22016016 AAnnnnuuaall RReeppoorrtt

PO Box 36235, Tucson, AZ, 85740 www.NATSTA.org 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 the continued efforts to strengthen and deepen the transmission of knowledge from our Chinese teachers, as well as putting in place the structure within the Association that will allow the work begun by our founder, Vince Black, to continue. This “inwardly focused” work is an all-important foundation for any “outwardly focused” activities we would like to engage in. If we do not take the time to slowly and carefully build the foundation now, our future efforts will come to naught. Happily, our efforts in the “inwardly focused” direction have been 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 school s— thus freeing up Association 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 American gongfu family, and we will remain a family style organization no matter how successful our outward endeavors may become. This requires devotion of time and energy towards raising our younger 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, Liu Shuhang teaching his Gao family and Tom Klingelhofer style of Baguazhang in Portal, Arizona Board of Directors during a five day retreat in September 1 Our Mission Our Vision

The mission of the North American Tang Shou Tao Association The rich, complex history of the Chinese martial and Cooperative, Inc. is the preservation, research, and dissemination medical arts extends back over thousands of years. Over this of the traditional Chinese martial and medical arts. The traditional time the intrinsic value of these arts, and the knowledge and Chinese internal martial arts that the Association focuses on include wisdom contained within them, has been one of the cornerstones Xingyiquan, Baguazhang, Taijiquan, and Liuhebafa (water boxing). of Chinese culture. In today’s modern world this knowledge and wisdom remains as viable and as valuable as ever. The Traditional Chinese medicine practiced and researched by the experiences contained in the study and practice of the traditional organization includes all aspects of tuina, acupuncture, herbal boxing and self-cultivation methods enrich people’s lives in medicine, qigong, and dietary medicine. The North American Tang profound ways. When the understanding of the body, mind Shou Tao Association Cooperative, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and spiri t— developed through these practice s— is combined organization in accordance with Arizona State and IRS guidelines. 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 spread throughout the world from their homeland in China, their influence must extend into the deepest parts of our own cultural experiences 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 of being in the world, and a way of understanding the mysteries of human existence. We are working to create opportunities for practitioners 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 cultivate fields 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 benefit to our communities, and in a small way contribute to making the world a better place.

Vince Black teaching his disciples the healing work of Dr. John Upledger during a month-long summer retreat in San Carlos, Mexico. 3 Association Goals

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

• Develop qualified instructors to provide the highest level of competence 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 through an international network of Association schools.

• Provide opportunities for students and instructors, such as conferences and retreats, to meet, exchange information, train together, and expand the community of dedicated practitioners.

• Conduct field research in China and elsewhere, interview knowledgeable 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 inviting teachers from China to visit the United States and work with Association members across the country.

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

5 20 16 Association Activities

Discipleships and preserve their family arts. The work of forming individual disciples as well as disciple groups has progressed well in 2016. Discipleship 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, Training with Chinese Teachers the disciple groups have come to be made up of the people Li Runxi, accompanied by his wife Hao who are willing to take personal responsibility for the ongoing Gaixian, toured North America in July transmission and preservation of their teacher’s art. and August. They visited schools in Montreal, Quebec; Washington D.C.; Floyd Much of the current work of the Association is in forming a and Eggleston, Virginia; Hood River, Oregon first generation of American disciples who are willing and able and the home school in Tucson, Arizona. to continue the work begun by Vince Black. This trip was funded entirely by Li Runxi’s disciples and the member schools he visited. 2016 saw strengthening of these disciple groups as the existing groups admitted new disciples, and a new disciple group was Li Cang, his wife Bai Nianan, Liu formed to represent the Hero Mountain Xingyiquan lineage. Shuhang, and Liu’s son Liu Lingjie visited the Southwestern Research Station in The North American Tang Shou Tao Association has a board of Portal, Arizon a, in September to conduct directors which functions as any non-profit corporation’s board five days of disciple training. This event was of directors must: to oversee the Association’s activities and also largely funded by disciples, with a small ensure that it remains true to its original mission. The disciple amount of subsidy from the Association. groups function in much the same way in relation to the specific family art for which they are responsible. While the board’s Disciples Retreat responsibility is on a legal level and encompasses the entire Association, the disciples’ responsibility functions on a moral A month long retreat was held in San Carlos, Mexico, in late and ethical level related to a single art. spring to continue the work of Dr. John Upledger and develop the vision of the Association’s future. This was attended by 27 Just as a non-profit corporation must have its board in place to be of Vince’s disciples. Those in attendance worked on the healing able to function, the individual family arts within the Association methods of Dr. Upledger as he taught them to Vince, and need to have their disciple groups in place to be able to transmit explored the collective vision of where the Association is going.

7 20 16 Association Activities 201 6 Financial Overview

Publishing EXPENSES ($) Amara Franko Heller and Jason Heller made Bank charges 2,892 a trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in January, Utilities 7,360 to visit Li Ding and his wife, Antonia, and begin work on a new addition of his book, Operating expenses 7,727 Meridian Qi Gong . Rent 12,000 Consulting fees 13,500 The Liang Zhenpu Committee met in December to focus on content and photography of the Guo Gumin book translation Airfare and travel 16,527 titled Collections of Guo’s Style Wise Eight Diagram Boxing Skill , along Event expenses 23,227 with the forms and two-person material from this book . Publishing 2,754 Instructors across the Association participated in a survey of the TOTAL EXPENSES 85,987 Shen Long Xingyi foundational level curriculum in preparation to begin a Shen Long Xingyi book project. INCOME ($) Community Medicine Membership dues 35,347 Veteran’s Qigong Event registration 24,680 Association Instructors at the headquarters in Tucson, Arizona, Private donations 17,345 volunteer at the Southern Arizona Veterans Administration by offering free weekly qigong for Veterans. We averaged eight veterans Retail sales 538 per class, and had over 50 individual participants. Veterans reported Tucson school income 2,540 the Wang Jiwu Exercises for Health and Longevity improved their TOTAL INCOME 80,450 lives by enhancing coping skills, sleep, flexibility, balance and strength, and by decreasing pain, anger, and depression. Four Winds Health Center Free Monthly Childrens Clinic This teaching clinic’s all-volunteer staff treats Board of Directors a full range of health issues, including in - President Ethan Murchie juries and birth trauma, and preventative medicine to counter problems in adulthood. Treasurer Amara Franko Heller Secretary Kathy Reynolds Instructors and Disciples Online Forum Board Member Tom Klingelhofer An online forum was created to facilitate communication for Instructors and disciples. The initial feedback has been positive and we plan to improve the interface and format in 2017 so that this platform can continue to serve us to the best possible effect. 9