About Zhong Ding & Jim Russo
Zhong Ding Tai Chi Chuan is dedicated to preserving and sharing the depth of the internal arts — Qigong, Hsing I, I Chuan, Tai Chi and related systems — in a way that actually changes how your body feels in daily life. At the heart of this work is teacher Jim Russo, whose personal journey through decades of teaching continues to shape everything offered here.
Guided to the Internal Arts by Necessity
Jim did not come to the internal arts as a hobby. For years he lived with chronic bronchitis six to eight months out of the year, driven to exhaustion by stress and the abuse of corporate America. As a child, his cousin introduced him to karate and judo and told him the story of Professor Cheng Man-Ching — the Tai Chi master who famously used his practice to recover from tuberculosis. That story stayed with Jim.
Although he was already an accomplished martial artist, poor health pushed him toward Tai Chi and Qigong. What began as a search for healing soon revealed something much larger: a complete internal system that could support both health and martial skill at a deep level. Jim often calls this the “Big Fight” — living and dying in a state of comfort.
Lineage, Teachers, and Systems
Decades of Study in the Internal Arts
Jim has trained in the martial arts for over four decades, with a primary focus on the Chinese internal systems of:
- Yang-style Tai Chi Chuan, Jian, Dao, Gun, and Qiang
- Hsing Yi Chuan and I Chuan
- Pakua Chang (Baguazhang)
- Tai Chi Ruler and traditional Taoist qigong
- Health, martial, medical, and spiritual Qigong, including Five Animal Frolics and Madame Guo Lin’s anti-cancer walking system
Teachers & Influences
Many of Jim’s teachers came through the legendary William C.C. Chen school in New York City, where multiple masters of international importance shared the same floor.
His primary influences include:
- William C.C. Chen
- Dr. Tao Ping-Siang
- B.P. Chan
- David Pancaracian
- Richard Satlow
Jim is quick to say that each of these teachers revealed something “hidden in plain sight” — and that his job now is to keep those insights alive in a practical, accessible way.
“Jim is a scholar-warrior of the highest order. There are few with more skill, and still fewer with more humility.”
— Sean G.
Healing Work and the “Big Fight”
Jim’s understanding of Qigong is not theoretical. Over the years he has worked with people facing serious illness — including friends and students diagnosed with conditions such as cancer and osteonecrosis — always with the intention of using traditional exercises to support the body’s ability to heal.
One long-time student came to him after being given just a few months to live and “zero percent” chance of survival. Jim taught him every Sunday morning for fourteen years, free of charge, to help him build faith in the work and feel its effects directly. That experience — and many others like it — shaped the way Jim sees qi: as energy with information content, like a clear voice carrying instructions throughout the body.
At the same time, Jim has never abandoned the martial side of the arts. Having survived a life-threatening attack as a child, he understands why people seek real skill. For him, the health and martial aspects are two sides of the same coin — each incomplete without the other.
Jim often describes his role as being a “librarian” of the internal arts: someone who gathered as much as he could from his teachers, kept careful track of the details, and then spent decades refining them through personal practice and helping others. Zhong Ding Tai Chi Chuan exists so that this integrated knowledge doesn’t stay hidden in small pockets, but can be shared more widely with people who need it.
How Jim Teaches
Principles First, Always
Whether working in person or online, Jim focuses on principles that you can feel in your own body: regulating the body, breath, mind, and spirit; understanding yin and yang in posture; and learning how to release unnecessary effort so structure can do the work. Forms and sets are important, but they are always in service of these deeper relationships.
A Complete “Qigong Meal”
Rather than offering isolated forms, Zhong Ding Tai Chi Chuan aims to give students what Jim calls a “complete qigong meal” — standing work, forms, dao yin, walking sets, breathing, seated practice, and longevity exercises that support each other over time. Health qigong, martial qigong, and spiritual practice are treated as different expressions of the same principles.
Respect for Every Body
Students come to Zhong Ding Tai Chi Chuan at different ages, histories, and limitations. Jim’s teaching emphasizes patience, adaptability, and respect for where you are right now — while still giving you clear tools to move forward.
Keeping the Arts Alive
Ultimately, Zhong Ding Tai Chi Chuan is about keeping the internal arts alive in a way that fits modern life. That means high-quality instruction, accessible online training, and a growing library of lessons that you can return to again and again as your understanding deepens.
Ready to Explore the Training?
If Jim’s story and the Zhong Ding Tai Chi Chuan approach resonate with you, you’re warmly invited to explore the online curriculum and see how the internal arts can support your own “Big Fight” — living with more comfort, clarity, and quiet strength.