Tri Thong Dang was born in Vietnam and studied under the revered Grand Master Chiu Chuk-Kai, eighth-generation master of the Chinese Tai-Mantis system. A teacher of martial arts for over 30 years, he was a practitioner of Pa-kua Chang, Hsing-i Chuan, Qigong and Yang style Chi Chuan. Master Tri was the author of the bestselling novel Beyond the Known and was the founder and director of the Budo Educational Center in Sacramento, California.