Omaha Tai Chi Association

Instructors of Tai Chi Chuan

Steve -

Studied Tae Kwon Do and Judo under Grandmaster Myung Kyu Kang for two years while stationed in Sacramento, CA. Continued to train sporadically in Tae Kwon Do as the military continued to move him around. Settling in Omaha he looked at getting back into the martial arts and joined the Omaha Tai Chi Association in 2004.

Jack -

Studied Aikido for three years with Sensei Christianham at the Sarpy Aikido Club and simultaneously with Sensei Wally Taylor at the Rising Star Dojo.

In early 2001, started with the OTCA, but a motorcycle accident in the fall of 2001 sidelined me for nearly a year. So I guess I really started in 2002. In 2004 Bruce made me an Instructor. By the way, I like the variety OTCA offers by teaching both Yang and Chen styles.

Bruno - Instructor Traditional Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan

Dr. Bruno W. Repetto teaches the Traditional Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan at the Papillion Recreation Center on Wednesdays from 7:15 to 8:30pm. By in-class practice, students are taught the main Yang Family Long (103 postures), as well as the basic stances of the style. Other practical concepts and exercises are covered, such as the “standing meditation” and the “Tai Chi walk”. Theory, history and application of Tai Chi Chuan are also discussed.

Dr. Repetto is a student of Master Yang Jun, 5th lineage holder of the Traditional Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan, and 6th generation direct descendant of Yang Luchan, the founder of the style. Dr. Repetto has 9 years of practice and has performed at numerous public exhibitions and taught classes in Seattle, where he moved from recently. He is an experienced teacher of Tai Chi Chuan, and is working towards his instructor certification from Master Yang Jun. He also serves as an editor for the Journal of the International Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan Association, and is the principal editor of the Association’s Student Guidebook. He teaches the Long form (103 postures), the Short form (demonstration 49 postures), and Abbreviated forms (16 and 13 postures.) He also teaches the short weapons forms (sword and saber.) He is interested in other Internal Martial arts as well, and was a student of the Wudang Dan Pai school of Tai Chi Chuan in Seattle under Masters Lu Mei-hui and Chang Wu-na, from whom he learned the Neigong Tai Chi short form.

Students and teachers from the Omaha Tai Chi Association at a recent intensive, July 2007.

Bruce Ballai, OTA founder, leads students in the Chen’s form.

The Papillion Recreation Center and the Omaha Tai Chi Association offer FREE
year-round Tai Chi classes on Monday and Thursday evenings from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. Classes are held at the Papillion City Recreation Center, 1100 West Lincoln Street. The free classes were started about five years ago by Bruce Ballai, practioner of 27 years, to make Tai Chi available to anyone who sincerely wanted to learn. Our dedicated and wonderful volunteer teachers carry on this tradition.
QUESTIONS ABOUT CLASS? Please call the Papillion Recreation Center at 402-597-2041 or email us at omahataichi@yahoo.com.
Often described as “Meditation in Motion,” the movements of Tai Chi are slow, graceful, gentle and calming and can be done by virtually anyone. The Mayo Clinic website (www.mayoclinic.com) lists the following physical and mental benefits of Tai Chi according to research:

* Reduces stress
* Increases flexibility and improves balance & coordination and reduce falls
* Improves muscle strength and definition
* Increases energy, stamina and agility
* Reduces anxiety and depression, improves sleep
* Slows bone loss in women following menopause
* Reduces high blood pressure
* Relieves chronic pain and improves everyday functioning

You need no special shoes, clothing or equipment to practice Tai Chi, just a bit of open space. Beginners learn posture by posture in classes with Omaha Tai Chi Association teachers. Once they are able to go all the way through the Yang Family form, they can learn the Chen’s Form, and then the Tai Chi Sword Form. Everyone can learn at their own pace and come as fits their schedule. Once learned, the forms take no more than a few minutes to go through each day.

Omaha attorney Bruce Ballai founded the Omaha Tai Chi Association in 1998. Ballai learned Tai Chi in the 1980s from his teacher, Jou Tsung-Hwa, founder of the Tai Chi Farm in New York.