Officially going to school!

I managed to visit a few Taiji schools in the area and spend some time at each.  There are a lot of good schools and teachers here.  I finally decided to stay with Li's Tai Chi & Kung Fu Academy in Cupertino.  Master Shu Dong Li is very professional and very serious about Taiji, and focuses a lot on the internal energy and the foundations in addition to the forms.  The students are pretty advanced, and most of them are Chinese, which is another good sign.  I have been to the school for a second "trial" session and it's obvious to me that Taiji - specially the Chen style - is a very serious thing here, which is what I've been looking for.  The school itself is a large and professional facility.

Master Li has DVDs showing the forms along with step by step instructions, and I can tell you seeing different tapes/DVDs from different teachers they are of very good quality in terms of content.  I regularly use my Chen Style Old Form First Road as a learning aid.  Obviously tapes and DVDs are not to be used as the sole means of learning, but a helpful tool to complement the actual class.

Some other good schools/teachers in the area:

Hong Dao Wushu Academy
Academi of Tai Chi
Wu (Hao) Tai Chi Foundation
Taijiquan Tutelage of Palo Alto (Yang Cheng-Fu style)