Wisconsin Tai Chi Academy recently celebrated its tenth anniversary since commencing classes in South-Eastern Wisconsin. Sifu Ray Gates took the opportunity to crunch the numbers and see how far WTCA has come, and where it hopes to go in the next ten years.
WTCA commenced in 2015 when Sifu Ray Gates immigrated to the USA from Australia. Starting from scratch, it took several years of demonstration and “Come N Try Tai Chi” sessions before WTCA enrolled its first students. From that first class of five in the small town of Porter, WTCA has grown to hold regular classes across five locations in Southeast Wisconsin, with over 60 current students, almost of third of which have progressed to the Intermediate stage of learning, meaning they are learning their second, or in some cases third Tai Chi set.
The current study body represents only about a third of total students who have come through WTCA’s doors. There are numerous reasons why people commence classes yet don’t continue, not the least of which being all but one of the classes offered has had to move locations. Retention of students is, however, something WTCA plans to work on in the coming years, with a goal of achieving a retention rate over 50% over the next three years.
Tai Chi is often classed as an exercise for “older people”, so the average age of students being 66 seems reasonable, and the median age of 65 suggests that in terms of age, students are evenly distributed. Sifu Gates has particular interest in breaking the “for older people” stereotype of Tai Chi and actively encourages younger people to learn and gain the benefits from Tai Chi. WTCA plans to spend the next several years exploring strategies, such as its Youth Scholarship Program, to increase participation and interest from younger people, and hopes by its next demographic review the average and median ages of its students will have decreased.
Another area WTCA hopes to make improvements is in its representation of the diversity of the broader community. Part of the challenge of increasing diversity amongst students comes from obtaining qualitative as well as quantitative data. When students join WTCA, demographic information is provided at the student’s discretion, and to respect individual privacy and choice, will remain so. Gaining an accurate picture of the makeup of WTCA’s students will remain challenging, however it is hoped that by sharing information such as this students (future and current) will be inclined to provide demographic information to help WTCA achieve its goal of having a student body demographically representative of the communities in which its classes are provided.
One area where WTCA may be progressive is in the ratio of females to males learning Tai Chi. Though statistics indicate Tai Chi is generally favored more by females than males1., at WTCA female students outnumber males by 3 to 1. Gates is quick to note that the data is limited due to the number of incomplete or “other” responses in relation to gender identity, however also points out that increased participation by females potentially means that future instructors may also be female, something which, according to research presented at the 2023 Science of Tai Chi and Qigong as Whole-Person Health Conference in Boston, is lacking within the Tai Chi industry. WTCA pointedly encourages the development of women in leadership and teaching roles in Tai Chi, with 5 of 7 Class Assistants being female, as well as its only Assistant Instructor.
Another notable achievement not included in the demographic review is the achievements of WTCA students in State and National level competitions. Within the last three years, WTCA has entered six competitors in various competitions around the USA, bringing home a total of 37 medals, 35 of which were gold, and a US National Grand Champion (for age and gender) trophy. In addition, three competitors successfully qualified for the US Kung Fu Team (managed by the United States of America Wushu Kungfu Association). Sifu Gates not only attributes this to the high standards and dedication students give to their Tai Chi; he believes this helps demonstrate that the Midwest – and Wisconsin in particular – offers high quality instruction in Tai Chi, and can become a force in providing the best competitors to represent their State, and more broadly the United States, in competitive Tai Chi worldwide.
WTCA has achieved a lot in ten years, yet still considers itself to be growing. With goals of achieving 100 students by 2027 and increasing its diversity and its appeal to younger people, as well as expanding its Corporate and Community programs and increasing its participation in competition, WTCA has its sights set on becoming the school of choice for Tai Chi not only in Wisconsin, but the United States.
1. Wang, et al. (2022). Trends and characteristics of Tai Chi and Qi Gong use among U.S. adults: Results from the 2007–2017 National Health Interview Survey. In Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 71.
