Tony Ward Tai Chi

Tony has over 40 years of experience in various styles of Chinese and Japanese martial arts. He is an internationally recognised teacher who has studied martial arts in China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Australia.
His main influence and teacher is the late Tai Chi Master Huang Sheng Shyan. In 1982 he began training with a Chinese student of Master Huang living in Sydney. In 1986 he travelled to Taiwan and met Master Huang for the first time, he then had regular intense training with him until his death in 1992.
Tony is one, of only two Westerners to have received intense personal training with Master Huang. After the Master’s death, he continued his study with his more senior students.
His studies have also included Karate, which he began at the age of 14, Aikido, Hsing I, Bagua, and many different forms of Tai Chi, Qigong and healing arts including many aspects of Traditional Chinese medicine.

Interview with Tony Ward on his teaching approach

Training with Master Huang Sheng Shyan

In 1986 through a letter of introduction, I travelled to Taiwan and was accepted as a student of Master Huang Sheng Shyan with whom I continued to study with until in 1992 (at the time of the Master’s death).

Meeting Master Huang was for me a huge relief. Up until this point I had read so many books, heard thousands of stories, and studied for many years with teachers of Tai Chi and many other martial arts.
You know, so many speak about this amazing art and the extraordinary possibilities. But when it comes to actual experience, the principles seem to be lost very quickly. The softness and relaxation, unfortunately, turns to shoving and resisting.

Master Huang was the first person I met to ‘walk his talk’. He embodied the principles of the art of Tai Chi. He would demonstrate them absolutely freely to anyone prepared to experience his touch, and would demonstrate with no doubt that softness definitely overcomes hardness.

So the relief for me was that a true master of Tai Chi actually existed and that he was prepared to take me on as a student.
I then made a very clear decision to drop everything in my life and follow Master Huang’s teachings.
At that time he was in his late 70’s, so I knew that my time with him would possibly be short. He died 7 years later.

My contact with Master Huang although brief, has had the most profound effect on my life.