Ken van Sickle studied Tai Chi Chuan with Grandmaster Cheng Man Ching, from 1967 to 1975. After having studied solo form, push hands, sword form and fencing, he was invited to participate in special classes given by Cheng Man Ching, for those chosen to be teachers. In time he developed a particular affinity for Tai Chi sword and has by now achieved an international reputation as a practitioner and teacher, of it’s philosophy and technique. Since 1988 Ken van Sickle has been conducting workshops in Sword form and Fencing in the U.S., G.B. France, Germany, Italy and Spain and Israel. He was the official photographer and cinematographer of Prof. Cheng Man Ching.
Ken van Sickle Photography
In the Tai Chi world he is known for the images of Prof. Cheng. But he is professional photographer since the 1950’s. Learn more here: https://www.kenvansickle.com/
Videos with Ken van Sickle
Ken on his last Workshops in Europe 2019
Tai Chi Sword workshop with Ken Van Sickle
Tai Chi Sword Workshop with Ken Van Sickle during the 2nd Cheng Man Ching Forum 2004 in Hannover, Germany.
More videos with Ken you will find in this Playlist!
Ken van Sickle’s sword book
We published Ken’s sword book on taiji-forum.com and our German sister site!
“Kenneth Van Sickle has made a significant contribution to the work of Tai Chi Chuan through his practical teachings, his photographic and film work, and through the quiet, understated manner with which he dispenses deeply profound insights on the application of Tai Chi Chuan as a tool for personal cultivation. Much has been written on the practical, theoretical and historical aspects of Tai Chi Chuan but until now little has been produced looking specifically at Tai Chi weapons. Of all the weaponry in the Tai Chi arsenal the sword is widely considered to be both the subtlest and the most sophisticated, requiring a thorough understanding of the higher Tai Chi principles such as ‘listening’, focus and fluidity.
Kenneth Van Sickle leads the reader through the various attributes of this, the most gentlemanly of weapons, with the eye of an artist and the soul of a poet.”
Interview with Ken van Sickle
Images: Ken van Sickle