Golden School of Tai Chi Ch'uan

07/04/2026

We have the pleasure of
presenting a demonstration of Tai Chi Ch’uan, the hidden martial art.
Come join us at the Karate Church, 519 East Maple St. on July 15 at 6 PM to discover more about this self-defense system where soft is powerful and slow is the basis of blinding speed. An art of listening rather than of contention, the art known as the fighting that is not fighting.

06/25/2026

For the first time ever I am making my push hands classes available to the public without them needing to have any previous tai chi experience.
This exercise is essentially the essence of Tai Chi Chuan for self-defense. It is an exercise in what we call, the fighting that is not fighting.
Instead of practicing attacking our opponent we practice sensing his or her energy and intention. When we sense an attack we respond by becoming empty so that we can connect with it and redirect it. So when someone moves against us, our body automatically moves with the energy, neutralizing its force and simultaneously returning the energy of the attack back to its source, which is our opponent. Imagine a horizontal seesaw where you push one side but the other side hits you. It’s actually a very fun exercise and often you hear people laughing in the background because many things happen that are entirely unanticipated.
It’s almost like playing a game of physical chess where we use our bodies instead of pieces on a board. It helps develop deep mental focus, awareness and great physical skill as well as adaptability.
These classes are held Monday and Wednesday evenings at the Karate Church at 519 E. Maple St. in Bellingham, Washington. The classes run from 6 PM to 7 PM. Feel free to give me a call at 360-970-3371 if you’re in the area and would like to join our class.

01/08/2026

In the Taoist art of T'ai Chi Ch'uan we discover that there are only two forces in the universe, yin and yang. On the grand scale they are observed as resonance and dissonance, which act as the brakes and gas pedals of creation, where one attracts and the other repels.
They may also be seen as light and dark as illustrated in the T'ai Chi Tu or Yin Yang symbol. You may also realize that in this life there are those moving towards the light and those moving away from it. There is nothing any of us can do about that but we can pick which one we choose to head towards and we can ignore all that is not taking us in that direction.
It is all simply energy, positive and negative, yin and yang. You cannot eliminate one of those energies as they both need to exist for balance, evolution and to create the whole, but you can pick which one you align with. Darkness picks what it can move along with or against. In humankind they are the emotions of pain, fear and anger but it cannot move against the light because the light dispels darkness. The light is embodied only by one emotion and that emotion is love. Please choose wisely, the emotions you invest in.

09/17/2025

Movement in T'ai Chi Ch'uan is based upon the cosmic energy of the universe. This embodies five essential things, energy, structure, gravity, inertia and timing. Just think about it, the cosmic energy of the universe is astounding, it can generate galaxies as effortlessly as popping popcorn. Imagine what that can do if we incorporate universal energy into our own movements? Let me give you this example, if you throw a ball in the air, energy moves the structure up and inertia and gravity work to create the perfect timing of the ball dropping. It generates a parabolic movement and the shape created by its rise and fall are the exact geometry visible throughout universe as well. This is why we see shapes such as the Fibonacci sequence over and over again, as they take the least effort and energy to generate themselves.
Unfortunately, humans have gotten far away from their natural movement over time, by over reliance on our brains telling us how to do stuff. Way back some sixty thousand years ago and before, we still allowed ourselves to be moved by universal energy and all was well and good. For example, throw a ball into the air, it goes up and comes down perfectly in synch with everything. Now imagine we create a ball, but it's like our bodies now, moving like a drone with a little motor to move it. The elements no longer determine it's trajectory and timing, as it goes up and down when we want it to, however it is no longer moving in synch with nature and eventually the motor wears out or needs to be replaced. Are you starting to see the similarities to us?

09/17/2025

Our motors are our muscles, which contract on demand and generate all our movement. However the thing that wears out is our bodies and they are not so easily replaced. When we allow the rhythms of the universe to move us, our bodies will last much, much longer before wearing out. In T'ai chi Ch'uan we do not use muscular contraction or use muscles in general, we learn to sense and move with the whole body and the action of gravity pressing us down on the earth and follow the timing of its' natural spring up, just like the natural flow seen in waves breaking upon the shore. In physics it is observed that everything is either a particle or a wave, in T'ai Chi, we move like waves whereas non-T'ai Chi people move much more like particles. So rather than accessing energy from contracting our muscles in T'ai Chi Ch'uan, we access our energy from the gentle and natural stretching and responsive contraction of our fascia, ligaments, tendons and sinew. In the Taoist belief structure, which T'ai Chi Ch'uan is based upon, contraction is seen as the energy of dying, while expansion embraces the energy of life. Keep in mind that muscles squeeze Chi (the body's life energy) out of them with every contraction, while energy expanding through the fascia becomes filled with Chi. Hopefully this offers some perspective and insight and is why the Taoists say, "Stillnes in stillness is not the true stillness, that only through stillness in motion does the universal energy manifest.

05/07/2023

"Western Washington University's, Gene Golden hopes to spread the word on the value of T'ai Chi Ch'uan"
By Ryan Myrvold

Having moved from New York, Maine, Florida, California and finally to Bellingham, Gene Golden found his place, having started The Golden School of T'ai Chi Ch'uan and as instructor of physical education at Western, where he teaches Tai Chi Ch’uan. Tai Chi is a martial art focused on meditative movements and Golden said the self-defense aspect focuses on redirecting and controlling the energy and momentum of others.
Golden said one of the biggest misperceptions about Tai Chi is that it is simply a group of people moving and meditating outside, as opposed to a valuable martial art capable of saving lives.
“Students don't know that it's a martial art and think it's just a calming exercise. But why would you not want to know the coolest stuff about the system that is designed to protect you in extreme, unimaginable circumstances?” Golden said.
While self-defense is a valuable aspect of Tai Chi, Golden said he finds Tai Chi integrates very well with his and his students’ personal lives, as the mindset and meditative practices connect to other facets of their lives. Golden said he sees Tai Chi as a force that unites his interests, and that he hopes his students will see it that way as well.
“If you spread it out like spokes on a wheel, Tai Chi gets more interesting as it supports and makes a connection of all those interests," Golden said.
Golden began practicing Tai Chi Ch’uan in 1975, and started teaching in 1980 after learning the system from Grand Master William C.C Chen, who Golden simply refers to as William — a level of relaxed informality Golden keeps with his students.

"My students are able to apply Tai Chi to apply Tai Chi to something meaningful in their lives. That’s the way Tai Chi is. You can take it in whatever direction you want."
Gene Golden
“My students are able to apply Tai Chi to something meaningful in their lives,” Golden said. “That’s the way Tai Chi is. You can take it in whatever direction you want.”
Even though Tai Chi is a serious art that requires discipline and focus to learn and master, Golden said it is supposed to be fun, first and foremost.
“William Chen was hysterically funny, and I realized that if people teaching Tai Chi aren’t funny then they don’t understand the art,” Golden said. “William would crack everybody up all the time.”
As more awareness happens around Tai Chi, Golden said he hopes more people will take his classes and understand how Tai Chi can bolster their lives.
“When they first walk into the class, they don’t understand anything about Tai Chi. They have some feeling they’ll be more peaceful or healthier. So, it’s my job to fill in all else that it could be,” he said.

04/27/2023

In T'ai Chi Ch'uan our power is sourced from the earth, yet its applications are in the heavens (sky).

04/18/2023

Please join us for this momentous event promoting world peace and frolicsome play.

World Tai Chi Day originated as a vision by its founder, Bill Douglas. He felt compelled to create an event where Tai Chi and Chi Gong practitioner's from around the globe would come together on a...

04/06/2023

Neutralizing and locking an attacking arm in Push Hands