Tai Chi Chuan

Frank Griffo is an accomplished Tai Chi artist, who has practiced the art locally for over ten years. When he first encountered Tai Chi in 1992 the seed was planted and a love for the art grew.  For the next five years, he sampled classes from different instructors across the country until he settled in the Bay Area in 1997 to study with Lenzie Williams, an instructor who has descended from a long line of Tai Chi Masters including Ben Lo and Professor Chung. Through intensive daily study with his Teacher Williams, he practiced several hours a day, six days a week for the next six years.  His physical training was complemented by studies of comparative religion at UC Berkeley through reading classic texts in Daoist, Buddhist and Confucian traditions.  After years of training, he attended intensive workshops across the country and in Europe and began to teach Tai Chi. In 2002, his study of comparative religion and Tai Chi led him to pursue a post-graduate degree in Chinese medicine and Acupuncture – a system of medicine based on the same underlying principles he learned in school and through martial art. Now, as an instructor of Tai Chi, Frank works to incorporate his knowledge of medicine, culture and the foundational principles into his teaching style. He seeks to bring a well-rounded approach to his students through being well versed in the art of Tai Chi, its healing benefits and the underlying philosophy. He believes Tai Chi is the Dao in action and by following its movements we too can follow in the path of the Dao – living harmoniously with the way of Nature.   

Here are some useful links about tai chi:

Tai Chi Berkeley For classes in and around Berkeley

Wikipedia For a very good summary of Tai Chi history

Chen Man-Ching The Website for Professor Zheng - a master of Tai chi and Chinese Medicine. In the center picture above.