Bay Area Tai Chi Programs for School-Aged Kids & TeensThe Way Home Tai Chi 尊古太極
Bay Area Tai Chi Programs for School-Aged Kids & Teens
Tai Chi
for the Next Generation
AI May Have It All.
What About Our Kids?
Kids nowadays are losing touch with
focus, patience, resilience, and real-world interaction
we help our next generation reconnect with what matters
through authentic Tai Chi.
About Us
The Way Home Institute is a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and partner organization of the American Chen Taiji Society and the American Internal Martial Arts Research Academy. We are dedicated to bringing internal martial arts such as Tai Chi (Taiji) 太極拳 and XingYiQuan 形意拳, Eastern philosophy 東方哲學, cultural arts such as calligraphy and tea ceremony 書法與茶道, and mindful practices like meditation and yoga to the younger generation. Rooted in the philosophy of “ancient oriental wisdom for modern life" we see these practices not simply as exercise, but as pathways to awareness, resilience, embodiment, and self-cultivation. In today’s fast-paced, screen-driven world, we aim to offer a more grounded path for youth development, helping young people slow down, reconnect with themselves, and grow through mindful yet engaging movement and cultural practice.
Rooted in ancient wisdom
“To succeed those that came before; to enlighten those that come after; to revere the ancient Taiji.”
“承先啓後，尊古太極”
- 太極隱士陳慶州宗師
For a long time, Taichi (Taiji) has been seen as slow, graceful, even boring movements practiced by older adults in the park or at the community gym. In reality, that’s only a small piece of it.
Chen-style Tai Chi, the original form that many other styles come from, was created as a complete system: a practical internal martial art that trains the body, calms the mind, sharpens awareness, and connects to deeper within, serving as a living carrier of ancient wisdom and philosophy.
In modern times, it remains effective for non-violent self-defense practice, while continuing to follow the natural mechanics of how the human body is meant to move, which makes it especially beneficial for kids and youth, supporting both their physical and mental development.
Research & Benefits
Why Taiji Matters for the Next Generation
Some kids need more movement. Some need more grounding. Some simply need a different environment to thrive. We aim to create a supportive space where every young person feels safe, accepted, and encouraged to grow with confidence.
Our Parent & Child private sessions offer kids and teens with special needs simple Tai Chi-inspired movement and body awareness practices to help them relax, redirect energy, and reconnect with a calmer state of mind, while building deeper trust alongside a parent.
Parent & Child Private Session
services and programs
International Cultural Exchange
Each year, students may travel to Chen Jia Gou, China, the birthplace of Taiji, to train with lineage masters, experience traditional culture firsthand, and participate in high-level cultural and martial arts events that help broaden their horizons and add unique real-world experience to their personal and academic journey.
After School Program
We partner with public and private schools to bring after-school programs directly to your campus, offering a variety of activities centered around Taiji, mindful martial arts movement, self-defense skills, and calligraphy and other Chinese arts. These programs help students build focus, confidence, body awareness, and emotional balance in a fun, active, and engaging environment.
Summer Camp 2026
From single-day experiences to multi-week summer programs for ages 6–9 and 9–13, students are introduced to authentic Taiji training, partner work, mindful movement, and cultural arts in a fun and grounded environment in downtown Mountain View, away from screens and academic pressure. For many young people, it becomes the beginning of a lifelong journey of growth and self-discovery.
Instructors Network
Our instructors are part of a longstanding network of traditional Taiji practitioners and teachers who have taught throughout the Bay Area for many years, some for decades. Many trained under renowned Chen-style Taiji Grandmaster Tony Wong, who began teaching in the Bay Area in the 1980s.
Our team includes experienced teachers, gold medalists, and high-level competitors in Taiji and Chinese martial arts who are passionate about making traditional arts accessible, engaging, and meaningful for younger generations.
Throughout the year, we also invite internationally recognized guest teachers from Chenjiagou, the birthplace of Chen-style Taiji, and other parts of the world to share deeper aspects of traditional training, culture, and lineage.
Sifu Tony Wong is an indoor disciple of Grandmaster Chen Qingzhou and a 20th-generation practitioner of traditional Chen Family Taijiquan (Lao Jia). He has trained under some of the most respected figures in the internal martial arts world, including Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang, one of the “Four Buddha Warriors” of Chen Village and a leading global representative of Chen-style Taiji; Master Zhang Xuexin, senior disciple of Feng Zhiqiang and lineage holder of Chen-style Hun Yuan Taiji; Master Cai Song Fang, renowned Wuji Qigong master known for his Qigong and deep internal training methods; and Master Chen Zhengzhong, highly respected for Yiquan, standing meditation, and internal power development.
Beyond his lifelong dedication to Taiji, Sifu Tony also built a distinguished professional career in engineering and served for many years as a lead mechanical engineering manager at NASA-related research organizations in Silicon Valley. Since beginning his internal martial arts journey in the 1980s, he has spent over four decades deeply studying, practicing, and preserving traditional Taiji and internal arts. Under Grandmaster Chen Qingzhou, Sifu Tony inherited the original Lao Jia Chen Taiji system in its “yuan zhi yuan wei 原汁原味”, preserving the art in its original essence and flavor as passed down through the lineage. Grandmaster Chen Qingzhou was widely respected for his precision, martial understanding, and dedication to preserving authentic Chen Family Taijiquan, and played an important role in bringing traditional Chen-style Taiji to the Bay Area and the West.
Over the past four decades, Sifu Tony has taught throughout the San Francisco Bay Area at schools, universities, hospitals, large corporations, community centers, wellness organizations, and martial arts programs, sharing both the health and martial aspects of traditional Taiji with people of all backgrounds and ages. He has trained thousands of students and mentored many accomplished instructors across multiple generations. Sifu Tony received gold medals and the title of “Ming Shi 名師” (Renowned Master) at the 2000 International Taiji Conference in Wenxian, China, the birthplace of Taiji, and continues to dedicate his life to preserving and passing down authentic Chen-style Taijiquan through martial arts, health cultivation, internal training, and lineage transmission.
Grandmaster Tony Wong
Students will also learn from a diverse group of instructors and guest teachers from different internal martial arts lineages and backgrounds. Some are multi-year champions in Tai Chi forms and push hands, while others bring experience from education, healthcare, movement, and mental wellness. Together, they offer over a century of combined experience in Tai Chi, weapons, martial art applications, and internal training, giving students exposure to many different perspectives, teaching styles, and approaches to the art.
Instructors
tai chi summer camp
6/8 - 7/17
Many young people today are constantly overstimulated, pulled between screens, social media, fast-paced schedules, and academic pressure. Our Tai Chi summer program introduces something increasingly rare: a balance of stillness and movement together through authentic internal martial arts training, body mechanics, partner practice, and mindful discipline.
Authentic Taiji Form
Real-World Benefits
Self-defense
Fun Social Experience
Push Hands
Traditional Chinese arts Calligraphy
What You Will Gain From at Our Camp
In 1 -2 Weeks
Within a week, most parents begin noticing visible changes, better focus, calmer energy, improved posture, stronger coordination, and more confidence in how their child carries themselves and interacts with others.
In 1 Month
Over a month, the practice begins going deeper. Students develop inner discipline, emotional balance, patience, resilience, and healthy habits that can stay with them long after the summer ends, while discovering a more grounded sense of joy beyond screens and constant stimulation.
Marlon
head instructor
Marlon Bishop has practiced traditional Taiji and internal martial arts since 2001 and has been teaching since 2010. His classes approach Taiji as a mind-body practice that supports martial arts skill, structural alignment, balance, mental focus, preventive health, and overall well-being. Marlon brings a grounded, approachable teaching style and has extensive experience teaching students of all ages and backgrounds. Marlon currently teaches at UCSF and PJCC, offering instruction in Taiji, push hands, standing meditation, silk reeling, sword, qigong, and internal movement training. He has trained under Master Tony Wong（黃偉兒）, Grandmaster Chen Qingzhou（陳慶州）, Chen Xiaowang（陳小旺）, Chen Bing（陳炳）, Chen Youze（陳有則）and other respected internal arts teachers from Chenjiagou and beyond. Over the years, Marlon has earned numerous awards in Taiji form and push hands competitions in both the United States and China, including gold in Laojia Yilu at the International Jiaozuo Taijiquan Exchange Competition in China, multiple first-place push hands titles at the Berkeley Chinese Martial Arts Tournament and Tiger Claw Championship, and the 2025 Taiji Ambassador Award in Chenjiagou for helping spread Taiji internationally.
Denise
head instructor
Denise is a certified Taiji instructor through the American Chen Taiji Society (ACTS). She practices Tai Chi (Taiji) and Qigong under the guidance of Grandmaster Tony Wong Waiyi. Denise currently serves as a Taiji instructor at the YMCA in Redwood City. She was honored with the 2025 Rising Star Award from the ZunGu Taiji lineage in Wenxian, China—the birthplace of Tai Chi. In 2026, she performed a Chen Family Single Dao weapon demonstration at the Lunar New Year Festival held at Hakone Gardens.
Jason (Chen Cheng Jie 陈诚捷)
guest instructor
Master Jason Weil (Chen Cheng Jie 陈诚捷) is a thirteenth-generation Chen family Tai Chi practitioner and 6th Duan certified by the World Tai Chi Qigong Duanwei Ranking Federation, with over thirty years in martial arts. He is the founder of the Feel It Method (feelitmethod.com), author of Feel It: Discover the Lost Art of Alignment, and co-author of Practical Tai Chi Training: A 9-Stage Method for Mastery with Sifu Jesse Tsao. He helps people feel it for themselves. His teaching is direct and grounded in the body. He guides students to restore strength, clarity, and peace they can physically feel and use in real time. Decades of disciplined practice in martial arts, meditation, and biotech quality assurance shape how Jason teaches. The result is teaching you can verify in your own body. Jason has trained in martial arts since middle school and has focused exclusively on Tai Chi since 2009 under Jesse Tsao, becoming a direct disciple in 2017. Besides Tony Wong, he has also trained with Chen Zhenglei, Zhu Tiancai, Chen Xiaowang, Chen Youze, and Chen Bing. Come know the joy and skill of Tai Chi for yourself. Do you feel it? That is your proof.
Camp Facilitators
Junlin
Program director
Junlin Chen is the founder and board director of The Way Home Institute, with a background spanning the technology, business, and education fields. Previously a tech founder and open-source product manager, and also a mother of a teenage boy, she eventually chose to fully dedicate her life to Chen Style Taiji, mindful movement, and inner development after recognizing how today’s AI- and technology-driven world is pulling many young people away from balance, inner guidance, embodied awareness, and connection to ancient wisdom — the way home. Junlin has over 20 years of experience in mindful movement practices including dance, Taiji, yoga, and rock climbing. She is a student of Master Tony Wong, a certified Tai Chi instructor through the American Chen Taiji Society, and received gold medals at the 27th National Collegiate Wushu Tournament in Taiji events 全美大學生武術錦標賽（太極組）. She previously served on the board of the Inner Seed Foundation and worked as a camp counselor at Yosemite National Park, where she taught yoga and meditation in nature to both kids and adults. Through The Way Home, her mission is to make authentic Taiji, internal arts, and ancient wisdom more accessible to the next generation across different backgrounds, abilities, and life experiences.
Yichao
Lead instructor of calligraphy
Yichao is the founder of MoStudio, a premier calligraphy school based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Having practiced traditional arts since childhood, she studied under Master Yang Zhihua, one of China’s most renowned calligraphy artists. As a professional instructor, Yichao is proficient in different scripts of Chinese calligraphy. Plus, she is dedicated to the preservation and modernization of traditional Chinese arts in North America. Yichao has collaborated with numerous high-profile organizations. She has served as a featured live artist for brands and institutions including Tesla, DoorDash, Tencent Games, Sophia University, and the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. Her professional journey and contributions to the art form have been featured in media outlets such as World Journal and China Tax News. Yichao offers detailed instruction, guiding students of all ages to find inner peace and cultural connection through the brush. She has established the most influential Chinese calligraphy communities in the Bay Area, conducting over a thousand student sessions and organizing more than 20 large-scale "Yaji" (traditional calligraphy gatherings). Her mission is to foster a space where ancient tradition meets modern lifestyle, making the art of calligraphy accessible and meaningful to more students.
the Beginning of an Inner Journey
From single-day experiences to multi-week programs for ages 6–9 and 9–13, students are introduced to authentic Taiji training, partner practices, mindful movement, self-defense foundations, and cultural arts in a way that is active, engaging, and fun. For many young people, it becomes the beginning of a profound journey at an early age, something increasingly rare in the AI era, planting a seed that continues to grow long after the program ends.
Small Group Focus
We maintain a low student-to-instructor ratio, ensuring a safe, engaging, and personalized learning experience.
Our Taiji instructors are certified masters and teachers, national competition champions, lineage holders, and professional educators, with over a century of combined experience.
Expert Guidance
We encourage a digital detox, allowing our young persons to fully engage with their surroundings and build genuine connections.
Purely Unplugged
endorsement from students
“I really enjoyed the special class with Shifu Tony Wong. It was wonderful to be able to internalize some of his energy, movement, and postural ways of being. The learning went deep. He is grounded and a joy to be around.”
— Lorraine K
“The presentation by Shifu Tony Wong was excellent and quite moving. I appreciated how he emphasized both the meditative practices and martial arts applications. I left the class energized and inspired, and have been experimenting with his suggestions for standing meditation and balance in movement.”
— Sean M.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMER STARTS HERE
Only 6 spots per session to keep the experience focused and high quality.
secure your young person's spot today.
Visit Us
275 Moffett Blvd, Mountain View, CA 94043
415-699-9721
info@thewayhometaichi.com