After prepaying for a month, I walked away after two weeks. While I definitely need the exercise…read moreand I love Tai Chi with a passion, this school consists of one unacceptable teacher and his followers. He has very anti-American views and doesn't hesitate to say China or Chinese people are superior. That by itself wouldn't have driven me off as quickly as the rest of his behavior. He uses typical personality cult techniques of pitting students against each other, alternating praise and humiliation, etc. He railed against me personally, even attacking my balance which is poor due to a car accident, for ten minutes for asking one very appropriate simple question during his designated Q&A time when I was trying to learn a move. I was frankly stunned and waited until I got away from the situation to think through what had happened. I stepped back and looked at my experience in his classes as if I was an observer and realized what was happening. He claims to have the secret to longevity (Chinese alchemy approach) that he will share with a select few. Everybody else is a fraud according to him; he is the only true source of this occult knowledge. In the classes that I attended, he attacked Yoga, other Tai Chi instructors, former students, other forms of Tai Chi, America, etc. The only "good" according to his own statements is himself and those that follow him. He even talked about specific martial artists that he was sure he could beat up -- never had a tai chi instructor do that! Stay away from this school. There are way too many decent people and choices in the Tai Chi community to subject yourself to abusive behavior. Before coming to Austin, I have had the privilege of having world class teachers including the man who was the head of the Yang tradition at that time.

I have been a student of Jingyu Gu's for over 11 years. Previously, I studied Yang and Chen styles…read moreof tai chi in New Orleans, and prior to that, White Crane Kung Fu. What impressed me from the beginning was Dr Gu's emphasis on precision. He is careful to explain that you should not exceed your body's capabilities, but that you should do the form as precisely as possible within those capabilities. He doesn't talk much about philosophy or energy; he says that you must learn the form first, and that can take decades. Not just learning the moves, but training the body and the mind to unite and execute the form smoothly with perfect concentration. You are learning a comprehensive method of movement that is radically different from what most of us have learned previously. It is also incredibly efficient, especially when you learn to relax simultaneously. All this takes diligence, patience and time. While at times Dr Gu makes claims that seem incredible, I have experienced incredible changes in my physiology and psychology in the years I have studied with him. My body is more able to withstand extreme heat and cold, although not as well as Dr. Gu. I no longer experience intrusive thoughts or mood swings and can enjoy seated meditation, which has always been a challenge for me. And I have seen Dr Gu grapple with a man half his age for 30 minutes (informally) and stay relaxed and polite the entire time, while his challenger was exhausted by the end. Having been diagnosed at high risk for a heart attack, I perform cardiac stress tests annually on a treadmill. These are very intense cardio exercise sessions. I do not regularly perform cardio exercise, yet I regularly "pass" my tests with more than average scores for someone my age. This gives credibility to Dr Gu's claim that tai ji practice is as good or superior to cardio workouts. I happily tell new students that Dr Gu is the kind of teacher I never thought I would find--someone who truly understands the Tao and its application in tai ji chuan. The classes are very affordable, and if you are truly interested in learning and attend regularly, you may experience similar benefits.

I have been a student of Margie's for many years and she has taught me so much about Tai Chi. When…read moreI came to my first class with her, I knew nothing about Tai Chi except what I had read. Her experience teaching many students over the years has been invaluable to my tai chi progression. She has been taken me from a complete beginner to being able to practice several different forms on my own at home. I am very appreciative of her guidance and highly recommend anyone interested in Tai Chi to give her a try!

I have been studying tai chi with margie for about 6 yrs. If you have an interest in learning tai…read morechi, I highly recommend her. She has a way of breaking down the movements into concrete concepts and always emphasizes the need to have fun while learning. Her classes have changed my life.

A welcoming and friendly environment. Inclusive to beginners & advanced levels. Kids & adults.read more

I am constantly blown away at the community that has developed at Shaolin Do of Austin! The Masters…read morehave gone out of their way to provide a wide array of online classes so that we can all continue to learn our Kung Fu and Tai Chi, and I know that they have more in the works. If you are looking for a place to learn martial arts, get in shape, or just meet some amazing people then this is the spot for you!

I've been here 11 months, and I have to say that my experience at AFKA has been life changing. As…read morea girl, there's nothing more empowering than being able to spar and ground-fight with the guys. I never had upper body strength, and now when I fly on planes, I have little trouble lifting my 40 lb bag into the overhead bin. I feel safer when walking alone. I know self-defense skills, and I have the strength to back it up. I was upset by reading Lauren's review, and I recall the day she tried our class. I'm not going to go on a tl;dr tirade, but basically, martial arts is not for everyone. It's a contact sport, and the conditioning for your body is different than other sports. Yes we do sit-ups. Yes we do light contact sparring. Yes we do groundfighting, and you may just groundfight someone twice your size! We are very combat focused. If you can't handle lots of abwork, then try one of the many other fitness options offered in Austin. Each of our instructors have years of experience in various martial arts. I have complete faith in them. They are in tune with what is correct and proper technique. Training goes nowhere if you are injured. However, I stress that martial arts training is different from other sports you may have tried.

I've been taking tai chi classes at Austin Kung-fu Academy for a year. Santanu Rahman is an…read moreinstructor with infinite patience, brilliant teaching strategies, and good humor. Santanu challenges and supports all students' growing abilities and always has a new idea for teaching that is individualized to each class and to each student. Santanu is a master of the martial arts and he is also a master of communicating steps to growing your own practice. In addition to regular class times, Santanu holds "office hours" to help students individually. Santanu is one of the best teachers of any subject I've experienced, and I've experienced a lot of teaching in pursuit of my doctoral degree. In classes for students new to tai chi, Santanu strips the tai chi moves from the overall form to give you a good gentle work out. After students are comfortable with the individual moves, Santanu puts the separate elements together into the first third of the Yang 37 form. Once students master the first part of the form, the workout beginers' class splits into an advanced class that learns the whole form. As the advanced class learns the final moves of the Yang 37 form, Santanu introduces individual elements using a broadsword and gradually unites those moves into the broadsword form. Finally, Santanu has created a series of videos that work with his teaching. If you look at a commercial tai chi video the instructor always faces you. When you try to move with the video instructor you have to move in the reverse direction to get into the correct positions. This mental reversal is confusing for beginners. To address this problem in Santanu's videos he is facing away from the student and looking toward a mirror. In this composition the student watching the video is in the right alignment with the teacher and can see both his front and back. Pros: Brilliant teacher who provides individual extra teaching and videos for outside practice. Cons: None

My son has been going there for a month now and really enjoys it. The instructors are nice,…read moreencouraging and really take the time to answer. Any questions you have about the program and go above and beyond and making sure that your child learns and what they need to know to become a great martial artist. I highly recommend checking in this place out if your child is interested in learning kung fu

Birthday Party Review…read more So much fun! So easy for parents! Wonderful teachers and volunteers! I can't say enough good things about Master Gohring and his team! My son and his friends had so much fun!! We'll be back for classes. Thank you, Rebekah, for taking such good care of us!

I was advised to look into Tai Chi after a serious hip injury and was lucky enough to find Four…read moreSeasons. Seven years later, it is part of my life. Jim Williams is exceedingly patient, knowledgeable and dedicated.