Martial Tai Chi

About the Martial Tai Chi Association (soon to be re-named the Martial Training Association)

Martial Tai Chi Association (MTA)
The goal of this organisation is to restore the reputation of Tai Chi (a.k.a. T'ai Chi Ch'uan or Taijiquan) as a highly effective and well-respected martial art. We promote the benefits of authentic Martial Tai Chi practice to develop self-defence / fighting skills, making it clear that any additional benefits (such as health improvements) stem from and serve that martial purpose. A list of our Aims and Objectives is at the bottom of this page.

Who can become an MTA Instructor?
While the MTA is an egalitarian organisation, it is not a democratic one. This is so that our original aims and objectives can never be undermined. Instructors must actively embrace the Association motto: "Emphasise Practicality, Renounce Embellishment, Shun Superstition." Our instructors should actively reject the concept of "qi", along with related terminology such as "qigong" and "neigong".

Every prospective instructor must be personally assessed by the founder (Joanna Zorya) to ensure they have the knowledge and commitment to teach in accordance with the MTA's specific ethos. That said, MTA Instructors may teach any style of Tai Chi (or other art) that can fulfill our aims and objectives, and may develop their own training systems, syllabuses and grading programmes.

Instructors should not also be members of any other Tai Chi regulatory bodies with conflicting aims.

Insurance
Instructor insurance cover should be arranged through the MTA. The MTA will arrange Malpractice Insurance with Public & Products Liability extension for its instructors. Cover is provided for Martial Tai Chi teaching within Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man as standard and may, upon application, be extended to include the Republic of Ireland.

We will also provide all of our instructors with "good practice guidelines".

Who else can become an MTA member?
MTA student membership is free, and open to all students of regulated MTA instructors. Such membership is automatic and enables you to attend MTA public seminars and workshops.

Which Styles of Tai Chi?
The organisation is open to teachers of all martial styles of Tai Chi, whether traditionally recognised or more modern styles, such as Dong style, Zheng Manqing style, or even an instructor's own style!

Modern styles should be able to chart their position within Tai Chi's history - relating the characteristics of their style to the Tai Chi Classic writings and / or the other recognised styles. While the organisation's founders believe (in keeping with most modern Chinese martial arts historians) that all authentic Tai Chi styles (Chen, Zhaobao, Yang, Wu Jianquan, Wu Yuxiang, Hao, Sun etc.) originally stem from the Chen style, we also recognise that the origins of Tai Chi are a fiercely debated issue.

As we firmly believe that ability is far more important than lineage anyway, to avoid unnecessary arguments, teachers should definitely avoid publicising their school with any claims that their style is the "original style" of Tai Chi, especially if it is not a branch of the Chen style.

Which Other Martial Styles?
We also welcome teachers of Xingyiquan, Baguazhang, Yiquan, Liuhebafa, Kuntao / SE Asian versions of these arts as well as integrated or synthesis styles, providing they teach the arts in a similar manner and with the same commitment to our ethos. Prospective instructor members should get in touch with us about this.

As stated on our home page, the Martial Tai Chi Association (MTA) requires all of its Instructors to:
1) Only ever teach martial arts with the purpose of developing fighting skills, without any exceptions.
2) Never teach martial arts for any of the following (false) purposes - relaxation, therapy, healing, meditation or spirituality.
3) Sincerely teach all of their combat knowledge to all of their students from the outset of training and not just to a select few "inner door" students.
4) Make their teaching as understandable as possible. They must never pass on exercises they do not fully understand the meaning of, or are incapable of explaining the purpose of in plain, anatomical, scientific, or martial terms.
5) Never employ deception or trickery of any sort.

In addition, Instructors must abide by the following:

No Masters
MTA instructors should reject the use of titles such as "Master" or "Grand Master" as this implies that they have nothing left to learn and places too much importance on their martial arts skills - being a martial arts teacher does not warrant such an innapropriate and feudal term. Instructors should be judged (by the general public) on their own merits, rather than because they have impressive sounding, but otherwise fairly meaningless titles. While grading systems may be used within specific clubs, no hierarchical structure exists for MTA instructors within the organisation. Therefore, teachers may not advertise themselves using any kinds of ranks or titles. Nor should rank be falsely implied by putting letters after one's name (a doctorate in food hygiene does not make you a better martial arts teacher!)

No Disciples
Furthermore, instructors may not take on "disciples" or "inner door" students. All aspects of teaching must be taught openly and publicly to all accepted students and without ceremony or ritual, in order to further promote true understanding of the art.

Expulsion
The MTA's founder, Joanna Zorya, may for good reason terminate the membership of any MTA Instructor. This might happen if, for example, an Instructor went against the spirit of the MTA's aims and objectives, or perhaps in the case of criminal or anti-social activity that could bring the organisation into disrepute.

However, the Instructor concerned has the right to state their case, accompanied by a friend, before a final decision is made.

Aims and Objectives of the Martial Tai Chi Association (soon to be re-named the Martial Training Association)

The Aims of the "Martial Tai Chi Association" (hereby abbreviated to "MTA") are:

a) To restore the reputation of Tai Chi as a highly effective and well-respected martial art.

b) To promote the concept of "wu de" (martial virtue) and the principle that the purpose of learning martial arts is to learn how to protect others and yourself from harm.

The Objectives of the "Martial Tai Chi Association" are:

a) To function as a governing body for exclusively Martial Tai Chi instructors - i.e. those who only ever practice or teach Tai Chi specifically as a martial art.

Quality-control will be a high priority. Instructors are required to teach effective martial skills as a compulsory component of training, from the outset. Such skills must be taught to all students, without exceptions, and irrespective of whether or not they wish to learn them.

b) To regulate said instructors in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and, upon acceptance by the insurers, the Republic of Ireland.

c) To provide insurance cover for MTA instructors.

d) To provide good training guidelines to MTA instructors.

e) To facilitate the development of Martial Tai Chi practice by providing opportunities for Martial Tai Chi instructors to share information, good teaching practices and fully effective (i.e not watered down) martial skills with other members.

f) To network with practitioners of Martial Tai Chi and other martial arts with similar values to the MTA on a world-wide level.

g) To encourage its members to actively embrace the spirit of equal opportunities and try to ensure that all students who wish to learn Tai Chi as a martial art have the chance to do so. It is acknowledged that members of marginalised communities and groups are very often those who need self-defence skills the most.

Martial Tai Chi should be promoted as a credible first point of call for those who feel vulnerable and therefore want to learn to defend themselves. We do not wish to lose such students to other martial arts, or worse still, for such people to give up on the hope of getting martial training as a consequence of instructors imposing prohibitive restrictions on physical fitness, abilities or other discriminatory criteria.

h) To emphasise practicality, renounce embellishment and shun superstition.

The MTA takes an unequivocal stance against esoteric and occult concepts and practices such as "energetic transmission / projection", "empty force" or "Qi healing." Furthermore, we actively disassociate ourselves from:

1) Vague, unsubstantiable, unsound or exaggerated health claims.
2) Unscientific, cryptic and grandiose language, such as "qi", "qigong", "neigong", "internal alchemy", "energetics" and "subtle energies".
3) Any claims linking Tai Chi or associated practices to the attainment of invulnerability, immortality, spiritual enlightenment, or any other supernatural abilities.

i) To promote Martial Tai Chi by educating the public, the Tai Chi and martial arts communities about the true and original purpose of Tai Chi as a fighting / self-defence art.

j) To make clear that any physical and psychological benefits emerging from authentic Taijiquan practice are intrinsically linked to the art's martial purpose, and must always stem from and serve that purpose to remain fully potent.