SEQUOIA KUNG FU AND YOGA | Yoga, Tai JI, & Kung Fu in Visalia, CA
  • Home
  • Yoga
    • Yoga with Maya
    • SMILE Chair Yoga
  • Tai Ji Quan
    • Tai Ji Quan
    • About Tai Ji
  • Kung Fu
    • Sequoia Kung Fu
    • Ba Gua Zhang
  • Memberships
  • Schedule
  • Online Resources
    • Zenplanner Log In
    • On Demand Classes Log In
  • About
    • Sonny & Maya

Sonny & Maya


With 20 years teaching experience in various educational settings combined with a strong background in competitive sports, both Sonny and Maya offer a unique insight in the practice of the movements arts.  At Sequoia Kung Fu & Yoga, because of this experience, Sonny and Maya approach teaching with the one question in mind:

How can we create an environment that makes the movements arts accessible to everyone?


With focus centering on the student and their practice, Sonny and Maya take great care in getting to know their students and their specific needs.  Planning and preparation of instruction become a daily response to accommodate the ever-changing needs of their students as they progress and identify their strengths and weaknesses.  With an emphasis on guiding principles and foundation, Sonny and Maya place higher value on integrity and a better understanding of the subtleties of one's practice.  Advancement comes with a deeper understanding of the self rather than just working toward advanced poses and movements.  
Picture
Picture
Because of their background in both education and athletics, Sonny and Maya understand the consistency and dedication required, not just of themselves as teachers, but also for their students to truly benefit from a regular practice of martial arts and yoga.  Effectively breaking down postures, movements, and concepts into consumable parts, Sonny and Maya make their students feel safe and more confident.  Practice is more accessible to everyone, yet still challenging for the individual.  Creating a non-competitive environment that encourages a community of individuals to support one another enhances the experience and need for practice.  


Born and raised and graduating from the same class at Redwood High in Visalia, CA, Sonny and Maya did not cross paths until they connected at their 10-year reunion.  Since graduating high school, Sonny had played collegiate basketball as well as worked in behavioral therapy for students with special needs.  As his old email moniker, tai chi bum, would suggest, his love of martial arts and travel inspired him to move abroad to deepen his understanding of kung fu.  For Maya, life seemed rooted in academia.  After studying behavioral therapy for students with special needs, Maya began working on her master's degree in deaf education.  By the time she had met Sonny, Maya was craving a big change and new challenges for her life.

For both of them, the road led to Beijing, China.  In 2007, Sonny and Maya moved to the huge, highly populated, bustling city, which in more ways than one, was thousands of miles away from home.  During the day, they worked as teachers in a private school for Chinese students.  During the evenings, they dedicated hours to their respective disciplines; Sonny trained kung fu and Maya practiced yoga.  Then somewhere along their 8-year acclimation into a city, culture, and language they would grow to love, the idea for their school, Sequoia Kung Fu & Yoga, was born.  ​
Our Programs

Maya Rodriguez

yoga teacher in Visalia
yoga teacher in Visalia
yoga teacher in Visalia
yoga teacher in Visalia
Picture
Picture
From grade school up until she took joined a co-ed team in Beijing, Maya played soccer.  Well into her 30s, she felt fit and strong enough to play competitively, but knew injuries were inevitable and not worth the risk to her well-being.  She sought out healthier ways to improve and maintain her strength, stability, and mobility.  

​Yoga came calling.  From 2007 to 2015 her yoga journey began.  She practiced with two yoga instructors with whom she developed a beautiful consistent practice (hatha and ashtanga yoga) aimed at strengthening her foundation in yoga.  Yoga challenged her physically and mentally in ways she had never experienced before.  
Through yoga, she also discovered her need for relaxation, the impact of the body to the mind (and vice versa), and the importance of breath.  

Maya participated in a 60-hour ashtanga teacher training intensive with Chuck Miller.   She also earned her 200-hour yoga international teacher training certificate through Integrated South Pacific Yoga Academy (INSPYA).  Soon afterwards, she began teaching small group yoga classes in Beijing to friends, colleagues, foreign exchange students, and expatriates from all over the world.  Maya also participated in the It's Yoga Kids Certification Course learning to teach yoga to children ages 3 to 13.

Now with nearly 5,000 hours of yoga teaching experience, Maya completed the Jason Crandell's Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training to earn her RYT 500 designation.  

Maya strives to create an environment in which her yoga students feel a sense of community while improving and maintaining mental and physical health through the benefits of doing yoga.  As this was the goal for classes in Beijing, Maya is very excited with the opportunity to achieve the same goal here in her community, back in her hometown of Visalia.

Sonny Mannon

Laoshi Sonny Mannon has been studying Chinese Martial Arts for over 15 years.  Sonny began his martial arts career in Southern California where he studied Praying Mantis Kung Fu and Yang style Tai Ji.  He later moved to Seattle, WA where he began his studies of Chen Style Tai Ji and Bagua Zhang under Andrew T. Dale, one of the leading masters of the internal arts in North America.  Under Sifu Dale, Sonny learned the principles that still guide his practice today.
kung fu and tai ji teacher in Visalia
kung fu and tai ji teacher in Visalia
​In 2007 Sonny moved to Beijing, China to continue his practice and concentrate on his training.  Shortly after arriving, he met Master Zhang Wei Dong and Master Liu Zu Guang. Under Master Zhang Wei Dong, Sonny deepened his study into the arts of Baguazhang and Tai Ji, and was introduced to Shuai Jiao (Chinese Wrestling) and the beautiful art of Da Bei Quan. Through Master Zhang Sonny met Liu Zu Guang, a master of Chinese Wrestling, with whom Sonny would study intensely.  Together, Master Liu Zu Guang and Sonny formed the Guang Wu Shuai Jiao Association, which aims to spread the art of Chinese Wrestling internationally.  Overall Sonny spent 8 years living and training in Beijing.  
During his time in Beijing, Sonny became the first foreigner to be awarded a Coach’s Certificate in Shuai Jiao by the Shuai Jiao Coach’s Professional Committee and took part in many tournaments in China and internationally.  Most recently he took 5th place at the 2015 International Championships held in Wenzhou, China.
kung fu and tai ji teacher in Visalia
kung fu and tai ji teacher in Visalia
kung fu and tai ji teacher in Visalia

Sequoia Kung Fu & Yoga | 1911 E. Main St, Visalia, CA Kung Fu & Tai Ji  559-329-4540 | Yoga  559-329-0097

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Yoga
    • Yoga with Maya
    • SMILE Chair Yoga
  • Tai Ji Quan
    • Tai Ji Quan
    • About Tai Ji
  • Kung Fu
    • Sequoia Kung Fu
    • Ba Gua Zhang
  • Memberships
  • Schedule
  • Online Resources
    • Zenplanner Log In
    • On Demand Classes Log In
  • About
    • Sonny & Maya