Tai chi Qi Gong
Shift Shirley Chock
Shifu Shirley Chock is Co-Director of the Aiping Tai Chi Center. Shifu Shirley has a life-long love of martial arts that began with watching Chinese wuxia (martial arts) movies with her grandfather when she lived in Taiwan as a child. She watched her grandfather practice tai chi in the courtyard inside their house in Taipei. Shifu Shirley graduated from University of Chicago with a degree in economics and pursued a career in finance. She studied martial arts in New York before moving to Connecticut in 2001 and began studying wushu under Grandmaster Aiping Cheng. She soon discovered her passion for internal martial arts and switched her studies to tai chi, bagua and qigong. Shifu Shirley specializes in the Yang and Sun styles of tai chi, tai chi weapons and Chinese Health Qigong. She is the head Health Qigong instructor at the Center. She combines her passion for tai chi and her experience in the field of learning and development to help others learn tai chi and experience all its extraordinary health benefits. Shifu Shirley is a certified corporate wellness specialist and developed Aiping Tai Chi Center's Tai Chi for Workplace Wellness program utilizing her experience working in leadership roles in large, complex organizations in corporate, non-profit, and government sectors.
Shifu Shirley was part of Grandmaster Cheng's tai chi competition team that trained intensively and competed in U.S. national and international tournaments in 2005 and 2006. Shifu Shirley was fortunate to be able to participate in the very last A Taste of China All Taijiquan Championships held in Winchester, VA in 2005. This was the only tai chi tournament that did not have separate competition categories for sexes, ages, or experience levels, all competed against each other per event. She won the gold medal in 24 Form Taijiquan, the only female to place in the event. Also in 2005, Shifu Shirley won the title of Internal Advanced Female Grand Champion at the Greater Hartford International Chinese Martial Arts Tournament held in Hartford, CT. She won Internal Advanced Female Grand Champion at the Greater Hartford International Chinese Martial Arts Tournament for the second straight year in 2006.
In 2006, Shifu Shirley won female internal champion at the Battle at the Boardwalk: International Chinese Martial Arts Championships, in Atlantic City, NJ. Later that year, She also won gold medals in 24 Form Taijiquan and 42 Form Taijiquan and the silver medal in 42 Form Taijijian at the 2006 International Chinese Martial Arts Championships in Orlando, FL. In July/August 2006, Shifu Shirley trained with the Zhejiang Wushu Team, the same team Grandmaster Cheng competed on and coached, in preparation for the 2006 Qingchunbao Cup Zhejiang Traditional Wushu Tournament in Hangzhou, China. In China, She won gold medals in 24 Form Taijiquan, 42 Form Taijiquan, 42 Form Taijijian, and Taiji Fan and the silver medal in Sun style Taijiquan. Shifu Shirley's final competition was the last U.S. Nationals held by the U.S. Wushu Union in Monroeville, PA, where she won the title of 2006 U.S. Female Grand Champion and Female Internal All Around Champion.
In 2006, Shifu Shirley won female internal champion at the Battle at the Boardwalk: International Chinese Martial Arts Championships, in Atlantic City, NJ. Later that year, She also won gold medals in 24 Form Taijiquan and 42 Form Taijiquan and the silver medal in 42 Form Taijijian at the 2006 International Chinese Martial Arts Championships in Orlando, FL. In July/August 2006, Shifu Shirley trained with the Zhejiang Wushu Team, the same team Grandmaster Cheng competed on and coached, in preparation for the 2006 Qingchunbao Cup Zhejiang Traditional Wushu Tournament in Hangzhou, China. In China, She won gold medals in 24 Form Taijiquan, 42 Form Taijiquan, 42 Form Taijijian, and Taiji Fan and the silver medal in Sun style Taijiquan. Shifu Shirley's final competition was the last U.S. Nationals held by the U.S. Wushu Union in Monroeville, PA, where she won the title of 2006 U.S. Female Grand Champion and Female Internal All Around Champion.
Passion for Teaching
Through her years of training, Shifu Shirley discovered that practicing tai chi greatly improved her body's health and ability to manage stress. She embarked on a new phase in her tai chi journey and shifted her focus away from competitions. She now devotes her efforts to teach tai chi to others so more people can discover the extraordinary physical and mental health benefits of practicing tai chi. In 2017, Shifu Shirley left her finance leadership position at Yale University to dedicate her full time to teaching the art of tai chi.