Leonardo Tirabassi’s martial arts journey spans forty years of exploration and experience across different traditions. After an initial introduction to Aikido, he devoted ten years to studying Tai Ji Quan within the Chen Ming school, later continuing with Master Sam Chin’s Zhong Xin Dao and Yi Quan from the Yao school.
Alongside his extensive martial arts background, he has developed a professional career in communication, journalism, and university teaching, acquiring skills that naturally complement his ability to transmit knowledge of movement-based disciplines.
In 2020, through some friends, he discovered DECODE and met Master Mauro A. D’Angelo. From their first encounters, he recognised elements familiar from his experience in Yi Quan, but was particularly impressed by the Master’s empathy, the clarity of his explanations, and the depth of his knowledge. He especially appreciates the precision of the method and the ability to provide individual guidance, adapting the teaching to each student’s specific needs.
Discovering DECODE marked a significant step in his understanding of martial arts practice. The organisation of principles into a logical and structured learning process enabled him to deepen his practical understanding of the relationship between Song and Hun Yuan Li, integrating work on Mind Setting and breathing with the more specifically martial aspects of training.
Already involved in teaching before encountering DECODE, Leonardo found in education a further opportunity for exploration: teaching also means testing and developing a deeper understanding of what one practises.
His experience demonstrates how an extensive martial arts background can gain new depth and structure through a method that connects principles, exercises, and physical qualities, transforming practice into a progressive process of exploration grounded in direct experience and practical verification.