I dropped in to train at The Void mid December and had a great experience from start to finish. One…read moreof the ladies training there (the amazing Lex) actually beat me at a jiu jitsu tournament. We hit it off while competing and became friends through that experience, which says a lot about the kind of supportive, women-forward culture that exists at The Void. When I shared that I was looking for a new school, she invited me to come try out. On my first day, Mars (the owner) gave me a full walkthrough of the facility. The school is located inside a larger facility that includes showers, a full workout gym, a sauna, and more. The fact that The Void members have access to all of these amenities honestly blew my mind. All of the perks, along with the schedule and membership details, are clearly laid out on their website. I also really appreciated that there is no contract and that pricing is very affordable, especially for downtown Austin. I tried MMA sparring, jiu jitsu, and kickboxing. Jiu jitsu is primarily no gi, but you can bring a gi if you want. Every coach I interacted with was knowledgeable, respectful, and patient. Any time I had concerns around safety or technique, they listened and offered modifications when needed. As a woman training in combat sports, this made me feel genuinely respected and well taken care of. On the MMA and kickboxing side, it's worth noting that they have heavy bags in house. The kickboxing classes (led by Christian) also had a strong women presence which I loved. There is no uniform requirement for any of the classes, so you have a lot of flexibility with what to wear. I recommend wearing comfortable clothing and bringing gloves and shin pads if it's your first time. They also have a in house videographer and photographer who captures amazing photos and videos. You can check out his work on Instagram at @donpablo.arw !! I live up north in the suburbs about 30 to 40 minutes away so if it were not for the distance, I would have signed up in a heartbeat. I made a lot of friends in the short time I spent at The Void, and that really speaks to the training environment and culture they have built. The location itself is great with plenty of parking. There is cold water available, a vending machine nearby, and very clean bathrooms. Mars was communicative, and since I tried out during a weird time with the holidays, I was especially grateful for their generosity in allowing me to train through the end of the month. The Void also hosts free community events, such as the upcoming Couple's Self Defense Date Night. All of their information can be found on their website or Instagram at @thevoidmartialarts. I highly recommend The Void to anyone interested in jiu jitsu or MMA in the downtown Austin area!

The coat is excellent and well knowledge the gym is perfect size and the existing team is welcoming…read moreand friendly, and very open and welcoming to share knowledge and teach.

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

Teresa is the real deal! She is extremely knowledgeable about fitness and nutrition. She can give…read moreyou the tools you need to meet and exceed your goals! Thanks Teresa you changed my life!

I have known Teresa for over 13 years and have had the pleasure of training with her in numerous…read moreathletic fields, such as gymnastics, ballet, dance, wushu, tai chi just to name a few. Her athletic background is extensive to say the least and her knowledge is sincere and of deep, good quality. This lady is a lot of fun to train with and I would recommend her to anyone, since she is very good at working with people of different age groups and physical abilities. She really knows her craft, so if you want someone who will give you exactly what you're looking for without any gimmicks or false advertisement, Teresa is the way to go!

You all have been patient Grasshoppers, and I've been dubbed Duchess of this Dojo, so it seems a…read morereview is finally in order. Contrary to popular belief, Asians are not born with a camera around their necks, nor are they born natural Ninjas. However, my Asian child was once mocked by an antagonistic condescending fake-o karate chop from boy with a rattail who's parents clearly hadn't exposed their son to the big wide world of diversity. Other than secretly wanting to take a pair of scissors or a machete to that mullet, I pondered how funny it would have been if my kid had been able to turn around and wax on wax off that brat's face. Turns out that route would have been completely out of character for my mild mannered kiddos, so it wasn't until years later that I would revisit the idea of martial arts lessons. I don't know if it was the resurgence of nostalgic music ("Everybody was Kung Fu fighting...fast as lightening"), the new Jackie Chan movie, or the desire to reform our broken Asian image after William Hung butchered it with his horrendous karaoke singing of "I Believe I Can Fly", but suddenly my youngest daughter was bound and determined to become a black belt ASAP. It eventually became the popular thing to do at her school so she looked at it as extended playtime since her friends were going to lessons too. After she had been going for about a year, my son decided to join. And because it's free for the rest of the family after the first two paid tuition's, I joined. But I'm getting ahead of myself. As it turns out, students have to start with the basics. Real basics. Like, how to tie the belt. Little kids have the toughest time learning because of the dexterity required, middle kids catch on quickly, and the older kids like me simply have to practice. I'm happier about practicing tying a belt more so than I am about wearing those gangsta pants that have the crotch hanging down to my knees. I know it's all about having the freedom of movement to kick well, but that fact doesn't lessen the feeling that I'm wearing an ill fitting adult diaper that has reached its capacity despite the saturated capacity silicone gel beads inside it. Other than that, I feel pretty bad ass after class when I'm wearing the uniform and running errands. Yah, you *better* give me my grande 2 pump mocha, 1 pump peppermint, nonfat, extra hot, no foam, no whip coffee, or else! oh, ok, no peppermint today? That's okay, I didn't want it anyway, thanks. Along with learning how to dress, students learn a dose of humility and respect. Bow upon entering and exiting the dojo. Address senior belts by "Sir" and "Ma'am" and refer to them as Mr./Miss. Imagine the fun my kids have when I am required to address them as such during class. Every kid's dream right there. But class has to end sometime, Mister, and then you are *mine.* Yes, classes are a bit mixed. Youngest children are in a class of their own, then preteens and teens are in Jr class, until aged 13 or adult sized at which point the kids join the adult class. The dojo here is covered completely with pads, likely to make it easier to clean up the blood, j/k. Be careful, though, because the mats can cause stubbed toes and it hurts. The mats are cleaned religiously so no need to worry about nasty nasties getting on your bare feet. In fact, if your feet look dirty, you will be asked to wipe them with baby wipes available. I'll even take it a step farther and tell you to shower before you come if you're the type that sweats throughout your day before getting to class. There's nothing nastier than having a sweaty arm putting you in a headlock and sharing the excess bodily fluid ewwwww I take this class because it stretches my horizons, both physically and mentally. I'm in reasonably good shape, but I do believe the ravages of time are beginning to make some of those synapses quit firing and become duds. The concentration it takes to learn a new "form," or kata, is challenging, but after I've mastered it, there is a sense of having staved off one more week of Alzheimer's should that be in my future :( Speaking of looking at future benefits, this sport requires developing a great sense of balance...something that will stave off hip injuries in the elderly, which I am closer to being than I'd like to acknowledge. I plan to emulate Yoda and bounce off the ceiling and walls when I'm 70 and I don't want to be breaking a hip! If torturing yourself for the sake of self improvement doesn't appeal to you, then you can get your Michael Jackson (RIP) on and watch the kiddos from the waiting area. Other than you as the creeper, this is a family friendly environment. The instructors and students are like one extended family....feel the love. Alternatively, if you are a mullet stylin bully, be prepared to meet a Texas sized can of Whoop Ass the next time you pick on my little yella fella!

Westlake TKD is amazing, and the owners Tim and Glenda McCulloch, along with their 3 sons, are a…read moresuper sweet taekwondo family who truly care about all of their students. My older daughter has been attending for 5 1/2 years, and my younger daughter for 3 1/2. If your child (or you!) is interested in doing taekwondo, Westlake TKD is the place to be.

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.