

In the case of peer learning groups, the absence of a constant master teacher or instructor presence could be supplemented by instructional videos, photo books of form, manuals on study and a structured learning environment where leadership responsibilities rotates from week to week among the participants.

When a T'ai Chi Peer Group gets organized, instructors from the Rising Sun School will come into your area and to do the initial group training and then follow-up with visits every 3-4 months.

Our curriculum is set up in such a way that once the basic concepts are grasped along with a certain amount of movement, peer evaluation could provide some of the feedback gained in a normal classroom environment. Instructional videos, along with group discussion and practice, could create a lively weekly gathering of T'ai Chi enthusiasts. The first year would be the most challenging for any peer group, as after that the seniority of experience will naturally make it easier for newcomers.

Once a group has established itself, students of a peer study group could travel to the mother school for further training and instructors from the School could travel to teach workshops consistent with the needs of the group. With further training, knowledgeable and capable practitioners could eventually become Rising Sun Instructors. If the motivation is there, the ingenuity to realize any goal is usually there also. A T'ai Chi Peer Study Group in your area could provide the means for your community to enjoy a regular T'ai Chi gathering and practice.

Even in Master Lee's tradition there have been examples of students who travelled to train with him for short periods of time over several years who became great practitioners and / or teachers.

If you are interested in our T'ai Chi Peer Group start up package please correspond with us ASAP as varying amounts of lead time is required to set a group up and we have to plan our teaching schedule well in advance. September and January are prime times for membership drives.