welcome to 5 Snake home of real martial tai chi

our mission: to help you become a martial artist through unique play-based kungfu skills

About 5 Snake

Play for life

We do martial arts differently. 


We see our training as deep kind of play: for fun and for connection with others, but also as means to explore qualities such as flow, effectiveness and resilience as a kind of embodied philosophy.


We liken our method of training to a lab, where people can bring their own skills and experience to bear, put them to the test and develop themselves in the process.


We use a method of close-quarter continuous martial engagement which is the game of tai chi chuan, the art in which we have more than fifty years of combined experience. 


This way of training allows us to bring maximum pressure with minimal risk.


We want you to start playing as soon as possible, not practicing "moves" in the corner whilst everyone else has all the fun. 


We want to play as long as possible:  so we are careful to look after each other, not to damage each other, and not to let our egos dominate the play. 


5 Snake is all about playing for life: training so that life is more vivid and our relationships richer. In this way we all improve, and we all win.


Join us!

Listen to us on the amazing Tai Chi Notebook podcast!

 https://open.spotify.com/episode/6uXO2kITQLTF4QIeCAq2GV?si=L0Fzlwh_RvSXI933h4J8fg 

Who we are

IAN began studying Wudang style Tai Chi Chuan in 1992 under Master Dan Docherty, the founder of Practical Tai Chi Chuan International and many other excellent Wudang instructors. He has been teaching since 1998 and a professional Tai Chi Chuan instructor since 2002. Ian is a Senior (S) grade instructor with the Tai Chi Union for Great Britain. Click on link Tai Chi Brighton for Ian’s Wudang Tai Chi Chuan classes.

Ian has trained in Western boxing under Andreas Hizo, practices Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength Method and The Wim Hof Method.

He acheived a Shotokan Karate 1st dan black belt in 1990 under SEKU Sensei Dave Hazard.

NICK has practiced Wudang style Tai Chi Chuan since 2002. He is a Senior (S) grade instructor with the Tai Chi Union for Great Britain. 

He has been teaching for the last decade and specialised in teaching pushing hands for the last seven years.

He has been inspired by the work of Rory Miller of Chiron Training and Rafe Kelley of Evolve, Move, Play and has trained with both of them in person.  He also practiced Zen Buddhism for several years, and walked a six hundred mile pilgrimage in Shikoku, Japan.



to contact us email nickwalser@hotmail.co.uk

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