Tony began his study of martial arts at the age of 10, when he had his first lesson in tai ji quan.

Over the next 15 years he studied several “external” or “hard” style martial arts and yoga.
In 1984 he returned to the internal art of tai ji quan at Umass Amherst where he was studying for a Bachelor of Arts. It was here that he learned the first section of the Yang style long form. 

He graduated from Umass with a degree in Italian, though he also studied various other languages including Mandarin Chinese.

In 1988 Tony traveled to China where he taught English, first in Taiwan, then in Beijing at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. It was while there that he developed an interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Upon returning to the United States, he worked for several years in the mental health field, after which he took a sabbatical in which he continued his language studies and focused on refining his body movement skills: running, swimming, biking, hiking, in-line skating, dance, martial arts and yoga.

In May of 1998 Tony graduated from Bancroft School of Massage Therapy in Worcester. His training included Swedish massage, sports massage and shiatsu, which is based on the theories of TCM. He has been working as a licensed massage therapist since then.