Tai Chi Master Plans Demo and Workshop

08/18/2015 

Tai chi Master Jesse Tsao will discuss and demonstrate the Chinese martial art — practiced for both its defense training and its health benefits — on Friday, Sept. 11, at SUNY Cortland.

Tsao, a former champion from China with more than 30 instructional DVDs to his credit, will share his knowledge about tai chi, an often slow-movement physical training form, during his talk titled “Tai Chi for Wellness: A Public Lecture and Demonstration.”

The presentation begins at 7:30 p.m. in Sperry Center, Room 205. The lecture and demonstration are free and open to the public.

Tsao also will offer a two-day workshop on his Chen style Taijiquan bang (short stick) routine from Saturday, Sept. 12, to Sunday, Sept. 13, in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. In addition to learning how to use the bang for a taiji routine, participants will see techniques for helping joints, for massage and for self-defense.

The 12-hour workshop takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days and is ideal for beginners and experienced taiji players.

Students, faculty and staff can participate for free. The cost for everyone else is $80 for the two-day workshop or $20 per session. Advance registration is required. To register for the workshop or for more information about either program, contact Philosophy Department Chair Andrew Fitz-Gibbon at andrew.fitz-gibbon@cortland.edu or 607-279-6584. Workshop parking is available in the College lots off Graham Avenue.

Born and trained in China, Tsao has been practicing tai chi for more than 40 years, including 10 years of intensive study with world-renowned Grandmaster Li Deyin in Beijing. His family’s lineage in Chen style tai chi goes back 12 generations. He now lives in San Diego and, since 1995, has served as a tai chi master for Cigna HealthCare of Arizona.

Tsao was the gold medalist in the 1980 Beijing Collegiate Wushu Competition. He earned a Ph.D. in traditional Chinese sport from Shanghai Sport University. He also has B.S. and M.S. degrees in economics from Renmin University in Beijing, China, and University of Arizona, respectively.

An internationally known tai chi master, Qigong therapist, and alternative medicine and wellness consultant, since 2005, Tsao has made regular teaching tours to Germany, France, England, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Russia and Greece. He founded Tai Chi Healthways and specializes in the areas of self-healing, preventive therapies, stress management and mind-body wellness.

He is the author of two books, Tai Chi Bang: Eight Immortal Flute (NB Publishing, South Carolina, 2012) and Compact Tai Chi — in Limited Space (Hall Samuel Weiser, Inc., Maine, 2000).

The programs are co-sponsored by the Auxiliary Services Corporation, Philosophy Department, the President’s Office, the Campus Artist and Lecture Series, a Faculty Development Small Grant, the Clark Center for International Education, and the Center for Ethics, Peace and Social Justice.