I’ve been doing Tai Chi for 40+ years, and one of the most common questions I get asked is, “How does one become a Tai Chi instructor?” Well here’s a little story about how I got started. When I was first starting out in Tai Chi, I was working at a fitness center in The San Francisco Bay area. I begged my boss for the opportunity to teach a tai chi class, and he finally relented. We promoted it heavily within the gym, making announcements about the new class over the PA system almost every hour.

We even printed up some announcements. "Come to David-Dorian's new Tai Chi class,” I had written. "Experience this ancient Chinese martial art."

When the first night of class finally arrived, I could hardly concentrate the whole day. What if no one showed up? But when I got to the gym, I discovered more than 30 people waiting for me. "This is it!" I thought. "Tai Chi is going to be my ticket to fame and fortune."

However, I later discovered the truth. I had made a typo on the announcement. All week long the front desk had invited everyone to a class in "an ancient Chinese MARITAL art!” (P.S. read that twice!)

That mistake didn’t hold me back, though. I powered through what was surely one of the most hilarious mistakes of my life (at that point), and now 45 years later I’m here to share my suggestions on how to become a Tai Chi Instructor.

Who can become a Tai Chi Instructor?

You don't need to be a master to be an instructor, nor know everything about Tai Chi. You don't even have to be an expert—in the beginning. But anyone who wants to become a Tai Chi instructor should have at least a basic mastery of certain fundamentals and enough practice hours to be helpful to people who come to learn from you.

What do I need to learn to become a Tai Chi Instructor?

Traditional Tai Chi curriculum often centers around learning a standardized routine. This is not necessarily mandatory. However, there are other aspects of Tai Chi that a teacher really must know.

Here is an excerpt from the rules of international Tai Chi competition that points to some Tai Chi fundamentals that competent practitioners are expected to know: "Taijiquan shall contain at least two leg techniques; three main stances, namely, bow stance, horse-riding stance and empty stance; and eight main forms, namely, grasp the sparrow’s tail, part the wild horse’s mane, brush the knee, cloud hand, fair lady works at loom, cover hand and strike with arm, step back and curl arms, and deflect downward, parry and punch."

Finally there are certain general concepts, or Principles, without which one cannot really teach Tai Chi. These are: Centered, Balanced, Peaceful, Comfortable, Light, Agile, Rounded and Lively. Don’t be fooled by each being a single word - in Tai Chi tradition each one embodies an entire principle and accompanying physical and mental checkpoints.

What organizations are recognized for becoming a Tai Chi Instructor?

For devoted tai chi practitioners seeking to teach others through accredited classes and instruction, several respected certification routes validate your expertise:

Specialized Training Companies
Organizations like Tai Chi for Health Institute or TaijiFit offer intensive 6-12 month training programs preparing you for formal written, oral and technical skills demonstration certification exams.

TaijiFit is recognized as the gold standard for instructors by the U.S. Veterans Administration for its comprehensive 200hr+ curriculum spanning teaching methods, ethics, lesson planning, physical mastery and more.

Fitness Associations
Leading bodies like the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA), American Council on Exercise (ACE) and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) provide credentialing workshops and material guiding certification. Programs range from weekend seminars to more rigorous long term education.

Official Tai Chi Lineages
Becoming a disciple in one of the five traditional family lineages (Chen, Yang, Wu, Sun, Hao) grants a pathway to officially teaching within strict boundaries—after years of rigorously progressing through the ranks.

Who decides who can become a certified Tai Chi instructor?

In the world of Tai Chi, there is no universally accepted authority or governing body when it comes to certification. However, we can take a lesson from the world of Yoga, where the main influential group is the Yoga Alliance. Their minimum requirement for yoga teacher certification is 200 hours of training. If you practiced and / or studied for an hour every day, five days a week, it would take 40 weeks to get certified. That's a decent recommendation for Tai Chi teachers as well.

Ready to take the next steps to become a certified Tai Chi instructor?

Here at TaijiFit, we offer a complete and comprehensive training program. You can learn more about the steps here, and be sure to check out our Membership options that will give you the opportunity to take as many classes as you like for one low monthly cost.