Tom Fazio is an ISSA certified American personal trainer and martial arts instructor based in Hong Kong. He has over 20 years of martial arts and self defense experience, and has been teaching for over 15 years. He holds a black belt in 2 disciplines, and has studied over 5 systems of martial arts, both formally and privately with experts around the world.
Tom has over 10 years of fitness personal training experience and takes a holistic approach to training aimed at physical balance and strength, flexibility, and mental development. He is committed to helping clients achieve their goals quickly and truly cares about their progress and happiness.
About Tom
I wasn’t always passionate about martial arts. At the age of 10, when I entered my first martial arts class at a traditional Karate school, it was out of necessity to learn something useful to deal with a childhood bully. After some time my bully moved away and with him the immediate need to protect myself. What emerged in its place was an ever growing framework through which to view the world. It doesn’t take long to learn to fight, but honest self-awareness and self-mastery require a commitment that doesn’t end with a martial arts class. Martial arts became my foundation of personal development, extending far beyond self-defense into the realms of philosophy, psychology, and health and fitness.
I have been a student of the martial arts for over 20 years, and a teacher for over 15. I have studied under master instructors and world champions in traditional group settings as well as private training sessions. In 1998 I taught martial arts classes for Moo Sul Kwan Martial Arts in Lakewood Colorado and later served as Head Taekwondo Instructor for the Colorado State University Taekwondo Club in 2001-02 while pursuing my Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. In the years following college graduation I traveled China and South East Asia looking for and training with teachers who excelled in forms that interested me, and at the same time accepting martial arts students and taking on fitness clients who wanted to train with me. I’ve found that one-on-one personal training sessions are not only the most productive way to grow physically and mentally, but also the most rewarding for both trainer and trainee.
From 2008 to 2010 I owned and operated Personal Trainer Shanghai, providing private personal fitness training and self defense instruction all over Shanghai to clients from around the world and from various walks of life. My clientelle included CEO’s and executives of major international companies, aspiring martial artists and those looking for mind-body training or high impact fitness kickboxing, stay at home mom’s and dad’s, and fitness enthusiasts looking for motivation, greater variety in training, improved muscle tone, fat loss, or better sports performance.
My background in martial arts includes formal training in Karate, ITF Taekwondo, and Hapkido during the first ten years of training. I’ve had, over the past decade, the good fortune of private personal training sessions with masters of Taekwondo and Hapkido in the USA, Thai Boxing in Thailand, and Baji and Shaolin Kung Fu in China. I’ve attended seminars with the founders of Taekwondo and Hapkido. And I’ve privately studied Qi Gong and nine segment lash with a Shaolin Kung Fu monk in the forest in Jilin, China, the bamboo staff with a Shaolin Kung Fu master in Jiangxi, China, and the meteor hammer with a Kung Fu master at the Shaolin Temple in Henan province. In 2009, I designed a silk version of the meteor hammer and rope dart to accomodate the modern warrior, allowing for the translation of old principles and techniques into modern and practical self defense tools. And in 2010 I studied the Shaolin straight sword privately with Bao Wen Guang, head coach of traditional kung fu for the Shanghai Chin Wu Federation.
Realizing long ago that martial arts do not accommodate the average person, but attempt to change that person into a rigid form, I believe in using the techniques and principles I’ve acquired to help people develop in more honest and natural ways in accordance with their own interests and needs. I believe in commitment to personal growth over dedication to any one system. While most martial arts have something valuable to contribute, that contribution should be weighed on the basis of their practicality and suitability to an individual. For me, fitness is a fascinating means to that end of self-discovery and a vehicle for reaching my fullest potential. A healthy body is necessary for a sound mind. Exercising the two together creates harmony and power.