About Us
“Traditionally, a T'ai Chi student does not assist teaching in class or teach additional classes until his/her teacher requests them to do so. In the winter of 1990, at the end of one of my private lessons, Sifu Ray told me he wanted me to start teaching T'ai Chi classes on my own."
Lineage & Masters
Ming Tao gets its lineage from 3 different masters: Liang Tung Tsai, Choi Wai Lun, and Ray Hayward. From Master Liang we get Yang Family T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Praying Mantis, Ch'i Kung, and myriads of Weapons Forms from Tai Chi and Shaolin. From Master Choi we get Hsing Yi Chuan, Pa Kua Chang, Yang T'ai Chi, and Liu Ho Pa Fa. Master Choi also brings many types of Ch'i Kung and Weapons. And, last but not least, Master Ray Hayward is the person through which we get the styles from the 2 previously mentioned masters.
We have created some lineage diagrams that show these masters and who they learned from. Some of the diagrams have been broken out into specific styles.
Teachers
Simu Diane Cannon (Ming Mei) is the chief instructor and founder of Ming Tao. She began her meditation and martial arts training in 1986 with Alan Tillotson. In 1987 she met Sifu Ray Hayward and in 1989 was accepted as his student. She is a personal disciple of Master Ray Hayward of Mindful Motion T'ai Chi Academy making her the 7th generation in the Yang Family T'ai Chi Lineage.
There are also assistant instructors who teach under the guidance of Simu Diane and the auspices of Ming Tao.