Tai Chi in the Gorge

Craig Rundell practicing Tai Chi at the river’s edge.

Tai Chi in the Gorge wants to help you relax, find your center of gravity, and grow your chi. Free and paid classes taught by Craig Rundell take place every Tuesday and Thursday in Bingen and Stevenson, Washington.

What is Tai Chi?

Tai Chi (taijiquan) was originally a Chinese martial art form that was developed for self-defense. The martial art practice focused on using and cultivating chi in order to defend oneself more effectively when facing an opponent of superior physical strength. Unlike other martial arts- there is no standard belt ranking system or need to purchase special clothing to practice in, instead many teach Tai Chi in a ‘come as you are’ type style.

However these days Tai Chi is most often practiced for its numerous health benefits, including stress relief, pain relief, memory retention, improved mood and more. It is also thought by many to engage the body’s fascia and connective tissues in a unique way that benefits health greatly. There are also no hard blunt force trauma impacts on the body like in other marital art practices.

Tai Chi focuses on building joint flexibility, balance, and mindfulness with constantly flowing movements. Tai Chi is often practiced as a form of moving meditation and it is considered such a great form of physical and mental exercise that one article by Harvard Health called Tai chi “medication in motion”. 

“It uplifts the mind. Because you can’t do Tai Chi without relaxing. Relaxation is a prerequisite. We’re trying to find out what’s going on inside. The muscles have to relax first. And the goal is to make every movement occur using almost no muscles at all,” said Rundell. “And you learn how to breathe in a relaxed manner, you learn how to breathe all around into your sides, back, and front. And you learn where your center of balance is and as you continue to learn how to control it you can extend your center of balance farther and farther out from your center and still know where it’s at.”

Rundell said he’s witnessed Tai Chi even helping Parkinson’s patients recover mobility. 

“There was one lady who came to my classes for six years. She had Parkinsons. She stabilized. She found her center of balance and she quit being shaky and she could stand and walk and eventually old age caught up with her but luckily she was able to have six more years of mobility,” said Rundell. 

Craig Rundell, has been involved in the martial arts community for over twenty years.

Meet the Teacher

Craig Rundell, of Underwood, has been teaching Tai Chi classes for over twenty years. 

But he almost didn’t. In fact, a series of events almost led him to swear off martial arts altogether. 

Rundell had been practicing in a dojo that had become too dangerous for him to continue participating in. He’d grown tired of violence and competition. But he wasn’t ready to give up on the practice he loved. So Rundell tried out a Christian martial arts group but things didn’t go as he’d hoped.

For a while, he thought he might have to give it up altogether.

But then he found Tai Chi and it was a perfect fit.

“We moved here in eighty-five and I ran into a lady across the river named Irene Akin. And she was teaching this style of tai chi and I decided I really liked it,” said Rundell. “And I stuck with it.”

Craig Rundell demonstrates a Yang Style long form of Tai Chi in the Lutheran church parking lot after class. Rundell said his students sometimes tell him his face gets very serious and intense looking when he is practicing Tai Chi but it’s just because he has relaxed all the muscles in his face.

Irene Akin began instructing Rundell in Yang Style-Long form Tai Chi.

(Yang style tai chi is among the most popular styles of tai chi known for its large gentle sweeping movements, which is often seen being practiced in parks, or in Hollywood movies. Yang style encompasses about 80-100+ ‘forms’ or movements.)

In 1997 Rundell began teaching classes at Mid-Columbia Medical Center and at Columbia Gorge Community College in The Dalles. After a transformative summer in Hawaii training under Sifu Peter Tam Hoy, Craig began teaching classes in Stevenson and Bingen. 

“My first time training with Sifu, he was trying to teach me how to relax my back and find a solid structure, and he goes, ‘Well push me, no hard, no really heard. Come on, lean in!’ I couldn’t even budge him. He was like a rock, there was not even a quiver,” said Rundell. “So he says ‘try from the side,’ and I couldn’t push him. And he said, ‘I’m not resisting you, I’m smiling, I’m relaxed. You can see that I’m just standing here,’ and he said ‘Try it on one leg,’ and he stood on one leg and I couldn’t push him. So I’m thinking my goodness that’s amazing! There really is something going on here. And then he started demonstrating the one-inch punch to me, right on my chest. And my wife jumped out of her chair and pushed us apart and said, ‘Don’t hurt him like that!’ She was really scared.”

The one-inch punch is one of the most impressive feats in martial arts that originates from a similar move used in Wing Chun called “Explosive Force Moment”. The famous strike occurs from only an inch away, with the arm almost fully extended- a point from which an inexperienced person would struggle to generate much force behind. However, according to martial arts legend, Bruce Lee was able to master this strike and could even knock opponents clean off their feet with a single one-inch punch.

“You could hear the impact from the punch. It sounded like a ham was just smacking me on the chest every time,” said Rundell. 

Craig Rundell said he was looking forward to the end of the pandemic so that he can visit his teacher in Hawaii again.

However, the Tai Chi classes Rundell teaches take a pacifist approach and don’t involve punching anything but air. 

Rundell said his favorite thing about teaching Tai Chi was the learning involved. 

“Learning. I just learn so much from teaching,” said Rundell. “If I was at home studying on my own, I wouldn’t be articulating what I’m doing. I wouldn’t be forming complete thoughts and sentences. So this way I get to listen to my own teaching.”

Interested in attending a Tai Chi in the Gorge?

There is no need to have any prior experience. All skill levels are encouraged to attend. 

Email Craig at taichiinthegorge@gmail.com to learn more and receive updates about changing class schedules. (Weather can have an impact on whether classes are held in the morning or afternoon to avoid extreme heat or cold.)

Want to learn more about how to practice Tai Chi? 

Learn the Ten Essentials of Tai Chi here. 

Learn Taijiquan’s main features and basic rules here. 

Practice by following along with Tai Chi on YouTube.