Instructors
To enter the door and be shown the way, you must be orally taught. The practice is uninterrupted and the technique (achieved) by self study.
Song of the 13 Postures — author unknown
Luke Shepherd (1961–)
Luke Shepherd is the principal instructor and founder of Open Palm Taiji. He is a student of Patrick Kelly and has been training Taiji since 1981.
His first 15 years training were with Richard Farmer of Rising Dragon Tai Chi.. Rising Dragon’s teachings emphasised meditation and personal development with a strong focus on connecting Taiji principles to every day life. Luke ran the Rising Dragon Cardiff Branch for 5 years, prior to moving to Devon. Between 1991 and 1997 he periodically lived in India under the direction of Ramana Maharshi’s disciple Sri HWL Poonja.
In 1997 Luke met Patrick Kelly. Since that time he has trained the internal aspects of body and mind, under the guidance of Patrick. He formed Open Palm Taiji to further his own development and share his passion for Taiji with those keen to also gain from this artform.
He divides his time between teaching Taiji, his personal training and his work as a sculptor and bronze caster..
Aaron Goodwin (1966–)
Aaron Goodwin is an enthusiastic and able practitioner with a long established background of Martial Arts Training in shotokan karate, kickboxing, and escrima over the past 22 years. He has been a student of Patrick Kelly for the last 11 years. Althoug he has a keen interest in Pushing Hands, his main passion is the deeper / spiritual side of the arts more than just the physical applications. He will be starting a New Beginners Class shortly.