Sensei Daniel Venditti
I have been a Holistic Health Practitioner since 1992. I do Therapeutic Massage, Acupressure, Tui-Na, An Mo, Qi Gong, Thai Massage, Deep Tissue, Energy Work, Therapeutic Essential Oils, Herbs, Nutrition, Health Fitness and other natural therapies. As part of my massage training I was fortunate enough to travel to Beijing, China and study at Guan An Men Hospital from January 1994 through March in 1994. I studied and trained at the hospital 6 days a week deepening my knowledge of Acupressure, Tui-Na (Chinese Deep Tissue), An Mo (Organ Massage and Internal Conditions), Qi Gong (Energy Work), Herbs and Acupuncture. Then each day after we worked in the hospital we were taught Sun Style Tai-Chi Ch'uan. This was really my first formal training in martial arts. Growing up my oldest brother made it to brown belt in Karate before he passed away. He would teach me a few things here and there and we would play fight and spar all the time, but I never took any classes myself. What my brother did teach me gave me a fairly strong foundation for when I did starting training as an adult in China. I was extremely fortunate that my first formal training was with the daughter and grand sons of Sun Lu Tang the founder of Sun style Tai-Chi. His daughter was 82 years old at the time and his grandsons were in their 60's. All three of them were not only graceful like you would expect someone who has done Tai-Chi their whole life to be but they were all very strong, powerful, healthy and extremely youthful for their ages. Unfortunately they did not speak English and I did not speak enough Chinese to communicate well. I was able to learn their entire long form and many of the applications but I knew there was so much more to learn.
When I returned home from China, I started searching for Tai-Chi instructors. Once again I was very fortunate to find Sifu Harvey Kurland. Sifu Kurland is a level 10 Instructor with the Northwest Tai-Chi Ch'uan Association. I studied old Yang style Tai-Chi Ch'uan, Hsing Yi Ch'uan, Bauga Ch'uan, San Shou and weapon forms with Sifu Kurland for over 12 years. I am a certified Level 7 Instructor with the Northwest Tai-Chi Ch'uan Assoication to teach everything listed above. I have taught Tai-Chi from 1996 - Present
During the first few years of training with Sifu Kurland I trained and practiced with a friend, Scott Mullen, who had already been training with Sifu Kurland for over a year before I started. After a couple of years, Scott went on to train in Kempo and Jiujitsu with Professor Brian Allen. Both of our lives became busy and we stopped practicing and training together. In 2013, I ran into Scott again. He had been training with Professor Allen and he earned the rank of Sensei Mullen 4th degree black belt in Kempo and Jujitsu and started teaching his own class which he named Mullen Academy. I had become frustrated with the Tai-Chi class I was attending and in the classes I taught. No one else wanted to really practice the applications of the techniques or the martial aspect of Tai-Chi. I was not interested in learning a whole new system when I had already put so much into training in Tai-Chi Ch'uan. I asked Scott if he would just help me figure out and practice all the possible techniques in the forms that we had learned together. He agreed but he only had time to work with me during his classes. Sensei Mullen worked with me in between his other students. From time to time he would ask if I could pair up with one of this students so they could practice what they were working on and he would also have one of them assist me when I needed someone to practice with me. The more I worked with his other students the more I saw the quality of the material Sensei Mullen was teaching and the benefits of being able to fight standing or on the ground. It only took a couple of months before I joined his class and started learning his system. Fortunately, my back ground in Tai-Chi gave me a strong foundation in this system that was new to me. I also discovered that many of the more advanced techniques were the same as the Tai-Chi techniques I had already learned. I had the muscle memory to do many of the movements and now I had a new use for the applications of these techniques. The strong foundation and familiarity with many techniques allowed to me move up ranks a little quicker then usual.
In May of 2019, I earned the rank of 3rd degree black belt at Mullen Academy by Shihan Scott Mullen who is now 5th degree black belt.
Part of my training from 1st degree black belt to 2nd degree was 125 hours of teaching. I assisted in teaching both the kids and adults classes and even completely running the kids and adult classes when Sensei Mullen was unable to teach. From 2nd degree to 3rd degree I had to teach an additional 125 hours and test students for their next belt rank. This also included organizing, setting up and running our black belt test for that year. Our black belt tests are divided up into two different days and tests. The first is our skills demonstration test. Anyone testing for a black belt rank has to demonstrate a set of self defenses and an additional skill they have developed. In addition to running the skills demonstration, I had to do my own demonstrations as well. The second part of the test is an endurance test (Black Belt Challenge). I organized and ran the Black Belt Challenge starting before sun rise and lasting between 6 and 7 hours.
Now part of my requirements for 3rd degree to 4th degree is an additional 250 hours of teaching along with testing and ranking my own students. I will still continue to train with Shihan Mullen and teach at Mullen Academy, but I am honored and greatly enjoy working with my own students and assisting in their growth as both a martial artists and as an honorable humans.
When I returned home from China, I started searching for Tai-Chi instructors. Once again I was very fortunate to find Sifu Harvey Kurland. Sifu Kurland is a level 10 Instructor with the Northwest Tai-Chi Ch'uan Association. I studied old Yang style Tai-Chi Ch'uan, Hsing Yi Ch'uan, Bauga Ch'uan, San Shou and weapon forms with Sifu Kurland for over 12 years. I am a certified Level 7 Instructor with the Northwest Tai-Chi Ch'uan Assoication to teach everything listed above. I have taught Tai-Chi from 1996 - Present
During the first few years of training with Sifu Kurland I trained and practiced with a friend, Scott Mullen, who had already been training with Sifu Kurland for over a year before I started. After a couple of years, Scott went on to train in Kempo and Jiujitsu with Professor Brian Allen. Both of our lives became busy and we stopped practicing and training together. In 2013, I ran into Scott again. He had been training with Professor Allen and he earned the rank of Sensei Mullen 4th degree black belt in Kempo and Jujitsu and started teaching his own class which he named Mullen Academy. I had become frustrated with the Tai-Chi class I was attending and in the classes I taught. No one else wanted to really practice the applications of the techniques or the martial aspect of Tai-Chi. I was not interested in learning a whole new system when I had already put so much into training in Tai-Chi Ch'uan. I asked Scott if he would just help me figure out and practice all the possible techniques in the forms that we had learned together. He agreed but he only had time to work with me during his classes. Sensei Mullen worked with me in between his other students. From time to time he would ask if I could pair up with one of this students so they could practice what they were working on and he would also have one of them assist me when I needed someone to practice with me. The more I worked with his other students the more I saw the quality of the material Sensei Mullen was teaching and the benefits of being able to fight standing or on the ground. It only took a couple of months before I joined his class and started learning his system. Fortunately, my back ground in Tai-Chi gave me a strong foundation in this system that was new to me. I also discovered that many of the more advanced techniques were the same as the Tai-Chi techniques I had already learned. I had the muscle memory to do many of the movements and now I had a new use for the applications of these techniques. The strong foundation and familiarity with many techniques allowed to me move up ranks a little quicker then usual.
In May of 2019, I earned the rank of 3rd degree black belt at Mullen Academy by Shihan Scott Mullen who is now 5th degree black belt.
Part of my training from 1st degree black belt to 2nd degree was 125 hours of teaching. I assisted in teaching both the kids and adults classes and even completely running the kids and adult classes when Sensei Mullen was unable to teach. From 2nd degree to 3rd degree I had to teach an additional 125 hours and test students for their next belt rank. This also included organizing, setting up and running our black belt test for that year. Our black belt tests are divided up into two different days and tests. The first is our skills demonstration test. Anyone testing for a black belt rank has to demonstrate a set of self defenses and an additional skill they have developed. In addition to running the skills demonstration, I had to do my own demonstrations as well. The second part of the test is an endurance test (Black Belt Challenge). I organized and ran the Black Belt Challenge starting before sun rise and lasting between 6 and 7 hours.
Now part of my requirements for 3rd degree to 4th degree is an additional 250 hours of teaching along with testing and ranking my own students. I will still continue to train with Shihan Mullen and teach at Mullen Academy, but I am honored and greatly enjoy working with my own students and assisting in their growth as both a martial artists and as an honorable humans.
One of my skill demonstrations was Iron Palm brick breaking
for my 1st degree black belt.
for my 1st degree black belt.