Why QISYNC?
We maintain the systems our organisations depend on. QISYNC asks an equally important question: how do we maintain the human system that operates them?
QISYNC was created by Dr Colin Koh to make selected principles of Tai Chi, Qigong and meditation practical for modern life. It brings together more than 50 years of traditional practice and four decades in aerospace, where reliability and maintenance are matters of safety.
[Photograph: Colin Koh receiving the 1981 Singapore National Tai Chi Tui Shou Champion trophy from Mr Goh Chok Tong]
Why QISYNC was created
Traditional practices offer great depth. But their long forms, specialist terms and time demands can feel out of reach for busy professionals and people new to mind-body training.
Colin began asking a practical question: could selected principles be taught more directly, in a structured way that respects their origins yet fits real schedules and real lives? QISYNC is his answer. It is not a replacement for Tai Chi, Qigong, meditation or medical care. It is a practical training layer for daily life.
The QISYNC Story
Influences and foundations
- Tai Chi Chuan: the foundation of QISYNC's movement, balance and attention in motion, learnt under Grandmaster Ong Boon Pin.
- Qigong: standing practice (Zhan Zhuang) and breath-coordinated movement underpin the gateway practices.
- Meditation: breath awareness and returning attention, taught in seated, standing and walking forms.
- Traditional Chinese Medicine: cultural and conceptual heritage for QISYNC's preventive view of wellbeing; never presented as treatment.
- Aerospace and human factors: scheduled maintenance, reliability and structured training shaped QISYNC's progressive, checklist-like design.
- Adult and action learning: the learn, practise, reflect, apply structure of every QISYNC module.
How QISYNC has developed
QISYNC has been shaped by ten years of teaching and refinement. Its fundamentals have stayed constant: movement, breath, stillness and attention. What has changed is the structure around them, which now runs from four short gateway practices to a lifelong pathway. QISYNC continues to evolve, and its documents are reviewed every year.
What QISYNC means today
Today, QISYNC brings together Tai Chi Chuan, Qigong, meditation and mindful walking through four fundamentals: Movement, Breath, Stillness and Attention. Programmes range from short workshops to a 90-day programme and individual mentorship. The aim is practical training that busy professionals, organisations and older adults can learn, repeat and carry into daily life, organised through the Lifelong Capacity Pathway: Relief → Regulation → Resilience → Performance → Healthy Ageing.
Our values
- Integrity First. We say only what is true and promise only what practice can deliver.
- The Body Is the Teacher. Every concept can be verified in your own breath, posture and energy.
- Gentleness Is Strength. Progress is invited, never forced.
- Stewardship Over Salesmanship. Students are entrusted to us, not sold to.
- Discipline With Warmth. The rigour of a safety-critical industry, the warmth of a trusted teacher.
- Legacy Beyond the Founder. Documented knowledge and certified teachers, so the teaching outlasts one person.
QISYNC and the traditions it draws on
QISYNC is not a new martial art and does not replace the study of Tai Chi, Qigong or meditation. It is a modern training system that draws on selected principles from these traditions and organises them into a clear, progressive path for modern learners.
The founder
QISYNC grew from Colin's two lives: five decades of practice and teaching, and a professional career spent keeping complex systems reliable.