The eight silk brocades are a set of Qi Gong exercises meant to work and warm up muscles groups commonly used throughout the day. Especially the legs, hips, and back. I tend to use them as cool down exercises after a longer Tai Chi workout, see Long Yang, but the movements are also quite nice in the morning to wake up.

Eight Silk Brocades

Perform each exercise eight times breathing slowly. The mouth should be closed and your tongue should lightly press on the roof of your mouth. You should only take the movement to 70-80% of your maximum and you should not overextend or lock out your joints.

A …

As my Sifu always says “This is your form” and it should feel like “coming home.” After many years of practice, it finally does.

The goal for beginners is to complete this form in about 15 minutes and as you advance you should slow it down. Every movement should flow into the next one and there should never be a moment where you are not moving. Advanced practitioners should aim for 40 minutes or longer.

Traditional Yang Tai Chi 108 Movement Long Form

Part One

• History, Writing, and Literature
• Science and Mathematics
• Interdisciplinary Studies
• Art and Music
• Health and Financial Literacy
• Physical Education

Wow, eighth grade. How is this possible???

Note: This has been updated as of 3/13/2024.

Course of Study

History, Writing, and Literature

History

With the broad social studies aspect of his Falcons co-op we aren’t doing a large formal study of history. On his own he reviewed some Ancient history and the Middle …