Sifu Harvey Kurland, MSc, MFS, CSCS, is a certified T’ai Chi Ch’uan chief instructor and exercise physiologist who teaches T’ai Chi Ch’uan correctly. Harvey Kurland has studied T’ai Chi Ch’uan and other related arts for over 55 years. He is a certified T’ai Chi Ch’uan chief instructor who teaches the complete system, including the long form, pushing hands, san shou, sword, walking stick, ch’i kung/qigong, and circular Bagua training. He teaches the system passed down to him by Grandmaster Tchoung Ta-Tchen. Harvey’s goal is to improve the health of his students, and they have all greatly benefited, showing significantly improved balance, reduced stress, and lower blood pressure.
Sifu Harvey Kurland (above, left) with Grandmaster Tchoung Ta-Tchen
Harvey has been recognized as an expert in the exercise and T’ai Chi Ch’uan world. He received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Los Angeles City Council and a Certificate of Acknowledgment from the Los Angeles Police Department for his work with the Police Training Academy, the Police Medical Advisory Panel, and the LAPD Martial Arts Advisory Panel. He helped improve pass rates and reduce injury rates among LAPD Academy recruits.
Harvey has been an exercise consultant for many professional sports teams in Los Angeles, including the LA Lakers, Kings, and Dodgers, and has also worked with Sho Kosugi’s International Karate Team. Additionally, he has served as an advisor to the U.S.A. Wushu-Kungfu Federation.
Harvey was a columnist for Inside Kung-Fu Magazine and Inside Karate Magazine for several years, the editor of the Community Colleges of Spokane Wellness Newsletter, and the author of a chapter in the book Martial Art Teachers on Teaching. He has published over 200 articles on health, fitness training, and T’ai Chi Ch’uan.
Harvey is a widely acknowledged exercise and health expert who has been quoted in various media, including Shape Magazine, The Washington Post, the Cornell University Medical College Food & Fitness Advisor, and the Cable Health Network. He has taught workshops on T’ai Chi Ch’uan for the Southern Region Veteran Administration Hospitals Falls Clinic Medical Center staff. He has also represented the American Heart Association and the Chinese Heart Council in presenting T’ai Chi Ch’uan to the public.
Harvey Kurland is unique in that he is both an expert in Western exercise science and Eastern methods of exercise, combining the best of both worlds. He holds advanced degrees in Exercise Physiology and Health Education and has taught T’ai Chi Ch’uan to both the general public and medical professionals. His research interests in T’ai Chi Ch’uan focus on its role in fall prevention, stress reduction, and lowering the risk of heart disease.
Sifu Harvey Kurland holds certifications from the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, the International Sports Sciences Association, and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. He has also earned teaching credentials in Health Education, Biology, and Exercise Physiology.
Just as Harvey’s qualifications in Western science are impeccable, his credentials in T’ai Chi Ch’uan are equally distinguished—attained by only a select few. He is certified as a Chief Instructor (Sifu) by the Chinese T’ai Chi Ch’uan Association. He is a Fifth-Generation Guang Ping Yang Stylist, a Sixth-Generation Old Yang Style Instructor, and a Sixth-Generation Practitioner of Standard Yang Style.
Harvey’s teacher, T’ai Chi Ch’uan Grandmaster Tchoung Ta-Tchen—a peer and practice partner of renowned T’ai Chi Ch’uan Grandmasters such as Cheng Man-Ch’ing, Kuo Lien Ying, and Wang Shu-Chin—once said, “Harvey’s T’ai Chi Ch’uan is very correct.”
Grandmaster Tchoung Ta-Tchen (bottom row, fifth from left) presenting “Sifu” titles to his disciples, including Sifu Harvey Kurland (top row, seventh from left) at the 1996 Vancouver Conference.
Sifu Harvey Kurland began studying T’ai Chi Ch’uan and other martial arts in the mid-1960s. To broaden his perspective on T’ai Chi Ch’uan, he studied with many outstanding grandmasters, including Tchoung Ta-Tchen, Kuo Lien Ying, Liang Tsung Tsai, and Raymond Chung. He also worked with Bob Engel, a highly experienced practitioner of the Cheng Man-Ch’ing style, who was a martial arts student of famed Olympic Judoka Bill Paul and is a well-respected Los Angeles-area educator.
Harvey has studied multiple versions of T’ai Chi Ch’uan, as well as related martial arts and yoga. His training includes:
- Dual Version of Old Yang Style T’ai Chi Ch’uan
- Kuang P’ing (Guang Ping) Style T’ai Chi Ch’uan
- Three versions of “Traditional” Yang Style T’ai Chi Ch’uan
- Wu Style T’ai Chi Ch’uan
- Ch’en Style T’ai Chi Ch’uan
- Various Ch’i Kung and health-promotion exercises
By combining his deep knowledge of these arts with expertise in exercise science, Harvey provides students with a profound and rewarding learning experience.
Harvey began researching the health benefits of T’ai Chi Ch’uan and heart disease prevention in 1972. He also studied injury prevention in martial arts training. As Director of Exercise Physiology at the National Athletic Health Institute in Inglewood, California, he conducted several studies on the aerobic benefits of T’ai Chi Ch’uan. His research on injury prevention and aerobic benefits was presented at the Southwestern Branch of the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meetings and published in professional journals.
Renowned exercise expert Dr. Fred Hatfield, president of the International Sports Sciences Association, once stated, “Harvey is the best in the business.”
Sifu Harvey Kurland has taught Exercise Science and Health Education at several universities and colleges, including:
- University of California, Riverside
- Loma Linda University
- Riverside Community College
He has also directed seven T’ai Chi Ch’uan tournaments at UC Riverside.
Many students who have studied with other teachers for years report that they are finally learning T’ai Chi Ch’uan in a correct and professional manner under Harvey’s instruction. They are now understanding the correct biomechanics of T’ai Chi Ch’uan movements and the proper methods for self-practice. Many remark on how fortunate they are to have found such an expert and knowledgeable teacher in Sifu Harvey Kurland.