PHOENIX TAI CHI LONDON ACADEMY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Instructor
- Principal
- Principal Instructor - General Enquiries -
- Principal Instructor - Phoenix Tai Chi London
- Principal Instructor of Phoenix Tai Chi Chuan
Choo Poh Ong is the principal instructor of Phoenix Tai Chi Chuan.
From a very early age Mr Ong developed a keen interest in all sport related activities, particularly badminton and martial arts. As a child he would go whenever he could to the cinema to watch martial art movies. His continued development and interest in martial arts would later evolve into a defining part of his life. Speaking about it today he explains: "Badminton is my passion, Tai Chi is my life..."
Born and brought up in Malaysia, Mr Ong moved to England in 1970. Inspired by Bruce Lee, at the time at the height of his form and popularity, his imagination and interest in the martial arts spiralled. Fuelled by the desire to build his confidence in life in general and to improve his skills, he realised that his martial art journey has begun.
Since then Mr Ong has trained with several martial arts masters. He met his master L.L.Lim, in Penang, Malaysia. Known in Penang as a master who was very 'yin chim' - a hokkien dialect meaning strict and detailed in his teaching, master L.L.Lim quickly became C.P. Ong's guide, and remained his mentor for several years. Through his training with master L.L.Lim, Mr Ong's lineage can be traced back to master Teh Choon Hor who learnt from master Yap Siew Teng who together with master Huang Shyan Sheng, trained with professor Cheng Man Ching, one of the students of Yang Cheng Fu.
Job Titles:
- Instructor
- Instructor - Phoenix Tai Chi London
Max has been training Tai Chi at Phoenix Tai Chi Chuan Academy for 12 years. During this period he has completed the instructor's training course and is currently a qualified instructor.
Max has always been a dedicated student of Tai Chi, he also reached 4th dan in Tae Kwon Do. While Max is also at the moment actively training and teaching Tae Kwon Do, his continued commitment to martial art training ensures that the Academy's traditional teaching will be passed on.
Job Titles:
- Instructor
- Instructor - Phoenix Tai Chi London
Pat has been training Tai Chi at Phoenix Tai Chi Chuan Academy for 12 years. During this period she has completed the instructor's training course and is now a qualified instructor. Pat's commitment to training Tai Chi ensures that the traditional teaching will be passed on.
The Chinese symbol for universal balance shown here represents the combination of the opposites needed to form a whole. The black spot in the white area and the white spot in the dark indicate that everything includes its own opposite. It is the principal of everything in creation; it is the source of life. Heaven was created by an accumulation of Yang, the element of light. Earth was created by an accumulation of Yin, the element of darkness. Yang stands for destruction. Yin stands for conservation.
Yang is the male, Yin is the female. Though different they complement each other in a continuous movement without beginning and without end. Together they delineate the universal forces in nature, dark and light, inner and outer, soft and hard, negative and positive, male and female, complementing each other. This symmetry is represented in every facet of Chinese life. The earth, moon, winter and water said to be Yin, while yang is present in the sun, summer, heaven and fire. No part has a life of its own. Each exists in harmonious interaction with each other. The balance between opposites reflects the essence of tai chi.
Tai Chi Chuan is Yin/Yang. It seeks harmony and balance. Training according to principle and classic concept will lead to resolving a conflict confidently, yet, calmly. As you progress and understand Tai Chi as an "Art of Life", you will grow with it over the course of time. As with nature you cannot force it to happen. It takes time. It is a process and it keeps on evolving.