Translations (译文)
Connections is available in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Chinese. We are very grateful for our translators who volunteered to translate: Rubén Coirini, Daniela Famulari, Gennaro Ripa, Françoise Desagnat, Jean-Claude Miremont, Thilo Krienke, Milena Locci de Oliveira de Lazzari, and Li Mingyang. Thank you very much! Here are the links to the other languages:
Welcome to Our New Members
I would like to welcome all new members who have recently joined Yang Family Tai Chi. Thank you for joining us and welcome to our tai chi family! I am happy you have chosen to join us and hope that you feel welcome and receive great value from your membership.
I hope that all members will have a long and fulfilling relationship with our association. For those members who have been with us through the years, I appreciate that you have chosen to stay with us as we continue to spread tai chi chuan worldwide to help humankind.
Sincerely,
Yang Jun
President
Instructor Renewal
A reminder to check your instructor certificate for the expiration date. If it is December 31, 2025 or before, please send the renewal form as soon as possible, along with the required documents, to the Training Standards Department at ts-dept@yangfamilytaichi.com to keep your certification current and remain in the instructor registry. We will handle your renewal promptly. If you have any questions, need help with your renewal, or have difficulty meeting the requirements, please let us know by email.
China Trip - Special Yang Family Tai Chi Event - October 2026
Next year is the centennial celebration of Grandmaster Yang Zhenduo’s birth. To mark the occasion, Yang Family Tai Chi will be holding a multi-day event in Leshan, Sichuan, in mid-October 2026. This celebration will involve a three-day tournament with ranking opportunities and a one-day scientific forum and showcase presentation by tai chi masters from China. Similar to past Yang Family Tai Chi adventures, there will also be a tour following the event with Wudang Mountain and Guilin as possible destinations. More information available soon.
Mark your calendars and start saving up for this once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Please Update Your Email Address
Have you changed your email address since you first became a member of Yang Family Tai Chi? If so, please let us know by updating your email address. As a member, you may be missing out on messages, special announcements, and newsletters because we don't have your most current email address.
Please send any updates to members@yangfamilytaichi.com or go to the Member Area of our website and select Membership Management, where you can update your information. Forgot your password? You can reset it in Membership Management too.
We encourage directors and instructors to help us by reminding students to keep their email address current.
Master Yang Jun's Seminar Schedule
Paris, France
April 25-27: Traditional Hand Form (103)
April 28: Push Hands
April 29-30: Sword Form
Mexico City, Mexico
May 15-16: Essential Form
May 17: Saber Form
Please visit our association's website for more information as it becomes available.
TTM Seminar - Danbury, CT, USA
From September 12-15, the Teacher Academy USA hosted the 2025 TTM seminar with Master Yang Jun in Danbury CT. Master Yang's teaching focused on fundamental techniques and methods of tai chi as well as in depth study of Yin/Yang theory through tai chi movements and push hands. Academy faculty, staff, students, and association members who participated in this event thank Master Yang for another excellent seminar!
Mari Lewis (Yang Yaju)
Head TA USA
Seminar in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
In early October, Tai Chi Yukon was honored to host a Traditional Hand Form (103) seminar with Master Yang Jun accompanied by Fang Hong Laoshi. Fifty people attended including visitors from all over North America. We have since heard many positive comments about our training space, the optional excursions, our warm Yukon hospitality and, above all, the superb quality of Master Yang’s instruction giving all levels of students new insights into their practice. In the words of one participant, Master Yang’s excellent teachings “form a complete system that provides students with a comprehensive and profound understanding of tai chi.”
Photo credit: Bruce Barrett Photography
Instructor Seminar - Bassano Romano (VT), Italy
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Master Yang Jun for the great important work that he is carrying out during each edition of the Instructors Seminar. This year's seminar from November 17-19 focused on:
Day 1
• Review of previously studied Classics
• Deepening of the Yang Family teaching system
Days 2 & 3
• Practical methods to internalize these principles through solo and partner work
• Structure, rooting, and balance: guidelines for using waist and pelvis in every movement
• Unifying the internal and external to achieve integrated action and to become one in movement and action.
Part of the training focused on Breaking Posture, and on the final day our practice centered on Fajing — the rapid discharge of refined internal force — one of the fundamental elements of advanced tai chi chuan.
I’m truly delighted with the excellent response from instructors and members of the Teacher Academy, with participants not only from Italy but also from Germany, France, Greece, Malta, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ireland, Portugal, Brazil, the United States, Vietnam, and China.
Thank you all for your dedication and commitment.
Claudio Mingarini
Director, IYFTCCA Teachers Academy in Italy
Seminar in San Ciprián, Spain
On October 25th and 26th, Miguel Ángel Rojo Darriba, Director of the National Kungfu Department, organized the sixth seminar of Master Yang Jun to Spain. This sword seminar emphasized coordination, positional and movement techniques, and the types of sword cuts. Additionally, Master Yang enriched the explanations with legends and mythological stories to facilitate the understanding of the movements from a Chinese cultural perspective.
Practitioners from Galicia, Asturias, Andalusia, Castilla y León, Cantabria, the Basque Country, Madrid, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Hungary, Portugal, and Brazil attended the course.
Seminar in Mendoza, Argentina
On November 15th, 16th, and 17th, we had the honor of welcoming Master Yang Jun to Mendoza for a Traditional Hand Form (103) seminar. It was a great responsibility for our school, one that was carried out thanks to the collective effort of all its members, as we welcomed Master Yang along with colleagues from Uruguay, Colombia, Peru, and various cities across Argentina.
Beyond the abundant technical content - always delivered with the pedagogical clarity that makes it accessible even to those attending a seminar for the first time - we would like to highlight Master Yang Jun's generosity. He kindly answered every question and allowed us to deepen our understanding of the art, transforming our practice into a true way of life.
We are grateful for the opportunity to continue growing.
Viviana Uliarte
Yang Family Tai Chi School Mendoza
Seminar in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
From November 20th to 23rd, 2025, the 7th International Tai Chi Chuan Seminar with Master Yang Jun took place in Ribeirão Preto City, Brazil.
During these four days, Master Yang Jun shared many teachings and practices, covering the training of the Traditional Hand Form (103), Saber Form, push hands, and applications of the art.
These were intense days, full of learning and inspiration with Master Yang. Now, we continue studying and practicing his teachings, seeking to go beyond the border to evolve even further in the art of Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan.
Everyone gives much thanks Master Yang Jun for his precious teachings and expertise in help us to learn and develop in the art.
Fernando De Lazzari
Director of YFTC Center Ribeirão Preto
www.taichichuan.com.br
YFTC Center Mexico Competes at International Tai Chi Championship in Jiangyin, China
From September 17 to 20, 2025, the YFTC Center Mexico, recognized as the official center of Yang Family Tai Chi in Mexico, participated in the International Tai Chi Championship held in Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province, China. This unforgettable experience combined competition, cultural exchange, and the deepening of our students’ knowledge and skill in tai chi.
Excellence in Yang Family Tai Chi
Our athletes represented Mexico with dedication, precision, and respect for tradition. Competing in Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan, they demonstrated not only technical mastery but also the philosophy and spirit that are central to our teachings. Every movement reflected the discipline, focus, and elegance cultivated daily at our center.
Proud Achievements
The hard work and dedication of our competitors were recognized with a total of 1 Gold, 2 Silver, and 6 Bronze medals:
- Guadalupe Ordaz Huescas: Gold, Silver
- Raúl Valencia del Toro: Silver, Bronze
- Evelyn Cedillo Anaya: Two Bronzes
- Pablo Ruz Salmones: Two Bronzes
- Abraham Halild: Bronze
Each medal reflects the commitment, passion, and excellence that define YFTC Center Mexico.
More Than Medals
Beyond the competition, our delegation had the chance to connect deeply with the origins of tai chi, experience the local traditions firsthand, and strengthen international ties within the tai chi community. For our center, international competitions are not just about winning medals - they are opportunities to grow, learn, and share the philosophy of tai chi. This journey reinforced our position as leaders in Mexico for Yang Family Tai Chi, while also creating lasting bonds with practitioners around the world.
Daniel Corona
Director, YFTC Center Mexico
Seminar in Rockland, Maine, USA
The YFTC School in Rockland, Maine hosted a push hands seminar on November 8 & 9, 2025. The goal was to pass on as much of the teachings of Master Yang Jun as possible, from our Directors and Instructors Seminar in Las Vegas in February, and the October Tai Chi Yukon Seminar in Whitehorse, Canada. The main focus was Master Yang’s emphasis on all aspects of balance, internal and external, body and mind, and then seeking to perfect a complimentary relationship with the energy of our partner in push hands. Also included was pursuing our own development of "song and peng", a clear mind, and the ability to see the tai chi, rather than just the Yang or the Yin.
Twelve teachers and students attended with the intention of improving their tai chi skills with a focus on push hands skills in preparation for their next level ranking exams.
The seminar was hosted and sponsored by Mike Shunney, Academy Instructor and the Director of the YFTC School Rockland. Mike was assisted by Connie Evans, Will Galloway, Dean Anderson, Anna Dembska, Mia Kanazawa and Chris Facq. Many thanks!
Michael Shunney
Director, YFTC School Rockland
“Thank you, Mike and everyone for your patience, sense of humor and sincere dedication to helping us all become better tai chi players. It was fun, exhausting and so helpful!!” Alyson T.
Mexico City Ranking Event
On October 25, 2025, a Copper Eagle and Silver Eagle level ranking event was held in Mexico City, with the participation of 16 students and 6 judges. We especially thank judges Michael Coulon (Yang Yahua) and Bas Debbink, who traveled from the United States to Mexico; Ernestina Ochoa, who traveled from Guadalajara; and the local judges Rosa María Ochoa, María Antonieta, and Sergio Aguirre.
In addition, ranking certificates and pins were awarded to three outstanding students.
Festival Performance
In September, members of YFTC Center in Royal Oak, Michigan performed at the 2025 Great Lakes Tai Chi Performance Festival.
Journal Gem
"Talking About Rollback Energy with Master Yang" by Edward Moore. Issue #50 (2022), pages 12-17.
This article can be found in our Members-Only Area on our website.
Contribute to Our Journal
Volunteer Opportunities
Yang Family Tai Chi depends on volunteers who donate their time and talent to make our association a success. We currently need more volunteers to help our association as we move forward into the future. We have an immediate need for people with skills such as website updating and management, writing, translating, video editing, social media, and assisting our department heads and executive with various tasks. We also welcome volunteers in other areas.
Do you have any skills or knowledge you would like to share? If you would like to volunteer but aren't sure how you can help, please just send an email telling us you would like to help in some way and we will suggest some ways you could volunteer.
We are very grateful to all our volunteers who have helped make our association and its events successful. Building a strong group of new volunteers will help us improve our service to our members and also reach more people around the world! Please contact Pam Boyde (pamboyde@yangfamilytaichi.com) if you would like to volunteer.
Join Our Association
Become a member of Yang Family Tai Chi! For more information about membership benefits and how to apply, please visit our membership page on our website.
Posting to Yang Family Tai Chi's Social Media Pages
Want to post news on Yang Family Tai Chi's social media pages? Yang Family Tai Chi would like to keep its social media pages updated with current information from the association, centers, and schools. Ana Horta is managing Yang Family Tai Chi's social media pages on Facebook and Instagram. If you would like to share news on Yang Family Tai Chi's social media pages, please send an email to Ana at anamaghorta@gmail.com.
VISIT YANG FAMILY TAI CHI'S SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES
Previous Issue
Did you miss the last issue of Connections? You can read it here.
Next Issue of Connections
Connections is published in March, June, September, and December. We publish association news and school news (upcoming events, recent past events, awards, other news) but not general school advertisements.
The next issue of Connections will be published in March 2026. Please send any announcements to me at carolyn@yangfamilytaichi.com by February 22, 2026.
Carolyn Fung,
Editor
|
