It requires a partner to practice with you, but Master Tsao teaches you a unique way to start with yourself.  This is a new approach to teaching Push Hands and is a good reference for Tai Chi instructors.  Learn the basic moves at home to practice the postures and understand the energy flow, then match with another person to develop sensitivity and react with peng, lu, ji, an (ward off, roll back, press, push). Tai chi push hands can build strength and flexibility of your Core muscles, form the central link between your upper and lower body. A strong core underpins almost everything you do. It is key to improving performance in almost any sport by extending your range of motion. Your slimmer waistline and better defined ab muscles will be hard to ignore. Push Hands will keep you motivated and continue to challenge you as you make progress.  Master Tsao teaches in precise detail in English and demonstrates with Alain Mellan. Suggest 30 class hours.  (Difficulty: Beginner to Advanced Levels). DVD-R, (63 minutes)

  Derive strength and develop good character from sword practice to form a unique way of life.  Tai Chi Sword Form 32 is the most popular sword routine practiced in the world today.  This DVD video teaches the standard 32 movements posture- by-posture with repetitions and explanations by Master Tsao.  Teaching is in English.  The entire form is demonstrated in both front and back views. It is a good reference for home study, or a resource for instructor's teaching preparation.  Suggest 25 class hours. (Difficulty: Beginner Level)

Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi for Vitality is based on Dr. Jesse Tsao's PhD research project, combined tai chi posture with Qigong practice to open meridian channels and develop the inner energy (neigong) to prevent disease and strengthen the internal power. This instructional DVD is packed with energy-boosting techniques that will have you outpacing, outlasting, and outperforming friends who are years younger. No matter your age, you can possess energy that lasts all day — and into the night. Instructed by Master Jesse Tsao in English with reviews after each lesson. It is good for home study, or a resource for instructor's teaching preparation

Tai Chi Staff/Pole in Chen Style Form 36 is a combination of staff and spear methods and pole shaking to develop your internal strength and whole-body connection.  Dr. Jesse Tsao is carrying forward the teaching of his Sifu Chen Zhenglei's, Pole Shaking 13 Forms.  This routine was developed for Tai Chi Healthways' instructor certification curriculum.  The staff is under 8' long, so it can be carried inside a car for outdoor practice, but it is just long enough to practice the pole-shaking mechanics.  (Difficulty: Beginner through advanced Levels) (60 minutes)

Designed by Dr. Jesse Tsao, practice is designed to effectively stimulate the body’s energy meridians in a safe and gentle manner. Based on 16 simple and popular tai chi postures, the repetitive slow relaxed movements and abdominal breathing will help you relieve suffering due to anxiety, asthma, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, chronic fatigue, muscle strain and pain, osteoarthritis, scoliosis, osteoporosis, and many other ailments.  It will also strengthen your core muscles and help develop your balance and leg strength. This practice can be used as preventive therapy for everyone who wishes to reap the benefits of an improved quality of life

This is a therapy (or preventive practice) for people with carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, or Parkinson's Disease.  The stick provides you with a focal point to help  with hand-eye coordination.  The twisting moves can stimulate energy circulation in your fingers and wrists, prevent frozen shoulders, and improve the elasticity of the tendons around your elbows.  Combined with various tai chi postures, it stretches and tones your muscles, activates the hip and knee joints, improves the flexibility and strength of your spine, and  prevents lower back pain. The practice is adapted from the tai chi joint locking techniques of qin-na, a traditional  secret training approach for developing spiral inner energy.  Therefore, this routine can also be used as a martial arts drill.

Compact Tai Chi Sword in Mixed Styles blends Tai Chi with various sword techniques, including Wudang sword, Ming Dynasty General Qi Jiguang's (1528-1588) long saber (Miao-dao), Yu Chenghui’s two-handed longsword, and Medieval long-sword methods. Both Qi and Yu hailed from Penglai, China, my hometown, where the historical use of longswords in martial arts training is abundant. This routine serves as my homage to this tradition. Its core focus is utilizing the sword as a tool for body conditioning and harnessing inner energy, emphasizing dragon and tiger strength, while also integrating practical sword defensive and offensive techniques. Notably, there's a seamless connection between weapons and tai chi bare hand routines. While a standard-sized sword suffices, a heavier longsword facilitates training the back, waist, and hips for blade movement, minimizing reliance on arm muscles.

Practical Stretching Anywhere in the Qigong Way - II

This is the 2nd set of practice, a little more dynamic. Stretching is an excellent thing you can do for your health. Without the need of a floor mat, these simple yet effective moves can help you limber up for tai chi and Qigong practice or any sports, improve your balance and prevent falls, increase your flexibility, and even help relieve arthritis, back, and knee pain. Dr. Jesse Tsao shared his practice based on traditional Chinese tai chi and Qigong practices. They are easy and practical to use anywhere, each posture has Qigong energy circulation benefits, and they can be customized to your ability anywhere from easy to challenging. You’ll find these moves can boost overall flexibility and loosen up tight muscles, including specific stretches to ease back pain, stiff hamstrings, and the neck and shoulder pain that comes from spending too much time sitting at a desk staring at a computer!

This is designed for people with physical difficulty of standing or recovery from medical treatment.  You can still practice to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, hand arthritis.  The stick provides you with a focal point to help  with hand-eye coordination.  The twisting moves can stimulate energy circulation in your fingers and wrists, prevent frozen shoulders, and improve the elasticity of the tendons around your elbows.  It stretches and tones your muscles, improves the flexibility and strength of your spine, and  prevents lower back pain. The practice is adapted from the tai chi joint locking techniques of qin-na, a traditional  secret training approach for developing spiral inner energy.

Poor balance is a common issue for older adults and is a major cause of falls that send millions of people each year to the emergency room. Based on his 20 years of working for Cigna Healthcare's Disease Prevention program, Dr. Tsao created this Tableside Tai Chi Therapy practice to help you safely develop a better sense of balance and stability.  With a table as support, you can practice with confidence to improve your balance, while at the same time building strength, mobility, and agility. Tai chi can improve your posture, increase muscle strength and speed, sharpen reflexes, expand flexibility, and strengthen your core.  This DVD gives you step-by-step instructions for Tai Chi and Qigong exercises that will help you stay active and independent as you age.

Tai Chi Ball in Form 24 by Dr. Jesse Tsao is adapted from the Simplified Tai Chi Form 24 to honor his teacher Professor Li Deyin of Beijing Renmin University, who is the most significant expert making tai chi worldwide popular today. This routine stays as close as possible to the original 24 postures with a ball in between the hands. The practice uses dan-tian (lower abdomen) rotation to generate torso movement, which leads to ball movement, to develop internal energy and core strength. The ball is usually made out of rubber, wood, steel, or even stone, and typically weighs between 2 and 30 lbs. This form will help you sink your center of gravity, improve balance and posture, tone muscles and tendons, and enhance internal power. You can start with a lighter medicine ball and then work up to a heavier one over time. This is a new curriculum of the Tai Chi Healthways instructor training program.