Researcher, Author, Publisher, and Founder of Tambuli Media
For more than four decades, Mark V. Wiley has dedicated his life to the study, practice, documentation, and preservation of traditional knowledge. His work spans martial arts, internal cultivation, traditional healing systems, meditation, and Asian cultural traditions, with a particular focus on preserving practical wisdom that risks being lost in an increasingly modernized world.
As the founder of Tambuli Media, Wiley’s mission is not merely to collect information, but to help ensure that valuable traditions, practices, and ideas remain accessible to future generations. Through books, articles, interviews, and archival projects, he has sought to bridge the gap between historical knowledge and contemporary practice.
Research and Fieldwork
Wiley’s work has taken him throughout Asia and beyond in search of authentic teachers, living traditions, and practical knowledge. Rather than relying solely on academic study, he has pursued direct apprenticeship, field research, and firsthand experience with practitioners representing diverse martial, medical, and contemplative traditions.
His research has included extensive work within Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese martial arts systems, as well as studies in qigong, meditation, traditional healing practices, and internal cultivation methods. Through interviews, training, travel, and long-term relationships with teachers and practitioners, he has documented both the technical methods and cultural contexts that give these traditions meaning.
This combination of scholarship and direct experience has shaped his lifelong commitment to preserving knowledge in a form that remains practical, accessible, and relevant.
Publishing and Documentation
Over the course of his career, Wiley has authored and edited numerous books and hundreds of articles covering martial arts, health practices, internal cultivation, and Asian cultural traditions. His publications have introduced many readers to traditions that were previously unavailable in English or known only within small communities of practitioners.
His work has appeared in magazines, journals, books, and digital publications, helping to document the teachings of respected masters, healers, and teachers whose knowledge might otherwise have remained inaccessible.
For Wiley, publishing is more than a professional pursuit. It is a form of cultural preservation. Recording oral histories, documenting training methods, preserving technical knowledge, and sharing the insights of experienced practitioners are all part of ensuring that valuable traditions survive beyond a single generation.
The Purpose of Tambuli Media
Tambuli Media emerged from decades of research, training, documentation, and publishing. It was founded to serve as both an archive and a publishing platform dedicated to preserving traditions, practices, and ideas that contribute to human development.
The name “Tambuli” refers to the traditional horn used throughout the Philippines to call people together and communicate across distance. In the same spirit, Tambuli Media seeks to gather, preserve, and transmit knowledge that might otherwise be forgotten.
The site’s content reflects a broad range of interests, including martial arts, health and cultivation practices, traditional healing systems, philosophy, culture, and personal development. While these subjects may appear diverse, they share a common concern: the cultivation of human potential through disciplined practice, lived experience, and the transmission of knowledge.
Areas of Focus
Tambuli Media explores and preserves knowledge related to:
- Martial Arts Traditions
- Internal Cultivation Practices
- Qigong and Meditation
- Traditional Healing Systems
- Asian Culture and Philosophy
- Personal Development and Embodiment
- Publishing and Documentation
- Oral History and Cultural Preservation
Continuing the Work
The traditions preserved within Tambuli Media are not relics of the past. They are living bodies of knowledge that continue to inform how people train, heal, learn, and grow.
Through ongoing research, interviews, publishing projects, and archival efforts, Mark V. Wiley remains committed to documenting these traditions and making them available to practitioners, researchers, and future generations.
Tambuli Media exists in service of that continuing work: preserving knowledge, supporting practice, and encouraging transmission.
Learn More
For information about Mark Wiley’s broader work in personal development, embodiment, and contemplative practice, visit the Inner Life project.