Martial Education
To pursue the Way…
A path, whatever it may be, has an origin, a development, obstacles along the way and a more or less satisfying epilogue.
The martial practice lacks this last part: no matter how long the search may be, once we have taken the Way, we’ll follow it for life. It won’t be an obligation, it won’t be a commitment… Simply, we will feel the need to continue exploring this seemingly infinite world that is the Martial Art. And we will do so accompanied by the progressive and growing awareness of “not knowing”: there is no end to self-exploration.
I chose Martial Arts as an instrument to investigate myself, overcome my limits and probe my mind. Although, of course, I’ve realized that over the years.
At the beginning it was a deep passion, a impetus that was born from the heart, the desire to know these ancient oriental arts and make them mine…
With time, between unique encounters and exciting trips, I ended up discovering the vocation for teaching! In assisting my teachers I acquired more and more skills, until I felt sufficiently prepared to open my first independent school. The course was a success, so I did not delay in broadening my horizons, opening other branches throughout the province.
In 2019 I gathered all my schools under the emblem of Wǔ Dào Duì (reads “vu dào duéi”), the Martial Way Team, whose raison d’être is extensively explored in the dedicated page!
But let’s take a step back, retracing my education from the beginning…
I started practicing Kung Fu at the age of seven, but for some reason I didn’t find what I was looking for. Honestly, today I don’t remember much of that first experience, which lasted about a year. All I know is that the village where I was born at the time had nothing else to offer in martial arts, so I fell back on swimming, skiing in winter, and basketball courts, integrated with some acrobatic gymnastics lessons.
At the age of 15 I finally got to approach the Gōjū-ryū Karate, a Japanese style that, like the most famous Chinese Wing Chun, comes from the ancient Kung Fu style of White Crane. Here I faced the first competitive experiences, both in Kata and in Kumite.
There was still something wrong, a discrepancy between what I was doing and what I was looking for, what in my imagination represented the idea of Martial Art.
After only two years of training I decided to switch to a Chinese style, the Shaolin Kung Fu, at the school Hu Long Wushu Kung-Fu, under the guidance of Giulio Betti and Fabrizio Martinuzzi. Suddenly I recognized myself in the discipline practiced!
I completed the belts attainment, up to the first degree of black belt within the FIWUK Sports Federation, winning races throughout Tuscany, up to achieve the highest recognition, the gold medal during the Italian competitions, in 2012, in Merate.
Throughout this wonderful journey, I had the opportunity to explore other styles within the vast spectrum of Chinese Kung Fu, such as the imitative styles of the Mantis (Tang Lang Quan, with Master Mario Picconi) and the Leopard (Master Shaosong Huang); Sanda or Sanshou with my friend and instructor Michele Batazzi and with Master Shi Yan Hui; as well as Qi Gong and Zhan Zhuang (breathing and stillness exercises combined with ideomotor training).
But the desire to put myself in the game was only increasing, so I tested new disciplines such as Muay Thai, with Giorgio Petrosyan, and the Russian Systema, with Master Andrey Karimov. Although they were brief experiences, I realized that these genres were not in my wheelhouse.
To provide for the technical lack of sports combat, often excluded from the training sessions of traditional disciplines (in Italy), I started a parallel path with Kickboxing, under the guidance of my friends and instructors Iacopo Franci and Riccardo Mura. However, I have excluded the competitive practice, in order to be able to dedicate myself simultaneously to other traditional styles.
In fact, during my university studies, I had the opportunity to train with Master Giacomo De Angelis, three years of hard work on the Wing Chun style, including an approach to the basics of Meihua Quan.
Later I dedicated myself to the Chinese Kenpo with the Master Raffaele Bernabei, but I was forced to stop at the rank of blue belt due to the incompatibiliy with my work timetable.
I then invested two years in the study of Aikido, with Master Stefano Bartoli, by now in abstinence from the Japanese styles rigor! The same personal commitments have unfortunately forced me to leave the dojo after only two exams, as was the case for the course of Shaolin Wugulun, which I could only start with Master Marco Pallassini.
Nel 2019 ho esplorato due nuovi mondi: quello dell’Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, sotto la guida esperta di Tamara Klauza, e quello del Jujutsu giapponese (Daitō-Ryū Aikijūjutsu e Katori Shintō-ryū), con l’amico e istruttore Jacopo Brogi e il M° Roberto Granati, fermandomi al grado di cintura verde.
In the meantime, I continued to deepen my study of traditional Kung Fu through intensive workshops with masters such as Liu Peng and Andrea Nardi.
Of course, I never stopped practicing Qi Gong and Zhan Zhuang daily, aspiring to achieve the perception and harmony typical of Chinese internal martial arts.
In July 2021, I obtained the qualification of Traditional Wushu Kung Fu Instructor from the National Educational Sports Center (CSEN), specializing in Shaolin and Qi Gong disciplines while integrating key aspects of the Wing Chun style.
In June 2022, to complete my training within the CSEN federation, I passed the regional exam to attain the rank of 2nd Duan black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu.
In recent years, I have participated in week-long training retreats organized by Master Fan Shaojie of the Shaolin Kulturcenter in Gothenburg and the aforementioned Master Marco Pallassini from Siena. During these seminars, I deepened my knowledge of Shaolin Kung Fu, Qigong, and Zhan Zhuang, and had the opportunity to share my research by presenting the essay “Fragments of Lost Knowledge” to a broad international audience.
The achievement of the Master’s degree in Sports and Motor Activities Management (June 2024) added qualifications and skills to my educational curriculum, which was further expanded with a Master’s degree in Sports Psychology (September 2024), concerning topics such as the management of anxiety, stress and emotions, Mindfulness, Mental Training, ideomotor training, relaxation with autogenic training, burnout and overtraining, and various techniques for improving performance and both individual and team work.
After a winter dedicated to teaching and studying the Japanese language, in July 2025 I attended a training course led by Dr. Bruno Maiorella, where I mastered techniques of instant and regressive hypnosis, remote viewing, and mesmerism (not unlike the healing practices of Qigong).
During July and August 2025, I attended an intensive medical Qi Gong course in Tokyo at the All Japan Shaolin Temple Qi Gong Association, where I received private instruction from Doctor and Master Qin Xiping (秦西平) in techniques such as the Crane Style’s 36-movement sequence, the four Qi Gong cycles, the six health forms, and Zen meditation.
Needless to say, this experience was crucial to my training—a journey that continues to this day under the guidance of masters and experts from around the world.
In May 2026, the international Budo Spring event took place in Siena, and I was invited to participate as a Kung Fu and Qi Gong instructor. It was a unique opportunity to meet instructors and athletes from around the world and to exchange knowledge and teachings from various martial arts traditions. A huge thank you goes to Michele Meloni, President of A.S.D. Taki no Kan (the event’s organizing association), and to the aforementioned Masters Roberto Granati, Raffaele Bernabei, and Corrado Pitini.
On May 10, 2026, I attained the rank of 3rd-dan black belt at the Scuola del Fiume in Scandicci (Florence), but the Way is a boundless journey of discovery—far from over!
