Our Teachers

Master Hyland Harris

Hyland began his studies with Master CK Chu, in the fall of 1992. He began extensively with Nei Gung and later moved on to Tai Chi, push hands fighting, weapons, Eternal Spring Chi Gung, Taoist Philosophy and Taoist meditation. Under Master Chu’s watchful eye, Hyland began intensive corrections and private study with Master Chu in Nei Gung, Long form, weapons and meditation in 1999. Read more.

Philip Binioris

I started training at CK Chu Tai Chi in 2012. I had recently taken over a family business and was completely overwhelmed by the responsibility and the demand. I found the school online, and was a little wary of learning a mind/body art in the middle of Times Square. I’ve since learned, if I can focus here I can focus anywhere.

I will always remember my first class as a complete, total novice; how strange and different the experience was. There were a few other students, all at wide range of skill level, age and mobility. The teacher put me in horse stance, showed me the opening, and left me ALONE to work on it. It was such a huge relief to be encouraged to work at my own pace, to feel my own body, and generally to put aside all the other weights of life and just be with myself.

I have had amazing teachers at Chu Tai Chi, there are too many to mention. First and foremost is Master Hyland Harris. He is an extraordinary teacher. He balances encouragement and insight into the art of Tai Chi with an understanding that this is a life long practice, and progress can only happen when the student’s mind/body is ready to make it happen. And his knowledge of Tai Chi practice as well as its social and historical function seems like a bottomless well. I also had the privilege of training with Kate Wasilewski. She was the most patient, humble person, and carried a deep knowledge and love for Tai Chi. When I was offered the chance to begin my teacher training as a recipient of her memorial scholarship, it was a huge honor.

Teaching at the studio feels like an opportunity to give back to the institution that has given me so much. I hope I can contribute to the learning environment that was so welcoming and appealing to me when I started. And I look forward to deepening my practice by sharing it with others.

John Cantrell

Without question, Tai Chi, Chi Kung, and Nei Kung have saved my life. By my mid 30s I had done extensive damage to my back through too many hours spent on an organ practice bench, maintaining a heavy gigging schedule, schlepping heavy keyboard and audio gear from gig to gig, being a work-a-holic, not eating properly, and being overweight. Essentially, I was looking at an early end to my career as a performing musician. My doctors said that the only solution was surgery.

Knowing the uncertainty of surgery, I chose a more holistic approach to recovery and entered the famous CK Chu Tai Chi studio in Times in Square in 2007, after having spent considerable time researching Tai Chi, looking at numerous studios, and styles of the art. After one session with Master Chu, I knew this was the place for me! Approximately 5 months later, I was virtually pain free, stronger, more flexible, and healthier than I probably had ever been. No surgery for me!

The teachers are great at demystifying the movements and postures, and their attention to detail in understanding alignment, posture, breathing, and more, is deep. Because these practices have had such a profound impact on my physical, mental, and spiritual health, I’ve decided to dedicate the rest of my life to studying these arts and helping others experience the incredible life-changing benefits they offer. I’m eternally grateful to this studio and its amazing community. Being asked to assist as a teacher is humbling, and it continues to further deepen my own practice. I am certified as a teacher of Chi Kung, and continue to work on my certifications in Nei Kung and Tai Chi.

Akiko Hikota

I joined Chu Tai Chi in January of 1997 and started helping in the office almost immediately. I took all of the regular and special classes Master Chu offered except Fighting 2/3. He would occasionally send me in Tai Chi classes to assist beginners. I was among the first group of instructors to teach Eternal Spring in senior centers and nursing homes around the city. Teaching is a fun way to reflect on your own practice in Tai Chi and in life.

Benjamin Ho

Benjamin Ho is a Pisces, born in New York City in the year New Orleans lost Jazz (the basketball team). He was raised in Brooklyn and currently resides in Queens, where he teaches biology at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School.

Benjamin began his education and practice of Chu Tai Chi in July of 2001. Tai Chi Chuan is the only martial arts Benjamin has ever studied. His favorite memory at the school was when he was asked by the late Grandmaster C.K. Chu to begin Apprenticeship Teaching in March of 2004. Benjamin continues to train regularly to seek perfection in tai chi and in life.

Ming-I Huang

Ming-I Huang began studying Tai Chi Chuan at the studio in the Spring of 2017. Growing up, she observed first hand the tremendous positive impact Tai Chi Chuan had on her father both physically and on his approach to life. She has been teaching at the Bryant Park summer program and at the studio since 2019.

Grace Kim

Grace has been a student at CK Chu Tai Chi since 2005. Over the last 9 years, she has cultivated her internal martial arts training with a foundation built on tai chi, nei kung, and meditation. She was first asked by Master Chu to start assisting in 2011.

Outside of Chu Tai Chi, she is an occupational therapist at Weill Cornell Medical Center in the stroke rehabilitation research program and is currently a PhD candidate in the Occupational Therapy department at New York University. The benefits of internal training have been pervasive through her professional, academic, and personal endeavors and she is grateful to share her practice with other students.

Ahn Lee

Ahn Lee grew up in New York City and Honolulu. During her professional career in early childhood education, she worked as a kindergarten and first grade teacher, a reading specialist, and a diversity coordinator. Ahn has extensive experience in dance, fitness, and martial arts. Formerly a tae kwon do practitioner, she first came to CK Chu Tai Chi in 2015. Since then she has practiced tai chi consistently and became an assistant instructor here in 2021.

Ahn enjoys the creativity of always striving to improve her practice of the various tai chi forms. She strives to help students with the constant challenge to retain physical and mental balance during their practices, including breathing properly, incorporating strength without tension, and being grounded without being stuck.

In her tai chi practice, Ahn takes inspiration from Sifu’s quote, “’High level’ is basics done better.”

Valerie LoGiudice

Started as a student in 2008. Was introduced to the school through the wonderful free classes offered at Bryant Park. After assisting at the park and the morning classes at the studio, Sifu encouraged me to complete the certification program. I received my certification as an Eternal Spring Instructor in 2013. I also received my certification as a Medical Qigong Practitioner in 2013. The training provides a welcome balance to the many years in the banking industry and also complimented the martial arts background and my practice as a massage therapist. I look forward to each class. Whether I am a student, teaching or assisting in the class, I continue to learn more about myself and the people around me.

Sean O’Donohue

I started training with Master CK Chu in January 2009. I knew very little of Tai Chi Chuan but was attracted to the health and relaxation benefits it promised. Coming into the school, I felt comfortable right away. The layout, fellow students, student teachers ,and of course , Sifu, made me feel welcome and part of the school. My interest in the art of Tai Chi Chuan intensified as I felt the benefits of my practice. Coming to the school at first twice a week turned into three times a week evolved into where I’m at now which is roughly six days a week and I practice everyday. It’s a huge beneficial part of my life and I have Sifu, my fellow students and the school to thank.

When Sifu asked me if I’de like to enter the teacher training program I was hesitant. I kind of enjoyed being quiet and working on my own thing and didn’t feel I would have enough to help others. He basically told me that helping others in turn helps yourself, because you are reinforcing your own basics and are also taking a greater interest in the art. You are learning as you teach. Leading Eternal Spring classes , I’m constantly thinking of important points Sifu made about each exercise and bringing that to the class. By doing this, I’m eventually learning for myself why those points are so important. I’m grateful that Sifu opened me up to working with others and I hope to continue to do so, as well as continue my own growth under the guidance of Master Hyland Harris.

Jefferson Reardon

I am a New York based actor, writer and fight choreographer.

Born in Monterey, California, I spent the first two years of my life living in a modified redwood goat shed above Highway One on the Big Sur, California coastline. I grew up and went to school in the small town of Pagosa Springs, Colorado and spent my summers working at my family’s business alongside my parents at Moon Lake Resort in the Uintah Mountains of Utah.

When I first read the Tao Te Ching in my high school Classics class I felt it contained fundamental truths that I had somehow always known subconsciously. It resonated with me on a far deeper level than any other religious or philosophical ideology I had been exposed to in my life up to that point. That, coupled with my love for the show Avatar: The Last Airbender–which used Tai Chi Chuan as the basis for Water-Bending–sparked an interest to find more ways to study Taoism.

After coming to New York to study acting and graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2014, I decided to follow through on that interest. I wanted to find a place where I could learn Tai Chi Chuan as a martial art to supplement the stage combat, physical and vocal training I had gotten at NYU. My search led me to CK Chu Tai Chi in 2015. Within my first week of classes I knew I had found exactly what I was looking for. After losing my job later that year I asked if I’d be able to work in exchange for class time to continue my studies. I started working in the office which, along with regular class attendance and vigorous study, led me to the opportunity to begin my teacher training and the rest is history.

I can say, without a doubt, that many–if not all–of the successes in my personal and professional life since my first class can be traced back to the training I get at CK Chu Tai Chi. I look forward to seeing where that training continues to take me. I count myself tremendously lucky to be able to help pass on these teachings and practices and to give back to a community that has already given me so much in such a short period of time.

If you’re interested in following my work outside the school, check out my website www.jeffersonreardon.com.

Jackeline Tejada

Before this practice, it seems I was waiting for someone to bring me flowers. It hadn’t occurred to me that I had a garden capable of growth. It had always been there, it just needed tending. In early 2014 I was at a crossroads. I arrived at the center, broken and uncertain. For most of my life I needed help with “mind and body relationship.” The concept eluded me. What I needed I couldn’t seem to find or even name. It was like intuitively knowing water exists, without ever touching or seeing it. After my first eternal spring session, the vitality I felt was undeniable. Over these years the practice has taught me how to cultivate an inner strength and a self-dependency. It has become an essential part of who I am.

John Van Wettering

I became a student in 1996. I felt that I needed an exercise system that would hold my interest going forward in life. The sporadic recreational activities I was engaging in at the time were leading to sore knees and frequent sprained ankles. My friend recommended martial arts and I had heard good things about tai chi. I remember leaving my first form class feeling full, not empty, and feeling the first of many bouts of good soreness.

What I didn’t realize was how much this system would grab hold of me. In no time I was feeling stronger, more flexible and more energetic. My knees no longer got sore and I haven’t sprained my ankle since. I learned all that I could from Master Chu and the other students. I still feel as though I learn something new every time I practice tai chi. Like Master Harris I also became interested in the history and foundations of the art and in what is going on in the world of tai chi outside the school.

For eight years I gave tai chi lessons at Hunter College where I teach Psychology. I also lead a small group at the psychiatric hospital where I work, and through that got to know my future wife. I am looking forward to teaching my daughter soon, and to my approaching retirement. Physical healing, intellectual stimulation, emotional centering, and old school social networking – Chu Tai Chi has provided me with a really kick ass hobby!

Evan Wilson

I first began studying with Master Chu several months before 9/11, 13 years ago. The turbulence of that Fall showed me the power of Tai Chi: practicing the art provided me with root, meaning, and a fighting spirit, effects that have continued to prove their worth during life’s challenges and triumphs.

My growth in the principles of Tai Chi, Nei Kung, and meditation occurred under sifu’s discerning eye, at a time when his teaching was at its most refined. Later, in the last five years of his life, my training continued as I sat with him weekly, helping him with his correspondence and books. It was during this time that I learned the meaning and power of Jung Yun (Real Person): a man who has mastered himself and lives life in harmony with his true nature. I am deeply humbled and honored to have the opportunity to pass on what knowledge and experience I have.

When not practicing Tai Chi, I occupy my time mostly by composing music and hanging out with good friends and family.