Evergreen Taiji Academy Philosophy
Evergreen Taiji Academy is a practice community dedicated to the cultivation of Taiji and Qigong from a Taoist perspective. Guiding students through multi-dimensional practice of meditation in motion, to generate structural and energetic integrity.
Our whole health approach integrates Martial Arts, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and Daoist Wisdom Arts. Awakening our innate capacity to heal and regenerate.
Taiji and Qigong require focus, perseverance, and heart. Daoist practice is a way of living that nurtures authenticity, integrity, and freedom by being in dynamic balance with nature.
Statement of Solidarity for Social and Racial Justice, Equality, and Equity for Humanity
Evergreen Taiji Academy stands with Black Lives, acknowledging the conquest of this land, its resources, and the perpetuation of chattel slavery as a means to extract wealth and resources for selfish goals. We acknowledge the genocide of Indigenous Peoples and the theft of land and resources, the inhumane commodification of enslaved peoples from the African continent, the inhumane and unfair labor practices that commodified peoples from the continent of Asia, and the South American continent in debt bondage and indentured servitude. We acknowledge we live in systems and structures that we inherited, and were created to advantage one group of people above all other life, creating a hierarchy of harm. We believe all people are dehumanized by these systems and structures and therefore it is our responsibility to continually direct our way of life to restoring meaningful relationships to all sectors of humanity and the living Earth.
We bring into our ethos the importance of standing up for the rights of every human being’s dignity, safety, and humanity, as daily life practice. We also acknowledge that through our ignorance, we have and may in the future, unconsciously perpetuate harm. We take up the responsibility to hold ourselves accountable, repair and heal the harms done to the best of our ability. ETA is a community of collective, individual, and relational internal cultivation guided by the wisdom of Daoism, classical Chinese medicine, and the healing arts. Therefore, we have a responsibility to steward our lives toward the service of restoring peace and wholeness to humanity and all life on Earth.
“The practice is not just about our own personal awakening, enlightenment, or freedom. The path is not just about personal salvation. It is about our collective journey and transformation toward a shared experience of wisdom and tenderness. … The creation of peace in the world, which so desperately needs it, is no different than the creation of peace within ourselves.” —Larry Yang, Awakening Together
Sally Chang, Founder and Chief Instructor
Sally Chang, martial artist, educator, acupuncturist, and founder of Evergreen Taiji Academy. Teaching online and in-person, integrating 30 years of Martial Arts experience, Taoist cultivation, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), distilling them into practices of individual and collective healing. Sally Chang delivers depth and wisdom into embodied practice, and is known for her warm, focused presence.
Her training includes Northern Shaolin Gongfu, Bagua Zhang, Qigong, and Taiji Quan. Sally is 26th generation lineage holder of Wudang Longmen Pai, the Dragon Gate School of Daoism from Wudang Mountain, and is a student of Daoist Priest, Shifu Chen Yun Xiang. Sally’s root Shifu is Ted Mancuso of the Academy of Martial Arts, where she received deep foundational training. She studies Taoism and Classical Chinese Medicine with Taoist priest, scholar and acupuncturist, Dr. Jeffery Yuen, 88th generation disciple of Yu Qing Huang Lao Pai.
Sally’s deep love and practice of martial and healing arts are interwoven as a steady guide and way of life. These wisdom practices guide us through all manner of seasons, revealing freedom within form by cultivating innate vitality and resilience.
Personal Statement:
I have been incredibly fortunate to be guided by great masters who embody and share multi-generational wisdom with great compassion and humanity. In my Taiwanese family lineage, my great-great grandfather, Chang Tsuan Bao and his son Huai were both traditional herbalists. Huai was also a martial artist. My grandfather and uncles who followed him were doctors in modern western medicine. I was born fifth generation in this line, and have a deep dedication to serving the community and promoting well-being through medicine and internal cultivation.
My understanding of the human experience has been greatly influenced by training in martial arts since I was a youth. Taiji and Neigong (internal cultivation) practice are essential to my life and shape my world-view, as these arts reveal and cultivate our innate healing potential.
I believe the “art” aspect of martial arts is in the observation, study and expression of our actions and reactions when confronted with difficult issues. In life we all confront challenges that are internally or externally generated, large or small in scale. The science and art of classical Chinese medicine and internal cultivation develop our ability to respond and adapt to life’s challenges with agility, skill, integrity, and return home, to our natural place within the Dao.
Teachers
Shifu Chen Yun Xiang, known as, Wudang Chen, comes from a seven hundred year old unbroken lineage of Wu Dang teachers. Wu Dang Mountain is known as the birthplace of internal martial arts in China. Chen Shifu is 25th generation Longmen Pai (Dragon Gate) Taoist Priest and 14th generation Zhang Sanfeng Pai lineage holder. At a young age he was chosen to train on Wu Dang Mountain by Master Li Cheng Yu, she was a beloved 24th generation Longmen Daoist priestess who specialized in Nei Gong (internal alchemy), qi healing, acupressure and herbs. After many years of intensive study with Master Li, he was sent to the US to share these ancient wisdom and healing arts.
Wudang Chen has taught thousands of students internationally and is known for his profound knowledge of the Wu Dang Long Men tradition and his ability to engage students with depth and humor.
Dr. Jeffrey C. Yuen is an 88th generation disciple of the Yu Qing Huang Lao Pai (Jade Purity Yellow Emperor Lao Zi School) and trained under his adopted grandfather, Taoist Master Yu Wen (1872-1981) of the Yu Qing Huang Lao Pai, a sect from the Shang Qing tradition of Taoism. Master Yu Wen trained on Hua Shan (Hua Mountain) and learned the facets of Taoism, including the classics; rites and liturgies; healing arts; and divination. He served as the lineage holder of Wu Xing Quan (Five Element Fist) – an internal and monastic martial arts style of Hua Shan. He studied under Master Yu Wen and was allowed to practice when he was 16. He also studied Chinese herbal medicine with Master Gong Song-Liu, a eunuch for the last two emperors of the Qing Dynasty who apprenticed with the imperial medical physicians.
In the martial arts arena, Jeffrey Yuen trained under many masters. Among these are Leung Shum (Northern Eagle Claw), Lo Ching-Sum (Vietnamese Jing Wu Association), Chan Hai-Fu (White Crane’s Needle-In-Cotton), Chan Tai Shan (Tibetan Lama Style), Yao Mei-Hua (Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan), Wang Qing Shan (Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan), and Cui Yan (Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan).
Dr. Jeffrey C. Yuen teaches extensively on Classical Chinese Medicine in the US and internationally.
Shifu Ted Mancuso, has been consistently instrumental in promoting Chinese Martial Arts through writing numerous articles and teaching for over 30 years. He began his training in 1966 and by 1969 was the Head Instructor for Tracy’s Karate, then the largest chain of schools in the US. He has studied with a number of well known instructors. Two primary influences come from Kwong Wing Lam of the Northern Shaolin system, and Adam Hsu in several styles including Bagua Zhang and Baji Quan.
Ted Mancuso is also the director of Plum Publications, a martial arts publishing company that is a great resource for students everywhere. He co-edited the first significant study of Chinese Martial history by Professor Kang Ge Wu. He has also edited and published “Lone Sword Against the Cold Cold Sky” featuring the essays of Adam Hsu. He has published books and videos including “Blossoms in the Spring: a Perfect Method of Qigong” and “Learning Bagua Zhang, the Martial Art of Change.”
Shifu Ted Mancuso has a loyal base of students who continually return for his incisive teachings, traditional approach, and warm heart.