Forms, complexes and professional skills

Maken Isakov's training spans several layers: the Soviet sports school, karate and wushu, Yang- and Chen-style taijiquan, the Hunyuan system, qigong, tuishou, weapons work, massage and rehabilitation disciplines, and decades of teaching practice.

Documented qualifications

Official certificates and credentials

Field	Qualification / details
Boxing	Candidate master of sport; "Dynamo" society sports record book; prize-winning bouts and wins over other candidate masters of sport in 1982.
Sambo	First sporting rank; competitions in 1983–1985, regional champion results in "Dynamo" society events.
Karate	Karate instructor; coach-teacher certificate from the USSR Council of Ministers' Committee for Physical Culture and Sport, 1980; professional development, 1981.
Physical culture	Physical-education teacher; graduate of the Uzbek State Institute of Physical Culture, class of 1989.
Wushu / taijiquan	"Instructor-methodologist" qualification within the USSR State Sports Committee / Scientific-Practical Centre system; examinations in the 24, 40 and 48-form taijiquan sets.
Qigong & taijiquan	Right to teach wushu and health gymnastics — taijiquan and qigong — per a certificate from the Kyrgyz Republican Federation of Wushu and Health Gymnastics.
Physical culture of the East	Professional retraining at the Ural State Academy of Physical Culture, 510 hours: qigong, feng shui, taijiquan, sports medicine, reflexology, physical rehabilitation; certification thesis on the teaching methodology of Hun Yuan Gong.
Su Jok	Full course, Su Jok Academy, 1997.

Taijiquan: forms and complexes

From the 13-form set to a masterful 48-form jian performance

Section	What it includes
Yang-style taijiquan	13-form; 24-form; 40-form; 108-form sets. Maken Isakov's Soviet qualification documents record examinations in the 24, 40 and 48-form taijiquan sets.
Chen Style Xinyi Hunyuan taijiquan	The 24-form set — the school's senior-group program; the 24 and 38-form sets — examination at Zhiqiang Wushu Academy, 2004; the 48-form set — examination at Zhiqiang Wushu Academy, 2006.
Taiji-dao	The 38-form set; examination at the Feng Zhiqiang Academy, 2007.
Jian / sword	The taiji sword was part of the school's senior program; the 40-form sword set; in 2019 Maken Isakov gave a masterful "48-form jian" performance at the Traditional Wushu League tournament-festival.
Tuishou	Basic single-hand circles; tuishou with stepping and changing hands; the four hand techniques; the 13-form paired complex; taiji-tuishou — examinations in 2006 and 2007 at the Feng Zhiqiang Academy.
Taiji-bang	Special exercises with the taiji stick, part of the school's advanced level.

Qigong and internal work

Hunyuan Gong — first and second levels; taught in the school and at separate seminars.
Chanmigong.
Yin-Yang Gong.
"Jade Frog Breathing."
"Breakthrough Qigong."
Medical qigong.
Standing-post work.
Breathing and meditative exercises.
Seated and lying exercises.
Qigong massage, paired qigong massage and acupressure massage.

Through the school's system

Skills that Master Maken Isakov taught

releasing excess muscular tension while keeping a gathered structure;
building support and a stable body position;
weight transfer and control of the centre;
distinguishing full and empty;
opening and closing;
the link between breath, attention and movement;
coordination of torso, pelvis, arms and legs;
applied interpretation of taijiquan movements;
tuishou and sensing the direction of a partner's force;
working with weapons and special equipment;
the methodology of teaching qigong and taijiquan;
training instructors and independent teachers.

The Chinese line

Feng Zhiqiang's Hunyuan taijiquan

In 2004, 2006 and 2007 Maken Isakov trained and sat examinations at the Beijing Zhiqiang Wushu Academy. The certificates are signed by Feng Zhiqiang. They record the 24 and 38-form Chen Style Xinyi Hunyuan Taijiquan sets, the 48-form taijiquan set, taiji-tuishou, and the 38-form taiji-dao set. This training became an important part of the later development of the "White Crane" program.

Teaching competencies

Master Maken Isakov combines practical and methodological experience. He holds a higher physical-education degree, a state qualification as an instructor-methodologist in wushu, a coaching qualification in karate, and professional retraining in the physical culture of the East and adaptive physical culture. His work has included regular groups, seminars, camps, sessions with government agency staff, family health programmes, university-level teaching, and instructor training.

The school's students and successors