Quan Yin Kung Fu Owner Is a Teacher and a Fighter

By day, Tony Horton is a scientist. By night, he is a kung fu master.

Horton owns and operates , and also works as a lead test engineer at Jet Propulsion Laboratories, where he tests unmanned spacecraft radio.

Horton says that the martial art he teaches at Quan Yin Kung Fu is not a sport, but a powerful form of self-defense. Kung fu san soo is a fighting art, and there can be real consequences when skilled martial artists apply the techniques in a fight, Horton said.

“The human body has to respond to stimulus,” he said. “You’re moving faster than the normal person. Not because you’re Superman, but because you’ve trained yourself to do so.” 

The techniques include strikes, kicks, blocks and punches. Horton said that their power is based on a combination of factors, such as the fighter’s position, leverage, speed and accuracy. 

“You want to take the physics, and you want to apply it,” said Horton, who also holds degrees in physics and mathematics from the University of LaVerne.

Since this summer, Horton has also relied on the principles of kung fu to help him face his biggest challenge yet—battling cancer.

“I’m going to be fighting that just like I fight anything else. My students would go, ‘Isn’t he a fighter?’ That’s just another adversary,” he said. 

“It’s a worthy adversary,” he added. “You have to continue to attack it day by day. The medication alone is enough to bring you down.”

Horton also described the fighting art as “a function of yin and yang,” and said that it can be applied in both softer (yin) and harder (yang) aspects. He said that it can even be applied to those little day-to-day things that threaten to through you off kilter.

“You want to blend the techniques into application. Not just in your fighting mode but in your life,” he said.

Horton’s students call him “Sifu,” a Chinese term which is comparable to “Sensei,” and means master instructor. He said that one of the greatest rewards of teaching is noticing his students’ progress. He often sees a change in their demeanor after about six months of training.

“Their shoulders are back, their heads are up, and you can start to see the growth of internal self-esteem,” he said.  “That is very rewarding for me. It helps me feel like I’m doing something really good for the community.”

He counts his instructor Bill Lasiter, who he met in 1972, as a major influence. His colleague, Master Ron Sia, has been another great influence. He also expressed great admiration for the abilities of his business partner, Tai Chi instructor and Kung Fu black belt , who also teaches at the studio.

“She’s a high quality individual. She was the first person I promoted to master,” he said.

Although working both jobs can be taxing, Horton said that the effort is a labor of love. He said he really enjoys the physical fitness aspect of martial arts, but his greatest satisfaction comes from teaching.

“My favorite thing about teaching is seeing the results in the students. I love to see them acquiring better skills,” he said.  “That’s the joy of it all.”