a few things about me

taiji & me

At my first Taiji class in 1993 I knew: Taiji is "mine" - I have arrived. At that time, I especially liked the combination of martial arts, "choreography", meditation and "depth".  

In 1998 I met Patrick Kelly and have been learning from him and his senior students ever since. Today Taiji is so much more to me and has developed in many directions.

I was and am allowed to grow and develop together with many wonderful people, Taiji practitioners and Taiji teachers. Many thanks to all of you!

Patrick Kelly is my true teacher. My special thanks go to him.

Silvia Mensing, Taichi practitioner and Taiji instructor in Zurich

In the summer of 2014, I moved from Heidelberg to Zurich and now work as a media educator at an educational centre.
My decision to come to Zurich came through Taiji: I wanted to train directly and intensively at the Taiji school of Patrick Kelly and his wife Marianne. I have been one of the instructors for several years.
I started the Taiji group in Patrick Kelly's system in Zürich in Kreis 4, at Bäckeranlage, in May 2021.

 

my way to taiji

I started training martial arts as a teenager and practiced VietVo Dao (VoViNam) for 10 years - a self-defence and martial art that developed from various Vietnamese martial arts. My teacher was Tran Viet Tung, Grand Master of Viet Vo Dao and direct disciple of Master Phan Hoang.

Subsequently, I taught full-contact self-defence courses for women for 2 years: WeiFu® (the defensible woman).

After that, a few years of searching and trying things out began, e.g. 2 years of Hatha Yoga (in combination with Sufi exercises), but also Escrima, Aikido and Qigong.

 

And furthermore:

body work

  • many movement-oriented approaches, especially dance (e.g. jazz dance, modern dance, contact improvisation, tango, 5 rhythms ...)

naturopathy

  • Alternative practitioner
  • 35 years of experience with "alternative" methods
  • Autogenic training, progressive muscle relaxation, touch for health, sound practitioner according to Peter Hess, etc.

energy work

  • Relaxation methods, meditation and energetic healing for almost 40 years.
  • Training as a spiritual life counsellor with the DGH - Dachverband Geistiges Heilen (umbrella organisation for spiritual healing)

I also have the SVEB certificate for trainers - organising learning events for adults (formerly SVEB 1).