Damo Mitchell’s training spans several decades and encompasses a broad range of traditional Chinese internal arts, studied through both public systems and closed-door lineages. His early exposure to Qi Gong, Taijiquan and internal training came through his father and uncle, Paul Mitchell and Phil James, before expanding into deeper study with senior teachers across Europe, China and Southeast Asia. Among the earliest formative influences were Shen Hongxun and members of the Shen family, whose work in internal force development, spontaneous movement and energetic regulation provided a foundational basis for his practice.

As his training progressed, Damo travelled extensively throughout Asia to study Daoist and martial traditions at source. His Nei Gong and internal alchemy training developed under several senior Chinese teachers, including Hu Xuezhi, Hao Nanren and Tan Yichen. The most significant long-term influence in this area was Wang Haitao, who became his primary mentor for many years and under whom he undertook in-depth study of Daoist internal cultivation, Cheng-style Baguazhang and Hebei Xingyiquan. Alongside these publicly acknowledged teachers, Damo has also studied with two private Nei Gong instructors who remain anonymous in accordance with the traditions of closed transmission.

His Taijiquan training includes a range of Yang-style and internally focused systems. Early study encompassed the Zheng Manqing lineage and Southern Yang family traditions encountered through the Shen family. Further development came through Huang Xingxian–influenced methods and Zhaolin Taiji. Damo also studied Hunyuan Taijiquan through Master Ni Yuanhai and teachers connected to Feng Zhiqiang’s system, including Qi Zhaoling and Chen Xiu, as well as Long Men Pai Taiji under Master Guan, integrating Taijiquan practice with Daoist lineage training.

Damo’s Baguazhang training centres primarily on Cheng-style Bagua, studied in depth under Wang Haitao, alongside earlier experiential learning with teachers encountered in Beijing parks and other locations throughout China and Southeast Asia. He also received exposure to Gao-style Baguazhang through teachers in Taiwan, informing his understanding of the relationships between Bagua branches and their shared internal foundations. His Xingyiquan training focuses on Hebei Xingyi, primarily transmitted through Wang Haitao and Hao Nanren, and is approached as an expression of the same internal mechanics developed through Nei Gong.

In addition to martial and energetic training, Damo was formally initiated into the Chan and Long Men Pai lineages, receiving instruction in internal cultivation, meditation and classical Daoist theory. He has also undertaken esoteric Buddhist and Chan-based practices, contributing to his understanding of mind training, stillness and internal transformation.

All of these teachers, systems and lineages are unified within Damo’s teaching through a consistent emphasis on internal mechanics, energetic development and classical Daoist principles. The Lotus Nei Gong syllabus reflects this integrated approach, presenting the internal arts as interconnected expressions of a single body of traditional knowledge.

Alongside his Chinese internal and external training, Damo has studied Japanese martial arts in the UK and abroad, including Shotokan Karate, Kendo, Iado and Aikido. He has also trained in Western boxing and wrestling, as well as various methods of Western body-movement exercise. His Chinese external Gong Fu study includes Northern Shaolin Long Fist, Wing Chun and other external Wushu systems.