Center Director, Academy Instructor

James has studied and practiced Tai Chi Chuan since 1981. He first studied traditional Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan with Master Sik Hung Chan, a retired Chinese martial arts instructor, while he was a Visiting Professor at the University of Oregon.

Since 1996, James has studied exclusively with Master Yang Zhenduo (4th generation Yang Family descendant) and Yang Jun (6th Generation Yang Family descendant).

In 1981, James founded the Morning Light School of Tai Chi Chuan in Buffalo, New York. Then in 2000, his school was named as a Center of the International Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan Association.

James left Buffalo in 2005 upon retiring as Professor Emeritus from SUNY- Buffalo State. He named Robert Gott, one of his advanced students, as Interim Center Director. Robert now is the Buffalo Center Director.

James has completed an individualized post-doctoral study program at Huazhong University in Wuhan, China focused on the cultural and historical foundations of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He brings this knowledge and experience into the health and wellness applications of traditional tai chi chuan.

James now serves as Director of the Yang Chengfu Center in Eugene, Oregon, where he has taught since his retirement in 2005. He and Co-Director Dr. Greg Moore, have worked together integrating traditional tai chi chuan into the treatment options for patients at the NeuroSpine Institute in Eugene, Oregon.

Email: james@yangfamilytaichi.com