The Dish Network people provide a station called NAUH, Northern Arizona University House. It seems geared toward the Northern Arizona University community, so why am I, living in Michigan, getting this station? And it really has only two programs, Tai-Chi for Beginners and Elementary Spanish. Anyway, the Tai-Chi for Beginners is hosted by Patrick Martin. His website at NAUH gives an interesting bio; basically he goes on tours teaching Tai-Chi workshops too.

His course is a six part course, each roughly about 40 minutes long. It starts off with a little pearl of wisdom, like be supple like the willow but firm like the oak, or something. That's followed by a little lecture, each part getting more complex, but still quite fundamental. The warm-up routine is seems to be a cross between Dr. Lams' joint flexing/relaxing routine and a Shaolin Joint Rotation exercise. Then he begins the form training.

MY GOD IS THIS FORM LAME! In Part 1, you spend 10 minutes just shifting your weight back and forth. By the end of Part 6, you've done little more than Repulse Monkey and Wave Hands Like Clouds. Sure it's for beginners, but come on! Still he provides good advice throughout the session, not just form training. There's a workbook you can order too.

See their home page at http://universityhouse.nau.edu/taichi/