Biography
Jake Mace began studying martial arts at the age of 8 in British Columbia, Canada with kyokushin karate and continued with high school and collegiate wrestling into his 20’s. He began studying the arts of Shaolin Kung Fu (gong fu), Qi Gong (Chi Kung), Tai Chi (Tai Ji) in high school, and has been trained in various forms of physical conditioning such as Yueh Fei’s 18-posture chi kung, iron hand, iron shirt, Yi Jin Jing (Chinese asanas, similar to those in yoga), and five animal training. His training in Shaolin includes an intense focus on the internal systems of Tai Chi Chuan (Yang style, Chen style, Wu style, combined style, weapons, sticky hands sensing training, and Buddha fist), PaKua Chang (Ba Gua Zhang), Hsing i Chuan (Xing Yi Quan), Chi Kung (Qi Gong) and many of the 36 traditional Chinese weapons. External Qi Gong and Internal Qi Gong meditation are two of his specialties.
He currently just returned from his fourth trip to China, where he studied and lived for a semester during his undergraduate education in Mandarin Chinese (Asian Studies) at Arizona State University. Jake has performed tai chi, yi jin jing, and other styles of kung fu throughout China, United States, and Inner Mongolia and is currently in his 10th year teaching tai chi and kung fu full-time in Arizona. During his third trip to China in the spring of 2010, he visited and performed tai chi at Wu Dang Mountain, the sacred Taoist mountain in central China said to be the birthplace of internal kung fu, including tai chi chuan and pa kua chang (ba gua zhang).
Jake’s passion and life’s work is teaching the Asian arts of healing and self-defense along with the dynamic and colorful Chinese martial arts styles to his students. His goal is to continue pursuing his love and passion for the Chinese martial arts while instilling these values, along with a high level of tai chi and kung fu skill, to his wonderful students!