I have been working with Thong for 5 years now, most of the time on a remote basis via Skype, Zoom (since I live in Paris and he is based in Washington). This is undoubtedly the most profound and transforming experience I have ever lived.

Thong definitely is an expert of movement. The work we do together is precious, for it is a perfect reflexive tool. It helps me focus on sensations, it allows me to observe myselfduring the process of learning, practising and acquiring new skills. It is also above all a great opportunity for me to learn how to release all sorts of tensions (physical, mental) and gain freedom from within.

Thong’s profound knowledge of movement and life long teaching experience (in so diverse environments) allow him to build very powerful and efficient learning sequences where he likes to mix different approaches to movement (from dance to martial arts and tennis to name a few) He also provides a very strict and secure framework of values and ethics, that paves the way for “Continual Growth”.

Finally, Thong is also an extraordinary human being, so talented and yet so humble, very generous with his time and knowledge and very authentic. Very inspiring example in this turbulent period.

~ Pierre Antonini,
Partner at Stanton-Wallace Executive Coach

I’ve had the distinct privilege of working with Thong Nguyen as my movement coach for nearly three years now. Thong integrates years of experience in professional dance, martial arts, and sports at the highest level to help his students find a grace and efficiency of movement to enhance whatever skill sets they wish to develop, in my case martial arts.

I can honestly say that not a lesson has gone by without Thong imparting one or more life-changing movement pearls. His unique teaching style has challenged me to identify and let go of various self-imposed limitations toward efficient movement, such as the mindset I may have about my perceived preferences or ability to execute a particular technique, or the myriad ways the body freezes up
when faced with unfamiliar stimuli. Thong’s teaching style fosters students’ innate abilities to discover these pearls for themselves.

What have I learned or observed through my interactions with Thong? That is very hard to sum up succinctly, so I’ll briefly focus on some of the key martial arts observations I’ve been able to directly experience in my time working with Thong. (There are an equally robust number of dance and balance pearls I have also learned during this time.)

First, Thong’s movement is always graceful and does not change no matter how much pressure he is under. Dance and martial arts are intimately woven together. Second, the moment you touch him (or even before) you effectively become a tense block of wood, off balance and with your joints bound up. Third, his mastery and proficiency extends equally to all elements of real-life (life-or-death) martial arts skills, i.e. controlling the environment, striking, kicking, ground fighting, joint locks, and weapons, something I have not seen in any martial arts teacher previously. I have seen numerous examples of how he has demonstrated these skills with ease on warriors of all levels including elite special operations, law enforcement, and professional MMA fighters.

Lastly, although not a taichi practitioner, Thong‘s “internal” (elusive force) skills are unparalleled, something I have only felt from one or two other teachers in my lifetime of studying martial arts.

I am honored and thankful for the trust Thong has shown in me as he has graciously imparted his teaching. I’m grateful to be part of KaizenTao, The Path of Continual Growth. In KaizenTao, no matter how long one studies movement, it is never possible to “arrive” as there are ever more layers that Thong will help you access.

~ Charles Hoge, M.D., Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret), Author of “Once a Warrior-Always a Warrior: Navigating the Transition from Combat to Home.” National expert in treatment of war-related PTSD. Yang Style Taiji Instructor (Washington D.C. affiliate under Sifu Adam Mizner).

Meeting Thong has changed my life. When I first met him in a Systema workshop years ago, I knew right away that Thong is my WAY. He is the teacher I had been looking for my entire life.

My martial art background was from Tai Chi Chuan. I was fascinated by its theory, but I have never been lucky enough to meet a real master who was able to demonstrate those elusive skills described in Tai Chi classics until I met Thong.

Ever since I started to study from Thong, he has brought me to the following paradigm shift changes in my life and phenomenal learning experience:

1) Understand what my problems really are
2) Broaden my perspective of martial arts, other arts, reality and life
3) Engage other sports to understand the unified principles of movements
4) Keep me inspired by his many personal stories 5) Help me rebuild myself though various self-discipline and training
6) Be a nice human being is far more important than knowing some martial skills.

We were all born by our parents, but I always think we owe ourselves a challenging task to re-build or re-born ourselves at least once within one’s lifetime.

Though I met Thong when I was in my late 50’s, I still feel so lucky and grateful that Thong has always tirelessly showed me the WAY, the PATH, and help me see things and life from his much higher and broader perspectives.

Thong is the best teacher I have ever met.

~ Ming-Tzer Wu
Lifelong Tai Chi Chuan Practitioner

It has been a great blessing and privilege to have found KaizenTao and to train under Thong Nguyen. I had previously trained in the Russian Martial Art, Systema for over a decade, but along the way found Thong’s videos on Youtube; his demonstrations were mystifying and inspirational – I was thrilled such things were possible, but I had no clue how to get there! During the pandemic I asked if he would be willing to take on a virtual student. I was very lucky he said yes, and have found the 2 years of training since to be revelatory.

We all have blind spots in our understanding, but a good teacher can illuminate the way. One of the wonderful things about KaizenTao is that Thong will hold a big mirror up to your face to show you what you can’t see for yourself! From my very first class, Thong instructed with a level of specificity that surprised me. He showed me how careless my approach had been – I often lost connection with the key parameters behind a technique, even when he gave explicit guidance on what to do. Although sobering, it is from these beginnings I came to understand how carefully he builds a solid foundation in his students. There is an uncompromising standard of accountability in each lesson. Even in “simple” tasks like walking, he teaches a deep respect and care to every step. This rigor ensures his students retain and enact skills, no matter who is watching, or what is riding on the moment. I now see that behind the magic he demonstrates is years and years of an honesty in mind and body that I might never have known without his example.

Thank you so much Thong and to your students! KaizenTao has shown me how to practice – a rare gift I will treasure and carry with me for the rest of my life.

~ Mark Fan
Clinical Engineer, Systema, Feldenkrais, Awareness Through Movement student

My highest and warmest recommendations. To give perspective, my background has been training in martial arts (Tae Kwon Do, Baji, Yi Quan, Muay Thai and others) for 15+ years. In recent years, I’ve been training also Climbing and social dances like Salsa and Kizomba.

I’ve studied with Thong via Skype/Zoom now for a bit over a year. And oh boy, have I’ve learned a lot during that time. In my experience Thong is an exceptional teacher. He’s been able to show me limitations I didn’t know I had (tension, bad habits…), which I now understand have been responsible for my plateaus and physical problems and pains all these years.

Better yet, he’s been able to help me improve on those areas in a continual and consistent way. He’s been able to show me underlying principles of many moves and techniques I’ve trained for years, and helped me understand everything I learned before on a deeper level.

Thong is able to show concretely how the physical and mental parts of training fit seamlessly together, something I’ve heard many teachers talk about but very few to demonstrate and teach.

I’ve learned a lot about relaxing under pressure, and that has been very valuable for me both in work- and personal life. For me, his teaching has produced easily testable results quickly and consistently.

Also, to me it’s clear he cares a lot about the wellbeing and progress of his students, and does his best to help them. This kind of sincere commitment is something I deeply appreciate.

Thong’s teaching is highly accurate, honest, efficient and effective. I feel lucky to have met him and to learn from him. Whatever your level in your movement art, I’m certain he can help you improve.

~ Marcus Malka,
Tae Kwon Do, Baji, Yi Quan, Muay Thai

 After having met many well-known movement teachers over the last 15 years, I have found Thong to be one of the best out there.

His teachings are based on principles, not techniques – and his drills are designed to highlight where you hold tension in your body and shows you how release them to rediscover your innate potential to move freely and efficiently.

Thong is extremely skilled, with the ability to make complex movement appear simple and natural. He teaches in an open and sincere manner, and draws from his vast knowledge of different movement practices, and life experiences, to make each class unique and engaging.

I have found Thongs teachings to be challenging, yet very enjoyable, and it has brought a greater level of refinement and skill to my own movement practice.

I have trained with Thong weekly for the past 18 months and I feel very fortunate to have met him – I cannot recommend him highly enough.

~ Andrea Franzi
Osteopath at The Fern Osteopathic Practice

For a little over 9 years I met Thong Nguyen on Facebook, via a martial arts site and mutual friends. We had private conversations by email, Instant Messenger and over Skype.

We learned there were many similarities between our arts and many things were nearly identical. We started getting more specific topics since Thong was experienced with coaching online from his dojo. I shared about my handicap and abilities and my years of training in the martial arts, light weightlifting , bicycling, Qi Gong , and aerobics all from a wheelchair.

I missed my younger years of doing Kung Fu, since I love Kung Fu movies, and especially Shaolin animal hands. Thong said he might be able to help. By combining my love for Kung Fu and other arts, he began showing me exercises which resembled Qi Gong, gymnastic, with both physical and mental visualization.

Thong was amazingly quick in adapting all the exercises for me in my wheelchair. One day, Thong said: I will teach you a Kung Fu form which he had personally modified for me… a very long form. I am still not great it, but every time I thing I’m done, Thong takes me to the next level.

All his exercises and moves fit perfectly into my daily life. I am now in much better shape, far stronger, with greater balance and coordination.Thong said I was using subtle movements from my high level in Daito-Ryu Aikijujutsu, and felt it would very beneficial for me to revisit basics and to train larger movements to increase my range of motion and step out of my comfort zone.

Since training this way, my blood flow is much better, my doctor says there is no need for my next surgery, and it seems that my old wounds can now heal naturally by themselves. This has led to more improved balance, better blood flow, more strength, more confidence, and some of my fears have diminished or nearly gone, thanks to some of the mental work Thong is sharing with me.

I am looking forward to continuing my training with Thong in continual growth and friendship with the KaizenTao family. I still have many more years to train/practice with Thong, and it improves my life and everything I do in martial arts and much more. I will practice with Thong until I die and it would be a pleasure for me.”

~ Ole Kingston Sensei has trained in Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu Roppokai over 29 years. He is the most senior non-Tokyo member of the Roppokai in the world, as well as the highest ranking non-Japanese member. He was promoted to the rank of 4th Dan and awarded the Jun-Dairi-Kyoju (sub-teaching license) by Soshi Seigo Okamoto October 10, 2002. He is the founder of Daitoryu Aikijujutsu Enryukai in Copenhagen Denmark.

“I live in Palm Beach Gardens, FL and I found out about Thong after returning from attending a Systema seminar in Montreal. Upon my return, I was browsing the various systema videos and I came across KaizenTao. What impressed me the most was how good his students were and how meticulous he was in instructing (transmission). I decided to contact Thong and it took about 2 years to finally meet in person. I scheduled a 1-2 hour private lesson which ended up to be in excess of 4 hours! Thong never looked at the clock instead he was determined to impart to me the importance of body awareness and elimination of tension.

The depth of Thong’s understanding of movement is derived from decades of martial arts, dance, sports and an extremely active lifestyle. The advantage his students have is, Thong has a deep tool box that he can reach into to help his students achieve their goals. It can be dance, MMA, golf, biking,mountain climbing, law enforcement or you name it…

For me the lessons have been fun, challenging and offered me tremendous insight about myself. Thong has carefully stringed tasks that build on each other. The advantage of a Skype lesson is there is no hiding or pretending. Thong’s focus is 100% and if a student can’t or is struggling on a particular task, you are not told to “practice” instead you are given multiple ways to achieve the task at hand.

If you are not near DC or can’t attend regular classes, please consider Skype lessons. I’m certain you will like it and it will improve your life in more ways than one. I’m approaching my 4th year with the KaizenTao Remote Coaching lessons and it has enriched my life.”

~ Ephrem Degefu
Student of various arts over the past 20 years including Wing Chun, Hsing-I, Silat, Systema, Ju-Jitsu, Judo

For many years I’ve always been interested in movement and how to get fitter and move better, I tried a lot of fitness things in the gym, remembering the high intensity training I learnt in boxing, but the older I got a part of me was saying I can’t do this type of hard training now, too much tension.

I then began to look into Martial Arts for answers to this dilemma and enjoyed exploring several different arts and meeting people hearing of their experiences.

During this time I had the pleasure to know Thong and his lovely KaizenTao Crew, I had known Thong for a while and was blessed to be able to meet and learn from Thong at a seminar in Munich in 2014 which pretty much changed my view on movement and life, I felt it answered the questions that had been simmering in me for years.

I have been taking KaizenTao Remote Coaching lessons with Thong for the past year. These lessons are unlike any I have had with any other martial arts and to me it feels holistic and is atherapy to me, Thong links well being and the troubles and stress one goes through in life to martial art and shows me how to come to terms with it over time. Thong’s teachings give me constant insights and re-calibrations, via breathing, movement and alignment drills and lots more.

All that Thong teaches has carried over to my everyday life instantly, it seems about the here and the now and I am amazed at how responsive the mind and body can be if given the appropriate sensory experience.

Thong has really opened my eyes to the possibilities, more importantly I feel more stable in my life and know what needs to be done and maintained, self-defence was my initial aim and perhaps it still is but not solely in a combat sense anymore.

To me it is learning to cultivate the self and defending from the inside, being mindful of my dark side and being a good person, to which I am forever thankful to Thong for and will pay it forward to my loved ones.

~ Stephen Belbin,
A dedicated student of various arts: Kickboxing, Boxing, Capoeira, Systema, Silat and Wing Chun. Started Kick-Boxing when he was 15 years old, over 22 years ago.

I would like to share my experiences and insights on my own personal path in martial arts with you and fortunately to have found with Thong Sensei and the Kaizentao family what I have always been looking for.

At the age of 7, I took the first steps towards martial arts. At that time my father with judo background and my uncle from the field of Aikido were the trigger. Since then I have been a seeker with experience in various martial arts. After some time, however, driven by a sense of emptiness that I personally missed something unidentifiable.

So the years moved into the country, until that fateful day on which my brothers Alex and Youssef from the Kaizentao Group Munich gratefully accepted me in their group. With the first incredible Skype lesson with Thong Sensei, followed by an overwhelming weekend seminar I realized this way I would like to go here with my brothers Alex and Youssef from the Munich Group.

Thong Sensei’s excellent guidance, corrections and taking care of personal habits that complicate everyday life, my life in all areas has begun to change only positively.

By releasing physical and mental blockages, over time, a new form of mindfulness develops in the outside, as well as a new, sensitive body feeling, and enjoy discovering your physical and mental bad habits, becoming aware and working hard and turning them into good habits.

In the meantime, it is also fascinating how many possibilities there are in my personal everyday life to work physically and mentally. All this, and that is only the beginning, an increasingly fascinating journey to which I am deeply pleased to thank Thong Sensei and the Kaizentao family.

The upholding of moral and ethical principles in all areas, which must be lived, perfect the personal image of yourself.

What gives Thong Sensei, with his incredible way of teaching and guidance to others, is one privilege that can be accepted in deep gratitude and is very special and I am thankful from the heart that this opportunity has resulted in my life.

~Jörg Detzer
Judo, Kickboxing, PFS Jeet Kune Do Principles, Filipino Martial Arts, Wudang Pai

“I recently took a lesson over skype and addressed the lack of flexibility in the shoulder region while making a golf swing. Thong diagnosed the impediment as a restriction in the opposite ankle. After Thong walked me through the one step process of freeing up the ankle I was able to complete a fuller range of motion. So simple after it was shown what to do. Thanks again to Thong for so quickly identifying the limitations and providing a simple, effective solution.”

~ Gordon Thomas
Aikido Dojo Cho, Feldenkrais

The KaizenTao Remote Coaching gave me many insights on how my body and mind should work as one unit. Thong is an excellent teacher with years of teaching experience and he “senses your weakness” in an blink of an eye and helps you to improve through very clever invented step by step progressions.

When I started my KaizenTao journey I felt pretty relaxed and mostly tension free but in only a few minutes of doing exercises guided by Thong I looked in “the mirror of reality” and saw it was just an illusion ….my illusion of being relaxed.

My online training with Thong helped me a lot since then to get more and more rid of unnecessary tension in my body and it also had a very positive effect on how to reduce stress in my daily life because everything is connected (Mens sana in corpore sano: a healthy mind in a healthy body).

I noticed several additional benefits, to name a few: I am able to feel my body more; my alignment improved; my balance got much better; I am more connected to myself and can feel where tension builds up in my body and mind; my awareness got better…..etc..

What I really love about Thongs training is that he teaches you what you really need and not what you think you need ….and this is sometimes completely different. The KaizenTao training gave me a much better understanding about movement in general and about the benefits of moving more efficient and precisely which can be used universal.

I feel like a completely different person since I started my KaizenTao journey and I love it! I can highly recommend the KaizenTao online training to anyone who wants to improve …..to get the best out of yourself!

Thank you very much for your guidance Thong!

~ Alexander Schilgen
Judo, Shotokan/Fudokan Karate, Wing Chun, Latosa Escrima, Systema

My name is Patrick Gilman and I am a Structural Integrationist body worker with a focus ensuing lasting change. I traveled Asia for over a decade studying in varying degrees under 26 different masters of internal martial arts. My studies ranged from Shaolin to Xing Yi, Ba Gua, and Taiji, even to the extent of becoming a lineage holder of Yi Quan and Yang style TaiJi.

All of that was in search of a teacher who embodied the highest level of martial arts available, for the sake of restoring my health. After returning to America in a partially satisfied state, I found who I had been searching for in Thong Nguyen of KaiZenTao.

About his character, Mr. Nguyen is a humble teacher who refuses to be addressed as ‘Sir’ to prevent exclusion from being one of the guys. Despite his humility, he embodies a life long experience of martial arts from the meditative to combative levels. Despite even more, he stresses dance in his teaching (Thong is also a professional dancer).

He appreciates dance’s ability to readily illustrate the workability of biomechanics coupled with relaxation, the foundation of natural movement. Though different from what I was used to, I found within several lessons major change had begun in my structure and psychology due to KaizenTao’s emphasis on said and other concepts.

As I have now studied with Thong for over a year, I can say that ironically, as someone seeking a stronger physical condition and a deeper peace of mind as described by the ancient martial arts texts, I inevitably discovered what I was looking for through Thong’s classes.

Concepts of ‘dropping the qi’, ’song kua’, ‘Han xiong bao bei’ all organically became apparent through our studies without a need to name them or obsess over them. In addition, Thong strongly emphasizes taking self cultivation found in class ‘off of the mat’, thus giving us what we were really looking for.

In summary, Mr. Nguyen has a well developed step-by-step teaching methodology and the most expansive knowledge/workability of internal martial arts/physical movement that I have encountered. He is a treasure who I highly recommend for any available study.
Patrick Gilman 
Owner Gilman Rolfing, Shaolin, Xing Yi, Ba Gua, Lineage Holder Yi Quan Yang Style TaiJi