About us

Our main focus is personal attention and since 2006 the Center has been serving the Bronx community offering instruction and training in martial arts and self healing. Deep caring and individual learning help our students to attain goals not only in martial arts, but in any other endeavor they wish to pursue. We strive towards quality work and results. We help develop positive mental attitudes, by removing obstacles that get in the way of your martial arts training, fitness and personal goals. Instead of teaching empty moves without meaning, we teach martial arts from a mental point of view allowing the student to learn and understand faster. We use sport psychology techniques, NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) a science that teaches how to use the mind and meditation to maximize results from your training. We also teach a mixture of eastern and western philosophies to help our students cope with the ups and downs of life. If you are looking for a place to workout, you can go to your neighborhood gym, but if you are looking for a life changing experience then The YinYang Martial Arts and Healing Self Center is your destination.

The YinYang Martial Arts & Self Healing Center mission statement is to guide, assist and inspire students/clients in the awakening of their inner self using martial arts as a tool of self discovery. Our purpose is to create unique, individual self expression, self knowledge, wholeness and wellness. The Yin-Yang Self Center is dedicated to better humanity by improving the individual.

Our school is conveniently located from major highways and mass transit. You can take the #12 bus to Williams Bridge Road or the # 5 train to the last stop, Pelham Parkway Station.
Our address is: 2301 Yates Avenue
Bronx, New York 10469
(Actual image of Map location)

For more information, please visit our website: www.theyinyangselfcenter.com or call 347-386-6803 to set up your appointment today.

About the Art

We teach a rare form of traditional Tae Kwon Do that few schools teach called Moo DuK kwan. If you have 2 hands and 2 feet you can learn Tae Kwon Do, you don’t need to be flexible, young or in shape to reap the benefits of our sessions. You will learn these skills gradually in class. Students learn the do’s and don’ts of effective kicking for both street self defense and tournaments. If you’ve never seen a good kicker before then come and check out one of our classes and you will be impressed!

As a compliment to Tae Kwon Do we also added western boxing and Chi Gung. Boxing allows the student to defend himself when kicking is not possible. It builds up upper body strength and stamina. It’s one of the best known workouts out there. Chi Gung is a Chinese martial art that helps you increase your level of internal energy, improves endurance, relieves stress and increases tendon strength. It is beneficial to have strong tendons in martial arts, it means less injuries. Most of the movements of martial arts stress ligaments and tendons.

So our program consists of three disciplines in one: Tae Kwon Do, Boxing and Chi Gung. In this program you earn your black belt in Tae Kwon Do solely and the other two arts are complimentary. That’s why children and adults are welcome to The Center because they will benefit from all of the 3 trainings.

This is our martial arts tree:

1963 - Master Joseph Hayes began his training in Tae Kwon Do under grand master Richard Chun.
1965 - Master Hayes became a first degree black belt and started his own club.
1965 - Master Sonny Mahaibegan Tae Kwon Do training under Master Joseph Hayes.
1969 - Master Sonny Mahai attained a first degree black belt and with master Hayes's permission he started his own club (Mahai's Tae Kwon Do)
1982 Master Mahai became self defense instructor for NY's Law Enforcement and is presently a law enforcement officer for NY's O.M.H police.
1990 - Master Mahai attained the rank of master (5th degree black belt) under Grand Master Richard Chun.
1991 - Master Mahai left grand master Richard Chun and started training under grand master Won Bai (Pan am Tae Kwon Do Federation). Master Mahai was retested by grand master Bai and passed his test attaining the rank of master.
1991 - I began training under Master Sonny Mahai.
1996 - I achieved first degree black belt.
1997 - Master Sonny Mahai met Jho-Kyo-nim Pablo Quiñones and became business partners and opened Q&M Martial Arts Academy.
2000 - Master Mahai attained the rank of 6th degree black belt.
2001 - Master Sonny Mahai was inducted into the Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Fame.
2001 - I tested for second degree black and passed.
2002 - 2006 Master Mahai was inducted into the Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Fame.
2005 - 2006 - Master Mahai was inducted into the USA Hall of Fame.
2006 - I founded the Yin-Yang Self Center and still train with Master Mahai.

Please visit this link to see history being made, http://www.lacancha.com/hayeshof.html

Instructors

I was destined to be part of the martial arts world. As a kid growing up in rural Dominican Republic, I used to listen to this Radio Soap Opera of a hero named Kaliman. This hero wasn’t like Superman or Spiderman, he was an ordinary man, however, he possessed amazing mental abilities like hypnosis, telepathy and he knew the amazing martial arts! My fascination with the arts began there. At the time, we used to live in the country side and in my desire to learn martial arts I remember playing around with this kid who was taking Karate with an instructor from the city. I was eager to learn at all cost and approached him. I got into something that looked like a stance to show him that I knew Karate as well and he kicked me right in the face! That was experience number two. My third experience was when we moved to New York from the Dominican Republic. I was shy, didn’t have any street smarts and had zero self confidence. By the time I entered high school I used to be bullied around almost everyday. It got so bad that I used to be afraid of going to school. To make a long story short, things escalated and I got mugged! It was then and there that I decided to take martial arts and began taking lessons at the local community center with Master Sonny Mahai. During my years of basic training, I learned a lot about myself and the importance of knowing oneself. I was the one inviting those bullies to harass me because I didn’t have the self confidence to stand up for myself back then. I didn’t know the inner strength that lies in one’s spirit and thanks to Tae Kwon Do training I woke up to realize what the human spirit is made of. All of this training transferred into my daily life and any time I felt I couldn’t accomplish something, I would think back to my training and achieving my black belt. It was due to these experiences that I sought out martial arts and founded The YinYang Self Center, to teach others the greatness that can emerge from inside them.

Mr. Lopez has 18 years experience in the martial arts, but he believes that doesn’t count if there is not any kind of spiritual awareness. Accumulation of knowledge is not real learning, learning occurs when the student internalizes learning. He has a vast background of eastern and western philosophy, and is highly trained in different types of Yoga and NLP. He has knowledge of Chi Gung and is currently finishing his college degree at Lehman College in the Bronx.

Facility

Safety is one of our main priorities so our school is set up with thick mats and safety equipment. The school is always clean and eating is not allowed inside the building. We have traditional heavy bags for boxing and the long bag for kickboxing. The store front is along Yates Avenue. It is easily accessible from Mass transit and major highways like I95, Hutchinson River Parkway and FDR.