About My Aspirations
I pursued my dream of understanding how to master the highest level of Kungfu & Tai Chi, and how to enjoy it throughout my life span. My next dream is to share that knowledge with you.
When I Started Dreaming of Kungfu
Welcome! My name is Zongqing Lin, and this is my story of how a whimsical child ended up as a Tai Chi and Qigong teacher, who still loves a good fight.
While some children looked up to Spiderman, Harry Potter, or Luke Skywalker, I grew up admiring the protagonists of Wuxia novels, the stories of martial arts heroes. And no matter who was your choice of favorite hero, you can remember how inspiring they were, weren’t they? Because who can resist the cool looking moves, the heroic moments, and feeling fulfilled about all the people they helped?
I was especially fond of Wong Feihung, as portrayed by Jet Li in the *Once Upon a Time in China* series. He was a herbalist and healer for his community, restoring sick people to their better states. But what captivated me most was the contradiction he embodied: hands that could shatter stone in the morning would gently feel a patient’s pulse in the afternoon. He taught Kung Fu and elevated his community’s courage and strength, not despite being a healer, but *because* the same person could be both.
That capacity to bring people from wherever they are to become their best self, to possess both the power to manifest their will and the wisdom to restore the natural order, this absolutely captivated my growing mind and set me on the journey of a lifetime.
While some children looked up to Spiderman, Harry Potter, or Luke Skywalker, I grew up admiring the protagonists of Wuxia novels, the stories of martial arts heroes. And no matter who was your choice of favorite hero, you can remember how inspiring they were, weren’t they? Because who can resist the cool looking moves, the heroic moments, and feeling fulfilled about all the people they helped?
I was especially fond of Wong Feihung, as portrayed by Jet Li in the *Once Upon a Time in China* series. He was a herbalist and healer for his community, restoring sick people to their better states. But what captivated me most was the contradiction he embodied: hands that could shatter stone in the morning would gently feel a patient’s pulse in the afternoon. He taught Kung Fu and elevated his community’s courage and strength, not despite being a healer, but *because* the same person could be both.
That capacity to bring people from wherever they are to become their best self, to possess both the power to manifest their will and the wisdom to restore the natural order, this absolutely captivated my growing mind and set me on the journey of a lifetime.
The Joy of Fighting
Let me tell you something that might surprise you: I love fighting.
Not the idea of fighting. Not the philosophy of martial arts. Not even the release of anger or malice. The actual experience of facing someone who genuinely wants to hit me, and who I genuinely want to hit back.
There’s a particular authenticity in the moment when a training partner throws a real punch, not a demonstration, not a cooperative drill, and your body responds before your mind realizes. You slip it, or you eat it. Either way, you’re alive in a way that feels like nothing else.
I started learning kungfu at the age of 10. My school seniors didn’t quite leap from rooftop to rooftop, but I really looked up to them. I remember my first sparring session with the older students: getting knocked down repeatedly, tasting blood in my mouth, and thinking: *This is exactly what I wanted.*
That probably sounds strange. Maybe even concerning. But if you’ve ever felt it, you understand. There’s something profoundly honest about consensual combat. No pretense. No hiding. Just two people testing their fullest selves against each other.
I Want to Enjoy Kungfu Throughout My Life
I started learning kungfu at the age of 10. While my school seniors didn't quite leap from rooftop to rooftop, I really looked up to them. But as the years passed, I started to see them at the school less and less. They would tell me of knee pain, or of pulling something in their back or hip, that forced them to take a break, to hold back in their training.
This got me thinking. Can't we enjoy the practice of martial arts throughout our life time? Can we become like the wizened, long bearded masters in the Wuxia stories? Practicing Kungfu brought me immense joy, and I wanted to find a way to continue practicing it throughout my life. Answering these questions became my new quest.
This got me thinking. Can't we enjoy the practice of martial arts throughout our life time? Can we become like the wizened, long bearded masters in the Wuxia stories? Practicing Kungfu brought me immense joy, and I wanted to find a way to continue practicing it throughout my life. Answering these questions became my new quest.
My Journey with Neijia, the Internal Arts
I dived into studying the Neijia Arts. This term refers to Tai Chi, Xingyi, Bagua, and other kungfu methods that uses Neijin, internal force. I was very fortunate to meet great teachers of these methods who shared their treasured knowledge with me.
Through their tutelage, I attained the following ranks:
- 5th generation instructor of Yang Family Taichi
- 20th generation instructor of the Chen Family Large Frame Taichi
- 5th generation instructor of Yin style Bagua
- 4th generation instructor of Plum Flower Praying Mantis
- 5th generation instructor of Eight Step Praying Mantis
- 3rd degree black belt in Shaolin Kungfu as passed down by the Nanjing Martial Arts Institute.
I traveled with my teachers to competitions, including ones in Shandong, China, where I have received medals for swordsmanship and Shaolin and Northern Chinese martial arts.
Through their tutelage, I attained the following ranks:
- 5th generation instructor of Yang Family Taichi
- 20th generation instructor of the Chen Family Large Frame Taichi
- 5th generation instructor of Yin style Bagua
- 4th generation instructor of Plum Flower Praying Mantis
- 5th generation instructor of Eight Step Praying Mantis
- 3rd degree black belt in Shaolin Kungfu as passed down by the Nanjing Martial Arts Institute.
I traveled with my teachers to competitions, including ones in Shandong, China, where I have received medals for swordsmanship and Shaolin and Northern Chinese martial arts.
My Study in the Healing Arts
To better understand how to optimize our health and longevity, I started to learn as much as I can about the healing arts of East and West. I studied several qigong sets: Eight Silk Brocade, Golden Bell, Yijinjing, Six Sounds of Healing, and more.
This was supplemented by studying Western healthcare concepts of injury rehabilitation, athletic training, and therapeutic principles. To further help people improve their health, I developed numerous treatment and training programs combining Western medical science, Qigong, and traditional Chinese martial arts.
This was supplemented by studying Western healthcare concepts of injury rehabilitation, athletic training, and therapeutic principles. To further help people improve their health, I developed numerous treatment and training programs combining Western medical science, Qigong, and traditional Chinese martial arts.
A New Way of Learning
I received valuable insight into how people move, grow, and learn through 20 years of teaching Tai Chi & Kungfu as an instructor in martial art schools, community centers, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers. Based on these experiences, I completely reconsidered how to better teach Tai Chi & Qigong here to deliver effective and accessible training to people of all skill levels.
This program challenges accepted notions of how to practice, bringing students dramatic improvements in less time than previously thought possible. Consider how many things you have learned in school, studying the academic way, memorizing and repeating, that you now no longer repeat? And consider all the things you know so well in your life to do, fun facts about your favorite subject, habits and skills you'll never forget, and got good at without trying, got good at while enjoying yourself.
Do you wonder why that is? Because what we study goes to one part of our brain, but what we keep actually comes not from studying, but from an experiential learning that is enjoyable, yet completely profound. And to explore that possibility of deep and joyful learning, I established Phoenix Mountain Tai Chi.
This program challenges accepted notions of how to practice, bringing students dramatic improvements in less time than previously thought possible. Consider how many things you have learned in school, studying the academic way, memorizing and repeating, that you now no longer repeat? And consider all the things you know so well in your life to do, fun facts about your favorite subject, habits and skills you'll never forget, and got good at without trying, got good at while enjoying yourself.
Do you wonder why that is? Because what we study goes to one part of our brain, but what we keep actually comes not from studying, but from an experiential learning that is enjoyable, yet completely profound. And to explore that possibility of deep and joyful learning, I established Phoenix Mountain Tai Chi.
Establishing Phoenix Mountain
Finally, I have realized my life long dream. I now know how to help people obtain the amazing skills attributed to the greatest Taichi and Kungfu masters of the past. And we now understand how to practice in a manner that is healthy and sustainable throughout our life.
To bring this knowledge to the world, I established Phoenix Mountain. The phoenix symbol represents much of what I hope to give the world:
1. The rebirth of the height of kungfu knowledge
2. The undiminished ability to enjoy kungfu throughout one's life.
3. My wish for this knowledge to last through eternity, for all of today and future seekers of martial arts and health.
I am incredibly grateful for this amazing journey. I have experienced and gained so much more than I had ever imagined I would. So let me keep dreaming big; let me share the fruits of these decades of experience with you, and with the whole world.
To bring this knowledge to the world, I established Phoenix Mountain. The phoenix symbol represents much of what I hope to give the world:
1. The rebirth of the height of kungfu knowledge
2. The undiminished ability to enjoy kungfu throughout one's life.
3. My wish for this knowledge to last through eternity, for all of today and future seekers of martial arts and health.
I am incredibly grateful for this amazing journey. I have experienced and gained so much more than I had ever imagined I would. So let me keep dreaming big; let me share the fruits of these decades of experience with you, and with the whole world.
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