Ylaria Giorgia Fiora’s martial arts journey began in 1996 with the study of Kung Fu, exploring styles such as Hung Gar, Tang Lang, and Wing Chun, before continuing with Chen- and Yang-style Tai Ji Quan. Her martial arts practice has been accompanied by a strong interest in Chinese culture, which she further developed through diplomas in Traditional Chinese Medicine (Tuina) and Chinese Language and Culture.
Teaching soon became an essential part of her life, an activity in which she finds deep personal fulfilment and which she considers a continuous opportunity for learning, enriched by her relationships with students.
Her introduction to DECODE began with a moment of curiosity. While watching a video of a Zhan Zhuang session led by Master Mauro A. D’Angelo, she was struck by the contrast between the visible vibrations in the practitioners’ bodies and the peaceful smile of one participant. This observation sparked a question that eventually led her to invite Master D’Angelo to Milan, marking the beginning of a new journey.
In Master D’Angelo, she recognised a rare consistency between theoretical knowledge, practical experience, and personal qualities. She particularly appreciates his technical precision, the rigour of his research, and a teaching approach that combines clarity, sensitivity, and individual attention.
Through DECODE, principles she was already familiar with acquired a new practical dimension. Alignment became a form of internal movement rather than simply a static posture; Fang Song gained a clear, practical meaning; and Zhan Zhuang revealed a depth she had previously only sensed intuitively. Practice allowed her to confront her own limitations while simultaneously discovering qualities of strength she had never explored before.
Today, Ylaria teaches DECODE programmes in Lombardy, an experience that has profoundly transformed her understanding of both practice and teaching. The progressive teaching structure of the DECODE Method has enabled her to revisit her own journey from a new perspective, recognising the body, movement, and the transmission of knowledge not as separate elements, but as interconnected parts of a single process of exploration.
Her aim is to increasingly transform every instruction into a tangible, verifiable bodily experience, enabling students to understand through direct practice what words alone cannot fully convey.