Mission
Next Level TaiJiQuan brings traditional health arts with today's sports science. Incorporating the dynamic movements of Taiji with recent research in health discoveries to provide better bodies of motion for the future.
Biographies
Greg DeMichele
Greg DeMichele is the lead instructor for Next Level TaiJiQuan. Research of martial arts, yoga, sports science, and the human body has always been a passion. This passion has lead him to deliver these practices to others so they may make their own discoveries.
Greg's first experiences in traditional martial arts began with Kung Fu in his late teen age years. After years of initial traditional Kung Fu training, Greg went over to study more pugilistic arts such as kickboxing, Ju-Jitsu, and wrestling. Yoga was the next venture which provided a traditional understanding of the body's foundation.
Chen style Taijiquan was later introduced which provided the perfect balance between more aggressive martial arts and yoga. Deeper understanding of Chen style Taijiquan has brought him all around the United States to learn with great lineage masters such as Chen Xiaoxing and Chen Ziqiang. These travels have also included the historic birth place of formal Taijiquan, Chenjiagou, in China for further training. All these efforts brought acceptance to be a disciple of the Chen style Taijiquan practice under Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing. As a disciple dedication is placed on further study of Chen style Taijiquan to bring the highest quality of the art for others to learn and prosper.
Gaining further understanding of the human body, he currently studies neurology based sports mechanics. Studying concepts of traditional arts like Taijiquan and yoga along with the latest discoveries in medical sciences help bring a unique view and core of his teachings today.
Greg DeMichele
Z-Health® Movement Performance Specialist (R,I,S,T)
greg@nextleveltaiji.com
Jessie Dryden
Jessie began her martial arts journey at the age of five when she began learning Taekwondo. Her passion grew as the years went on. After 17 years she worked her way up to a 4th degree black belt and was an assistant instructor.
After years of studying external arts she then decided to try an internal art and found her way to Chen Taiji Quan under the tutelage of Greg DeMichele. Following the idea that martial arts is a way of life she furthered her studies by learning more about the human body, and is studying Z-Health which focuses on neurology based sports mechanics.
Jessie graduated with a BA in Linguistics which is her other passion. She is currently fluent in American Sign Language, and is studying Mandarin Chinese along with a few other languages. She uses all these skills to influence and connect with students while helping them on their martial arts journey.
Jessie Dryden
jessie@nextleveltaiji.com
Travis DePuy
Travis has been following the way of Taiji for over a decade and credits his practice with keeping him out of trouble. He has made numerous trips to Chenjiagou, the birth place of Chen Style Taijiquan, to train under the intense supervision of Master Chen Ziqiang and his father Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing. Travis holds a level 3 Duan Wei rank after testing in Chenjiagou in 2014.
When resting his legs from training, Travis enjoys walks with his wife and two puppies, Thelma an Louise, and tinkers with electronics projects to entertain Bonnie and Clyde.
Travis DePuy
travis@nextleveltaiji.com