Tao Martial Arts takes a 5 Aspects approach to training in the Martial Arts.  We do not believe that a practitioner should only focus on one view, approach, or aspect of the large variety of Martial Arts, which is why we take a more holistic approach.  We are open to adaptation and seek to go deep into the history and development of Martial Arts as a whole discipline unto itself.  While students can train in a variety of styles you must have something to bring it all together, a glue of sorts to hold all your aspects together, and a foundation, which to build from.  At Tao Martial Arts we proudly use Tang Soo Do as that main core style.  With Tang Soo Do's unique history and lineage that reaches back to styles from Korea, China, and Japan it is a perfect conduit to attach all our training to. 

5 Aspects:

While we separate the aspects in order to focus on each as needed, a practitioner of this approach should never discount the others or forget how closely they all interconnect and weave into each other.  The mind or (mental) aspect is key to understand the what, how, and why for not only concepts and techniques but also for the existence of different styles themselves.  The body must be trained and developed int order to be able to perform the techniques and movements.  You also must understand anatomy and how a body's functions and mechanics work in order to apply the techniques.  Striking is the very essence of Martial Arts.  The development of kicking, punching, blocking, and the different stances is the genesis and primary function of Martial Arts, hence why we use a striking art as our core system.  Grappling could be referred to as the next level after striking.  At some point a martial artist will end up in close melee, in a joint lock, or on the ground.  This is where we train in grappling techniques to counter others or to force compliance through control and manipulation of their joints and body mechanics.  Additionally, being taken to the ground, against a wall, or in any position where your stances lose effectiveness then grappling has become the way to get the upper hand in the melee.  Every Martial Artist must understand how to properly take a fall and how to perform rolls in order to protect themselves and recover quickly.  All the other aspects can be trained purely for knowledge, fitness, or self development.  But, if you want to move into the combative (or real world fighting) scenarios you must learn how to apply all of these aspects in scenarios that are actually dangerous.  This is where we adapt both the techniques and concepts as well as the students perspective for those most deadly situations.

Tao Martial Arts creates the path and shows students the way to train in the Martial Arts as a holistic and lifelong approach. As a member studio of the World Tang Soo Do Association our primary style is Tang Soo Do, and our students will be learning the material and testing within a worldwide family of fellow Martial Artists.  We train our students in Tang Soo Do while augmenting their understanding by interweaving concepts, philosophies, and techniques from Hapkido, Chin Na, Chi Gong, as well as the real world applicational approach of Split Second Survival. Our students will learn how martial arts has a variety of techniques and applications but also how they can learn the artistic side of the Martial Arts.

Tang Soo Do – Our primary style and the art to which we will build everything from within our school is the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do. This style is a traditional approach to martial arts for its proper form, function, and purpose as a defensive and combative Martial Art. Roughly translated it would be “Way of the China Hand”. The Lineage of Tang Soo Do is the same as Taekwondo and heralds from Soo Bahk Do and Moo Duk Kwan. The Masters who created the structure and lineage of these styles trained with masters both in Japan and China, during the periods in which Korea was occupied. This gives our style a unique hybrid of effectiveness with its incorporation of techniques from across these regions.

Hapkido & Chin Na – Hapkido is a Korean grappling and joint lock based Martial Art. While Chin Na is a system developed in China with a specific focus on joint lock and body mechanics manipulation. The techniques in all grappling arts are very similar, if not identical, in everything except their name. Because every grappler is affecting and being affected by the mechanical and structural limitations of the skeletal, muscular, and ancillary systems and structures of the body. The choice in how to approach and what types of techniques are favored is where you often see the stylistic difference. At Tao Martial Arts we will teach students how grappling and joint-lock techniques work, in conjunction with Tang Soo Do. But, we will focus on the Hapkido approach to the application of grappling and the fundamental application of joint-locks as developed by the Chin Na System.

Ki Gong (Chi Gong) – While The Term Tai Chi Gong is one of the oldest versions of what is simply known as Tai Chi today. Tao Martial Arts will incorporate the concepts and philosophies of the practice of Internal Martial Arts with a focus on the Ki Gong aspect of controlling the body’s inner workings in conjunction with your other martial art techniques. This training extends to mindfulness training and education as well as simple breathing and mediative approaches to calm the body and mind.

Split Second Survival – Tao Martial Arts includes training and education utilizing the system designed by Larry Wick, Split Second Survival. This is a unique system that is not a Martial Art but instead is solely a self defense system who’s concepts and approach can effectively be taught to kids, adults, and elderly, no matter their level of training size, strength, or gender. This system focuses on body mechanics and education of the minds view and reaction to anything from the worst self-defense scenarios to breaking up a schoolyard tussle. This system has an extremely wide range of affective applications without the dedication of decades of training to perfect. It instead challenges the practitioner to be active, alert, and to respond to threats in a new way.

All of these approaches to training are extremely effective in their own right. But, at Tao Martial Arts we train the overlapping concepts and methods so that each system only helps to better our students in all aspects of their training.