Instructor
Craig Jones
I'm a registered instructor with the Chinese Internal Arts Association and the Tai Chi Union for Great Britain with over 25 years experience of practising Chinese internal martial arts starting in 1995. Please refer to links below and search for Fareham to find my details:
CIAA instructors qualified to teach Tai Chi and other Internal Martial Arts (taichiforeverybody.com)
Find a Tai Chi Instructor (taichiunion.com)
I've always had an interest in the highly refined skills that can be accomplished in the traditional Chinese martial arts and the dedication that an individual has to go through to get anywhere near achieving this level of skill.
I started training in different aspects of varying Chinese internal martial arts, including Taijiquan, Xingyiquan, Baguazhang and Yiquan (also known as Dachengquan). Settling eventually on Yiquan as I was drawn to the focus on the core training techniques without the distraction of the long forms to learn. At this time I found Lam Kam Chuen who is a direct 3rd generation disciple of Yiquan. I became a student and practised with Master Lam for a few years initially only being taught Zhan Zhuang (standing posture practise that is used as a training technique in all Chinese internal martial arts but is even more prominent in Yiquan), then subsequently also learning Yiquan with him. After Master Lam relocated to the US i looked for other teachers who were skilled in this art and also who had a lineage connection to recognised Chinese masters.
At this time I discovered Karel and Eva Koskuba who run the CIAA (Chinese Internal Arts Association). They were direct students of Master Yao Chengguang (3rd generation lineage holder in Yiquan and one of the leading practitioners in the world) as well as being formally recognised as 20th generation disciples of Chen Taijiquan after many years studying with Master Chen Xiaowang.
Initially starting to learn from one of their senior students (Sam Moor who runs Sussex Tai Chi), I started training with Sam in Yiquan, only moving to his Taiji classes a couple of years later. This was my first experience of Chen style Taijiquan and I haven't looked back since. With my previous experience and with the excellent tuition from Sam I came to appreciate how complete an art form this is and continue on a lifelong journey of working to improve and refine my practise.
I later became a direct student of Karel and Eva, completing their 3 year Taijiquan instructor training course and I still regularly visit them to learn and improve my Taiji.
Since starting Chen style Taijiquan 10 years ago, I’ve also been fortunate enough to train directly with both Chen Xiaowang and his nephew Chen Bing on several occasions travelling in the UK and to Greece for workshops and a residential retreat where they have been hosted by Karel, Eva and Sam. Chen Bing is also an honorary president of Sussex Tai Chi and the Oxford school of Taijiquan and Qigong run by Phil Muil and Emma Westlake.
If you are looking for experienced teachers outside of Hampshire or are prepared to travel to practise I would highly recommend Karel and Eva (CIAA), Sam Moor (Sussex Tai Chi) and Phil and Emma (Oxford School of Taijiquan and Qigong). Please see links to their websites below:
(also see their website for Yiquan with more details: www.yiquan.org.uk)