Jesse Harding is a 7th Degree Black Belt, Master of Medical Qigong, and Director of Villari’s Martial Arts of Middletown, where he has served as Director since 2003 and as Chief Instructor from 2003–2023. He has devoted his life to the study, practice, and teaching of the martial, meditative, and healing arts, integrating Shaolin Kempo Karate, Tai Chi, Qigong, with meditation, Taoist philosophy, modern psychology, and holistic wellness.

Jesse began his martial arts journey in 1984, inspired by the original Karate Kid film.  His formal study of Tai Chi and Qigong began in 1994, marking the start of a lifelong immersion in the internal arts. He earned his first Tai Chi–Qigong Instructor certification in 1996 and has been teaching weekly Tai Chi and Qigong classes continuously since 1997. Over the past 25+ years, Jesse has taught an average of five Tai Chi–Qigong classes per week, totaling over 8,000 classes, and has devoted thousands of hours to personal training, practice, and study in the meditative arts of Tai Chi, Qigong, and Taoist Yoga. His teaching emphasizes these arts as accessible, practical, and transformative practices that cultivate vitality, emotional balance, resilience, and clarity—integrating mind, body, and spirit into a unified whole.

Jesse currently teaches Qigong courses at
Aquidneck Island Chiropractic
📍 1272 W. Main Road, The Green, Building 2, Middletown, RI 02842
🗓 Wednesdays, 5:00–6:15 PM

These classes focus on cultivating health, vitality, emotional regulation, stress reduction, and long-term well-being through traditional Medical Qigong practices adapted for modern life.