PO Box 36235, Tucson, AZ, 85740www.NATSTA.org

PO Box 36235, Tucson, AZ, 85740www.NATSTA.org

2016AnnualReport

2016AnnualReport

Dear Friends,

2016 has been a year of quiet and steady work for our association. Quiet, yet productive and full of activity.

What has been most important for us this past year is thecontinued efforts to strengthen and deepen the transmission ofknowledge from our Chinese teachers, as well as putting inplace the structure within the Association that will allow thework begun by our founder, Vince Black, to continue.

This “inwardly focused” work is an all-important foundationfor any “outwardly focused” activities we would like to engage in. If we do not take the time to slowly and carefullybuild the foundation now, our future efforts will come to naught.

Happily, our efforts in the “inwardly focused” direction havebeen progressing smoothly. As you will see looking through this report, we have been able to transfer responsibility for much of the work with the Chinese teachers over to their individual disciple groups and member schools—thus freeing upAssociation funds to concentrate on building logistical capacity.

This transfer of responsibility is primarily what I mean by inwardly focused work. We are a first-generation Americangongfu family, and we will remain a family style organization nomatter how successful our outward endeavors may become.This requires devotion of time and energy towards raising ouryounger members, and educating them in how to manage operations without losing the essential tradition.

This has been the focus of 2016. We have seen growth and progress on both the “inward” and the “outward” fronts,and with our foundation becoming more solid, we are looking forward to the ongoing work of our primary missions.

Sincerely,

Ethan Murchie, Amara Franko Heller, Kathy Reynolds, and Tom KlingelhoferBoard of Directors

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Liu Shuhang teaching his Gao familystyle of Baguazhang in Portal, Arizonaduring a five day retreat in September

Our Vision The rich, complex history of the Chinese martial and

medical arts extends back over thousands of years. Over this time the intrinsic value of these arts, and the knowledge and wisdom contained within them, has been one of the cornerstonesof Chinese culture. In today’s modern world this knowledge and wisdom remains as viable and as valuable as ever. The experiences contained in the study and practice of the traditionalboxing and self-cultivation methods enrich people’s lives in profound ways. When the understanding of the body, mind and spirit—developed through these practices—is combined with traditional medicine, many simple and direct methods of relieving the suffering of our fellow humans can be realized.

There is a place in the modern world for these old ways of doing and thinking, and there is a need to remember as best we can all of the lessons of the old teachers. As these arts spreadthroughout the world from their homeland in China, their influence must extend into the deepest parts of our own culturalexperiences if they are to remain strong and true.

The goal of the North American Tang Shou Tao Association is not only to preserve the technical aspects of our arts, but also to create opportunities for practitioners of all levels to experience the culture of the arts as a way of living, a way ofbeing in the world, and a way of understanding the mysteries of human existence. We are working to create opportunities forpractitioners to immerse themselves in study, and attain high levels of understanding and skill in both the martial and the medical arts. We are also working to help our members cultivatefields of practice that will mature over the generations.

All of this we do for the love of our teachers and of our arts, in the sincere hope that our humble efforts will bring benefitto our communities, and in a small way contribute to making theworld a better place.

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Our MissionThe mission of the North American Tang Shou Tao Association Cooperative, Inc. is the preservation, research, and dissemination of the traditional Chinese martial and medical arts. The traditional Chinese internal martial arts that the Association focuses on includeXingyiquan, Baguazhang, Taijiquan, and Liuhebafa (water boxing).Traditional Chinese medicine practiced and researched by the organization includes all aspects of tuina, acupuncture, herbal medicine, qigong, and dietary medicine. The North American TangShou Tao Association Cooperative, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in accordance with Arizona State and IRS guidelines.

Vince Black teaching his disciples the healingwork of Dr. John Upledger during a month-longsummer retreat in San Carlos, Mexico.

Association Goals • Preserve the purity of each Chinese internal martial arts systemin the lineages that we proudly represent. Through the preser-vation of each system, we remember our benefactors and keepthe definitions of the lineages and practices clear for the histori-cal record and for posterity.

• Develop qualified instructors to provide the highest level ofcompetence in the practice, understanding, and teaching of the traditional Chinese internal martial arts of Xingyiquan,Baguazhang, Taijiquan, and Liuhebafa.

• Develop qualified practitioners to provide the highest level of competence in the practice, understanding, and teaching of the traditional Chinese medical arts, including tuina,acupuncture, herbal medicine, and qigong.

• Attract highly qualified students dedicated to the study and advancement of these arts.

• Foster and disseminate the martial and medical arts throughan international network of Association schools.

• Provide opportunities for students and instructors, such asconferences and retreats, to meet, exchange information, traintogether, and expand the community of dedicated practitioners.

• Conduct field research in China and elsewhere, interviewknowledgeable individuals, and document historical findings, to ensure the preservation of specific lineages for future generations.

• Cultivate our lineage connections and deepen our understand-ing and expression of our martial and medicinal arts by invitingteachers from China to visit the United States and work withAssociation members across the country.

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Li Cang teaching his Hero Mountain familystyle of Xingyiquan in Portal, Arizona, during afive day retreat in September. After the retreat,he took nine disciples in a ceremony held at theTohono Chul Park in Tucson, Arizona.

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and preserve their family arts. The work of forming individual disciples as well as disciple groups has progressed well in 2016.

Training with Chinese TeachersLi Runxi, accompanied by his wife HaoGaixian, toured North America in July and August. They visited schools in Montreal, Quebec; Washington D.C.; Floydand Eggleston, Virginia; Hood River, Oregonand the home school in Tucson, Arizona.This trip was funded entirely by Li Runxi’sdisciples and the member schools he visited.

Li Cang, his wife Bai Nianan, LiuShuhang, and Liu’s son Liu Lingjie visitedthe Southwestern Research Station in Portal, Arizona, in September to conduct five days of disciple training. This event wasalso largely funded by disciples, with a smallamount of subsidy from the Association.

Disciples RetreatA month long retreat was held in San Carlos, Mexico, in late spring to continue the work of Dr. John Upledger and develop the vision of the Association’s future. This was attended by 27 of Vince’s disciples. Those in attendance worked on the healing methods of Dr. Upledger as he taught them to Vince, and explored the collective vision of where the Association is going.

2016 Association Activities

DiscipleshipsDiscipleship as an institution is well known to be an age-old part of eastern teaching systems. What it means exactly to be a disciple is less commonly understood. Within the Association,the disciple groups have come to be made up of the people who are willing to take personal responsibility for the ongoingtransmission and preservation of their teacher’s art.

Much of the current work of the Association is in forming a first generation of American disciples who are willing and able to continue the work begun by Vince Black.

2016 saw strengthening of these disciple groups as the existinggroups admitted new disciples, and a new disciple group wasformed to represent the Hero Mountain Xingyiquan lineage.

The North American Tang Shou Tao Association has a board of directors which functions as any non-profit corporation’s board of directors must: to oversee the Association’s activities and ensure that it remains true to its original mission. The disciplegroups function in much the same way in relation to the specificfamily art for which they are responsible. While the board’s responsibility is on a legal level and encompasses the entire Association, the disciples’ responsibility functions on a moral and ethical level related to a single art.

Just as a non-profit corporation must have its board in place to beable to function, the individual family arts within the Associationneed to have their disciple groups in place to be able to transmit

2016 Association ActivitiesPublishingAmara Franko Heller and Jason Heller madea trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in January,to visit Li Ding and his wife, Antonia, andbegin work on a new addition of his book,Meridian Qi Gong.

The Liang Zhenpu Committee met in December to focus on content and photography of the Guo Gumin book translation titled Collections of Guo’s Style Wise Eight Diagram Boxing Skill, alongwith the forms and two-person material from this book.

Instructors across the Association participated in a survey of theShen Long Xingyi foundational level curriculum in preparation to begin a Shen Long Xingyi book project.

Community MedicineVeteran’s QigongAssociation Instructors at the headquarters in Tucson, Arizona, volunteer at the Southern Arizona Veterans Administration by offering free weekly qigong for Veterans. We averaged eight veteransper class, and had over 50 individual participants. Veterans reportedthe Wang Jiwu Exercises for Health and Longevity improved theirlives by enhancing coping skills, sleep, flexibility, balance andstrength, and by decreasing pain, anger, and depression.

Four Winds Health Center FreeMonthly Childrens ClinicThis teaching clinic’s all-volunteer staff treatsa full range of health issues, including in-juries and birth trauma, and preventativemedicine to counter problems in adulthood.

Instructors and Disciples Online ForumAn online forum was created to facilitate communication for Instructors and disciples. The initial feedback has been positiveand we plan to improve the interface and format in 2017 so thatthis platform can continue to serve us to the best possible effect.

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2016 Financial Overview

EXPENSES ($)

Bank charges 2,892

Utilities 7,360

Operating expenses 7,727

Rent 12,000

Consulting fees 13,500

Airfare and travel 16,527

Event expenses 23,227

Publishing 2,754

TOTAL EXPENSES 85,987

INCOME ($)

Membership dues 35,347

Event registration 24,680

Private donations 17,345

Retail sales 538

Tucson school income 2,540

TOTAL INCOME 80,450

Board of DirectorsPresident Ethan Murchie

Treasurer Amara Franko Heller

Secretary Kathy Reynolds

Board Member Tom Klingelhofer