Tai Chi Classes
in Sandton
In the Park, Open to All
Six mornings a week. No experience required. No commitment to start. Authentic Tai Chi taught by someone who has practised it for 29 years and spent a decade helping people get out of pain and back into their bodies.
Ernest Ullmann Park, Morningside Manor, Sandton — with covered studio space available when the weather has other plans.
You Don't Need a Reason. You Just Need to Show Up
Who This Is For
These classes draw a wide range of people. What they tend to have in common is that they are looking for something more considered than a standard exercise class and something less intimidating than a martial arts school.
If You're Looking for Calm, Better Movement, and Stress Relief
Tai Chi is one of the most researched movement practices in the world for stress reduction, nervous system regulation, and balance. What makes it work isn’t mysticism; it’s the slow, deliberate nature of the movements, the breath work integrated throughout, and the quality of attention it demands.
You will not be asked to fight anyone. You will not be graded or assessed. You will be asked to slow down, pay attention, and move in ways your body was designed to move.
People who come from yoga, pilates, and meditation backgrounds often find Tai Chi complements everything they already do — with the added dimension of form and structure to work within.
If You're Dealing With Chronic Pain, Stiffness, or Years of Not Moving
This is where Carlo’s background as a personal trainer becomes relevant. For ten years, his work focused on one specific problem: people who had become sedentary and were living with the chronic pain that comes with it. Tight hips, poor posture, locked joints, compressed breathing, a body that had stopped communicating clearly.
Tai Chi, taught well, is one of the most effective tools for reversing that pattern. Not because it is gentle, though it is, but because it trains the brain and body to reconnect. You learn where your center of gravity is. Where your joints are locked and why. How to breathe into restriction rather than around it.
Progress is slow by design. That is the point. Slow movements reveal what fast movements hide.
If You're Looking for Authentic, Traditional Tai Chi With Martial Depth
The classes are open. The content is not watered down.
Carlo has trained across Yang, Chen, and modern Wushu styles, and has taught martial arts since the age of 18. The curriculum includes the 8 Brocades, foundational stances and stepping, silk reeling, and progressive form work. All taught with their martial applications intact.
The martial context isn’t incidental. It is the reason the movements make sense. Understanding why a movement is what it is, what it deflects, what it generates, where the force travels; is what transforms Tai Chi from a sequence of shapes into a practice that changes how you move through the world.
You will find that the depth is there when you look for it. It simply does not require you to be looking for it on day one.
Tai Chi Classes in Sandton.
These classes draw a wide range of people. What they tend to have in common is that they are looking for something more considered than a standard exercise class and something less intimidating than a martial arts school.
29 Years of Practice. 17 Years of Teaching
About Carlo — The Teacher
Carlo Gomes began training in kung fu at five years old and in Tai Chi at eighteen. He has taught martial arts for seventeen years and spent a decade working as a personal trainer, where his focus was on posture, movement dysfunction, and chronic pain. Helping people who had stopped moving learn to move again.
He is trained across multiple Tai Chi styles, Yang, Chen, and modern Wushu, and carries a lineage rooted in the study of the Tai Chi Classics, classical Daoist philosophy, and elemental theory.
His approach to teaching reflects both sides of his background. The martial arts practitioner who understands why each movement exists. The movement coach who knows what it takes to help a body that has forgotten how to function find its way back.
Carlo is affiliated with the South African Tai Chi Authority (SATA), a body recognised by the International World Taijiquan Federation (IWTF) for Tai Chi practitioners and instructors.
Classes are held outdoors in Ernest Ullmann Park, with covered studio space available at the adjoining recreation centre when needed.
One Hour. Mixed Levels. No Booking Required
What Happens in a Class
Each class runs for one hour and follows a consistent structure. You do not need to arrive knowing anything. Mixed-level classes mean beginners and more experienced students train together. Which is, in the traditional sense, how Tai Chi has always been taught.
Class Structure
Warm-up — 5 minutes
A short, deliberate movement warm-up to bring awareness into the body before anything else begins.
The 8 Brocades (Ba Duan Jin) — Qigong foundation
Eight classic movements drawn from the Qigong tradition. Each targets specific joints, meridians, and movement patterns. A good entry point for beginners and a consistent anchor for more experienced students.
Wave Hands in Clouds — Stepping and stance work
Core Tai Chi movement work. Stepping, weight transfer, and the coordination of upper and lower body. This is where most of the body intelligence is built.
Form and Routine Practice
Progressive form work that builds over time. Beginners begin to learn the sequence. More experienced students refine it.
Closing Meditation — time allowing
A short seated or standing meditation to close the session. Voluntary. There when it fits.
Tai Chi Classes in Sandton
Class Schedule
Morning Classes — 9:30am
Monday · Wednesday · Friday · Saturday
Early Bird Classes — 6:30am
Tuesday · Thursday
Location: Ernest Ullmann Park, Morningside Manor, Sandton.
Meet at Fit Café inside the park. Studio space available when weather requires it.
No booking required. Walk-ins welcome.
Pricing
No booking required for any membership tier.
Drop in Class
Pay per class.-
No commitment
-
25% off for your partner
2 x per week
Flat monthly rate-
Join any class up to twice a week
-
Save R110+
-
25% off for your partner
3 x per week
Flat monthly rate-
Join any class up to three times a week
-
Save R290+
-
25% off for your partner
Unlimited
Flat monthly rate-
Join any class, anytime
-
Best value
-
25% off for your partner
Where to Find Us
Location
Ernest Ullmann Park, Morningside Manor, Sandton, Johannesburg.
Meet us at Fit Café, inside the park. Classes run on the open lawn in good weather. When conditions require it, we move to the studio at the Ernest Ullmann Recreation Centre.
Secure parking is available for Tai Chi classes in Sandton.
FAQ
None at all. Classes are mixed level. Beginners are welcome and you will not feel out of place.
Tai Chi has martial roots and that context is present in how we teach, but you will not be sparring or doing anything that resembles a combat training session. The martial principles help explain the movements. They do not define the atmosphere of the class.
Yes. Carlo’s background is specifically in movement rehabilitation and posture-related pain. He understands how to work with a body that has limitations. If you have specific concerns, WhatsApp before your first class and he will talk you through it.
The principles overlap more than you’d expect. Breath, body awareness, slow deliberate movement. The difference is that Tai Chi works through form sequences that build over time, and the internal mechanics (weight, root, rotation) are distinct. Many people who practice yoga or pilates find Tai Chi adds a dimension their existing practice doesn’t cover.
No. Walk-ins are welcome at every session. No booking required.
Comfortable clothing you can move in. Flat-soled shoes. That is all.
We meet at Fit Café in Ernest Ullmann Park. When the weather is unsuitable, we move to the studio in the recreation centre.
Yes. Carlo is affiliated with the South African Tai Chi Authority (SATA), a body recognised by the International World Taijiquan Federation (IWTF) for Tai Chi practitioners and instructors.
Yes. 25% off for your partner on any membership or drop-in rate.
The First Class is the Hardest One to Get to
After that, it tends to become the part of the week you protect.
No booking required. Come to any session. Wear something comfortable. We will handle the rest.