Dao Lu is a Community Interest Company, so we have a board of directors. We also have many volunteers, for whom we gratefully acknowledge their contributions and help develop their capacity in learning and coaching.
Directors
| Aileen Hamdan | Chair | Lead Instructor, Programme Lead |
| Sankofa Small | Development and Learning Officer | |
| Belinda Calaguas | Director | |
| Jason Monero | Director |
Aileen Hamdan, Director and Instructor
Aileen Hamdan is a Director and Lead Instructor, particularly for the provision of Dao Lu’s Tai Chi for girls and women. She has been training Chen Style Tai Chi under Shifu Browne, 34th generation disciple of Shaolin Temple, since 2008. She also has the BCCMA Level 3 coaching qualification.
Aileen is passionate about promoting Tai Chi and its huge health benefits to groups such as older people, girls and women, and disabled people. She particularly advocates Tai Chi Fan as a tool to get more people engaged in training for a healthier lifestyle. Aileen teaches 5-8 sessions weekly including many pilot projects. She speaks and writes fluent Mandarin.
Sankofa Small, Director
Sankofa has been training with Dao Lu since 2013. She finds training in the open air a very spiritual experience, breathing in and out mindfully and having time to take in the beauty of nature and to learn to be aware of and control my body in motion, and when still. Sankofa says Tai Chi has been great for her coordination, memory, strengthening her immune system and boosting her overall sense of wellbeing.
Read more about Sankofa’s Tai Chi journey so far.
Ewa Nevisandeh, Director
Ewa is a student and volunteer at Dao Lu and has been since October 2015 when she first attended Tai Chi trial sessions in
Chingford organised by Aileen. In the past she practiced many types of sports (swimming, canoeing, sailing, skiing, and volleyball, cycling…) although she loved all of them none of
these became her passion. Tai Chi on the other hand from the very beginning became part of her life and a passion that she would like to share with others. She has volunteered with many projects such as Tai Chi for people with Dementia and for people with learning disabilities which made her truly
realise the amazing impact of Tai Chi. Through Tai Chi she has met many wonderful people and she knows that there are still many out there that would benefit mentally and physically from Tai Chi so she would like to help train others and give them the same opportunity to feel the joy of practicing this internal martial art.
Belinda Calaguas, Director
Belinda joined Dao Lu in 2015, but has practiced Tai Chi off and on in the Philippines and in the UK since the 90s. Re-learning Tai Chi helped me fully recover from burn-out at my previous employment. I love learning forms, fan, swords – I think of these exercises not just in terms of their benefits to my physical and mental health, but also to keep my brain working! I joined the Board in 2021 and am especially interested in helping secure funding and developing projects so Dao Lu can offer and promote more Qigong classes, along with Tai Chi, grow our membership/studentship, and support interested long-term students to become teaching assistants to our instructors. Dao Lu has a very active social and education scene! I benefit a lot from students and instructors sharing interests, resources and helping each other learn more about the theory and principles behind Qigong and Tai Chi.
Aaron Whitaker, Instructor
Aaron has been studying Tai Chi with Shifu Browne since 2009. Shifu Browne is a 34th Generation warrior disciple of Shaolin Temple China and studied there for many years. Aaron has been teaching Tai Chi since 2012 and teaches 3 regular classes a week as well as special sessions for older people. He has experience of Chen, Yang and Wudang Tai Chi and is proficient with stick, broadsword, straight sword, fan and ball techniques. He has a good knowledge of Qi and Qi Gong and is passionate about Tai Chi and Chinese culture.
Joe McPhoy, Instructor
Joe trained in Chen Style Tai Chi and Kung Fu under Shifu Browne, 34th generation disciple of Shaolin Temple, between 2008 and 2013, and many other teachers before for other disciplines of martial arts. Joe is passionate about getting young people active. He teaches Tai Chi, kickboxing and other lessons at Dao Lu, YMCA and Age UK. Joe is also a personal trainer and a specialist in chair massage for head and shoulders.
Itricia Byer, Instructor
Itricia Byer has been training in Chen style Tai Chi since 2009. She also has BCCMA coaching qualification Level 2.
She has been a member of the Dao Lu family for many years, starting out as an assistant instructor in the girls and young women’s sessions. Once she became a black belt Itricia began to teach independently in the wider community. Working in colleges and local community settings teaching Tai Chi, delivering sessions in hospitals as a form of gentle exercise for patients to aid recovery, as well as working with Age UK, and supporting people with additional learning needs.
Over the years Itricia’s growth and better innerstanding of using Tai Chi meditation and Qigong to unite the mind, body and spirit for overall well-being, has led to her passion for Tai Chi and its ability to harness and strengthen the qi energy within the body.
We are always looking out for people with passion, different talents and skills to join the Dao Lu Board and Team, working together to make small changes at one small step at one time to the local communities and beyond. Please contact us if you would like to have a chat with us.