EUGENE TAI CHI CENTER - Key Persons
Andrew has practiced various styles of Chinese martial arts, including Tai Chi, for over 20 years. His first exposure to Tai Chi was in the context of learning Kung Fu. All the best Kung Fu instructors Andrew encountered in his studies also knew Tai Chi, and he picked up instruction through their lessons. When Andrew decided he wanted more specific instruction in Tai Chi in 2013, he came to the Eugene Yang Chengfu Tai Chi Chuan Center for their authentic, expansive curriculum and their strong ties to the lineage of Tai Chi.
Throughout his practice, Andrew has experienced both physical and mental health benefits. He has become more aware of the way that he holds his body, the amount of stress on any given body part and how to adjust his stance to minimize strain. He believes the classes at the center provide the tools to eliminate both mental and physical challenges, as well as a relaxing escape from the stresses of daily life.
Betsy has been practicing Tai Chi since 2012 after taking a class through the Parks and Recreation in her local community. Learning the short Cheng Man Ching form first, she went on to learn a version of the 24 and then 108 forms. It wasn't long before she was teaching her own classes and educating herself about the history, principles, and benefits of the discipline.
In 2014, she attended the International Tai Chi Symposium hoping to learn more technique and ways of teaching her students. It was there she learned of the Yang Family Association and began following Master Yang Jun. She came home with his teaching video and retaught herself the whole long form, bringing those practices into her own classroom.
After moving to Oregon, she practiced on her own until finding the Eugene Tai Chi Center. With the help of Dr. Fox, she has been able to broaden her understanding of Tai Chi at a deeper level. Along with the health and well-being benefits, Betsy believes Tai Chi has the potential to create powerful connections to one's internal energy as well to that of others around us.
Dr. Moore has practiced Traditional Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan for nearly 15 years. He has studied with Horacio Lopez, Dr. James Fox, Master Yang Zhenduo and Master Yang Jun since 2001. He serves as co-director for the Eugene Yang Chengfu Tai Chi Chuan Center, established in 2012, with Dr. James Fox.
His professional training and experience are as a medical doctor (MD) trained in the specialties of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), Sports Medicine and Pain Management. This unique combination of studies led to a novel treatment approach integrating traditional Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan into a spine and rehabilitation program for patients of the Pacific Sports and Spine in Eugene, Oregon. This rehabilitation program was accomplished through collaboration with Dr. Fox, and lasted from 2011-2017.
Dr. Moore applies the principles of Tai Chi in both his professional and personal life, practicing Tai Chi for health, self-defense and spirituality. He has proficiency in all traditional Yang family forms and applications including sword, saber, and Push Hands. Dr. Moore's special interests include the Push Hands form of Tai Chi and educating students in Tai Chi as a martial art.
Dr. Fox is the center's lead instructor and has studied and practiced Tai Chi for over 35 years. His post-doctoral studies in Chinese medicine in Wuhan, China inform the center's Meditation and Medical Qigong classes. He has studied Tai Chi Chuan extensively with the Yang family since 1996 in both China and the U.S., and has directed two accredited Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan centers, including the Eugene Yang Chengfu Tai Chi Chuan Center and an official Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan center in Buffalo, New York.
Dr. Greg Moore is also an instructor at the center, as well as a medical professional with expertise in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), Sports Medicine and Pain Management. While in medical school, he began studying Tai Chi as a form of exercise and meditation, and later as a form of self-defense. He soon recognized the potential for Tai Chi to help his patients.
Dr. Moore began training with Dr. Fox in 2009. They started a movement therapy program through Dr. Moore's practice at the Pacific Sports and Spine in Eugene, emphasizing the health benefits of Tai Chi for spinal patients and people of all ages.
Job Titles:
- Center Director
- Director for Eugene Yang Chengfu Tai Chi Chuan Center
Dr. Fox is the center director for Eugene Yang Chengfu Tai Chi Chuan Center, one of 12 Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan Centers in the United States accredited by the International Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan Association. With more than 35 years of experience in the study and practice of Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong, and over 10 years of study and practice of traditional Chinese medicine, Dr. Fox is an expert in the practice of Tai Chi and the center's lead instructor.
Since 1995, Dr. Fox has studied extensively with the Yang family in both China and the U.S. He operated an official Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan Center in Buffalo, New York before relocating to Eugene, Oregon, and Dr. Fox was Professor Emeritus at SUNY - Buffalo State. Dr. Fox deepened his knowledge of Tai Chi in his post-doctoral studies examining the cultural and historical foundations of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Huazhong University in Wuhan, China. He also studied Traditional Chinese Medicine applications, such as Taoist Medical Qigong, in China and Tibet under the direction of Qigong Grandmaster Zhang Yuanming.
Center director, Dr. James Fox, PhD and co-director, Greg Moore, MD, have been practicing and teaching Tai Chi for a combined fifty plus years, and their emphasis on the spirituality and serenity of their practice help to cultivate a space for lifelong enjoyment of Tai Chi.