I want to say something about my teacher, whose name I know in English as Patty Li. I've been…read moretaking the Friday taiji class at the Berkeley YMCA for about a month and a half My name is Rick, and I have neuropathy in my hands and feet, but Patty who I met at the Y suggested that I come to the Friday Taiji class. I use a walker for balance, and sometimes need to lean against the wall so I don't just tumble over But Patty invited me and I came. Since I started the class I have noticed a marked improvement in my balance, my strength and my ability to focus my breath and my attention in my body Patty is an incredible teacher, a master of her arts, who has been doing martial arts, since she was a child in Beijing. I didn't know any of this when she invited me to class. Most people when they see me and my walker write me off as being unable to do things, but Patty didn't see any of that, she just saw another human being with a willingness to learn, I think she's incredibly perceptive person. So I started coming to the class and have only missed once in about two months I've been going to the Y every other day for swimming and some weight training, but Friday has become my favorite day I do the taiji class at 10 AM, and then I follow it up with a swim It was very clear to me from the beginning that Patty is an incredibly disciplined person, but what I really love about her, is her grace, and the humor with which she teaches... in other words she makes it really fun. Regardless of different peoples capability in class, she works with each of us so that we can become stronger, more balanced, and more able to practice this beautiful moving meditative art form She is a treasure, and I am blessed to have her as my teacher, and the YMCA is blessed to have her as part of this community 老师，谢谢 Thank you teacher

Are you a parent looking to encourage your kids (especially Chinese-American kids) to start martial…read morearts? Have cash to spare? Great! Are you an adult who learned some wushu as a child, fell out of practice through your teens, and want to pick it back up as an adult? Try a drop-in class for $35, and then see if you want to continue here. In my case, after two classes, I found another school to practice with. I hesitated leaving a poor review because why bother with all these 5 star reviews stacked against me? But I remember why I use Yelp: to consult legit reviews before I spend money on any establishment. Hence, I feel the need to pen this review, especially if there are fellow adults considering wushu here. That one review that says Wushu West takes adults seriously and caters to them too? Maybe that used to be the case, but from my experience, not anymore. Flashback time! My brother and I were wee elementary students enrolled in Wushu West. I remember enjoying the class. For unknown reasons, my parents stopped enrolling us. However, that experience (along with kung fu class in Chinese school) built the foundations of kung fu stances, kicks, and flexibility that I have carried on to this day. My biggest regret was that I never advanced far enough to work with weapons. Fast-forward to present day. I am a young professional who can do pullups & deadlifts. For several years, I kept eyeing Wushu West through the internet, promising myself I'd go back. Stars aligned, and I made my first visit back with a drop-in class. The class was filled with kids younger than me. Where were the adult students that were said to be attending this class too? For a good half hour, Shifu Patti (mind you, I'm only calling her Shifu out of respect) lead the class through warmups, which frankly feel like a huge waste of time, something that should be done before class starts. It's just jogging, jumping jacks, some kicks, and LOTS of stretching and counting in Chinese. I'm here to learn, not to do warmups that I can do by myself. Even when you're doing wushu exercises (various kicks, spins, stances, etc), Shifu doesn't lead them. It's her kid students leading the exercises. They go so fast, I can't keep up with forms and sequences I'm supposed to maintain and follow, so I flounder along while watching with a mix of admiration for the kids, and frustration that I can't keep up nor am I taught properly on how to keep up. Yes, the cool student leader will stop and walk through it with you a few times at most, but then it's on to the next cool move...that I can't keep up with. Meanwhile, Shifu sits on the sidelines. I came back one more time to see if it was an improvement from the first class. The oldest student I saw here was a man, but everyone else was a kid, with the eldest one maybe in high school. My gripes: 1) Shifu does NOT take into consideration my experience and skill level. I am either doing kiddie exercises or floundering with being unable to keep up with advanced moves. 2) My second visit here, I was assisting moving furniture, when my shin slammed into a wooden part of a furniture. It hurt like a MF-er, to the point that I felt the impact down to my shin bone. I had a deep cut on my shin. Although it clotted quickly, it swelled up to a huge bump. Shifu kept repeating, "It's just skin, you'll be fine," when I told her that I could feel the pain in my bone too. Way to be sensitive. 3. Shifu had me sign a release form after I was hurt. Whenever I sign anything, I take a photo of it on my phone so that I can have the form for my records. Shifu Patti gave me attitude and said, "We don't do that here, you don't need this record." I explained I do this whenever I sign a form. She said, "Why do you need a copy of this record? It's no one's business." Excuse me, this is MY BUSINESS. As a customer, it's my absolute right to take a photo of anything I sign for my records. She gave me major attitude. I really could not believe I had to argue for a copy of my records. 4. When I said bye to her (after she had a conversation with a kid's parents and nicely said bye to them), she wouldn't look at me and then barked that I can't pay drop-in prices anymore, I have to commit to a monthly plan if I wanted to continue here. I simply asked her to remind me of pricing, and she just waved me off, snapping, "You already took a photo, isn't that what you took that for?" Bless San T for his Yelp review from 2013, when he said, and I quote: "when it comes to business and money, she is downright horrible. and cheap...the way you run your business is part of the practice.  And you can't ignore a shady businessperson no matter how great of a teacher they are." I wonder how many other people have left with a bad experience, and just don't want to write Yelp reviews. Maybe my parents took me and my brother out of this class because of their experience with Shifu Patti. I'll never know.

Sifu Jason is an amazing instructor, great community, the curriculum is easy to follow but also…read morechallenging. Feels like second family

I've been to a lot of martial arts schools/mma gyms etc, none have been funner and a tighter…read morecommunity than EWWC. The style is fun, the instructors are wonderful, and the friendships will last you a lifetime.

I have been going to this class for about a year and I think its an awesome class! The instructors…read moreare all super cool and patient with the students. I've been doing martial arts for over 7 years now and I've had my share of so called kung fu schools that don't really teach and are all about making money. This is not one of those schools. The monks are incredibly talented and inspire me as a student. Since going to these classes, I've really improved my own martial arts as well as my overall health and fitness. If you've never taken martial arts before or just wanna try, I highly recommend this class... it's a totally friendly atmosphere and everyone is very supportive. oh yeah, love the convenient night and weekend classes since I don't do kung fu to make a living! note: some of the forms we are learning in addition to basic training (kicks, jumps, stances, etc) are: xiaohong quan, dahong quan, tongbei quan, shaolin staff, freestyle wushu.

Life Changing! I met Sheldon about 5 years ago when I was…read moregoing through a very rough patch in my life. I had difficulties coping with traumatic events and I felt completely lost. By pure luck, I stumbled upon his Qigong and Kung Fu classes. With his openness, calmness, warmth, patience, and frankness, he managed to help me see the light at the end of the tunnel. He introduced me to kung fu as a way of living. Sheldon is multi-talented: he's a martial artist, a musician, and a technology-savvy entrepreneur who speaks multiple languages and has travelled the world. His life experience allowed him to build a solid martial arts program capable of expanding people's minds. His class is very approachable, relatable and enjoyable. With his high emotional intelligence, Sheldon taught me how to understand life at a deeper level, he helped me see the world with a better eye, and he helped me find the focus i needed to start really living. It completely changed the way i think, the way i work and the way i live. I will forever be grateful for having had the opportunity to learn from him and encourage anyone who is ready for true transformation to take one of his classes!

After being deeply disappointed with another well-known kung fu school, I whipped out Yelp to see…read morewhat my other local options were. US Shaolin Kung Fu came up, and after emailing them and confirming that they offered a free trial class, I decided to come to a class. With this 1 hour free trial adult class, I'm already WAAAAYYYYYYYYY more impressed than I have been with $70 and 3 hours with the other class. Instantly, I was impressed by Master Danny's teaching style. Very personalized, with great guidance. He takes into account everyone's skills and level, and despite this being my first time, he was impressed with the strength of my legs, the fact that I picked up on kicks and forms quickly. He even noticed the huge bruise on my leg and was sensitive to my needs and wanted me to let him know if I was in pain or if a stance was too painful to maintain. And no, he's not an instructor that coddles students. I'm in awe when I watch him whip these staff-and-sword-wielding men into shape, and he also treats me as an adult and testing me on my forms and gives constructive critique to improve. I felt great at the end of this class. This is the feeling I get every time I get a proper workout, see my trainer, and when I finished that first aerial class: uplifted, motivated, and euphoric. Like I want to do more! I should not be spending my hard-earned money for anything that makes me leave feeling like I need to punch something and run around with a stream of expletives. When Covid is over, and it's safe to do so, I want to come back and train here!

This place is fantastic! My 5 year old kiddo has been coming here for six months now. The Masters…read moreare incredibly patient with the kids. You'd never know that they've probably taught the same moves a thousand times before. They balance pushing kids, discipline and fun, perfectly. There's also a focus on confidence building which I appreciate. My kiddo loves coming mainly because it's fun and he just happens to be learning Kung Fu in the process.

Pease note the school has moved - for more information, contact Sifu LeBlanc at gleblanc888 at…read moregmail dot com.

Direct, efficient, and simple--that is the heart of Wing Chun. It also best describes Greg…read moreLeBlanc (and what I will try to be with this review). It has been my experience with several kung fu systems, that there are a lot of people who claim to teach authentic kung fu, but many, perhaps most, fail. They simply don't have the skills, communication, and authenticity to do so, Greg LeBlanc has all of these. Wing Chun, when done right, is not flashy, but is highly effective and extremely powerful. LeBlanc Wing Chun Kwoon has a very inviting atmosphere, utilizing a "Hong Kong" style of teaching. This allows each individual direct attention, and individualized rate of growth. There are no fancy uniforms, titles, no long contracts, and the facilities are clean and practical. Greg LeBlanc is always open to answering questions, and encourages students to "Make Wing Chun work for you, not for you to work for Wing Chun".

Maybe you'll have a better experience, i hope so. I found…read morethere to be too much yang over powering the space like airsucked out the room

Wudang West cultural heritage center is a community that I have been a part of since about 2012…read more They have provided me with many different resources of knowledge that have allowed me to feel healthier more confident and safer and more comfortable in my own body. The knowledge available through the founder of David Wei and his wife Najia are immense. There are many other people apart of the Community that help make it what it is. Everybody is so receiving and inviting and supportive. Be sure to check out the website www.wudangwest.com

For those interested in an incredible exposure and training from someone who has been training and…read morecoaching in such stylesas Boxing, Jeet Kune Do with an emphasis on what works practically, you'll find no better instruction through this man. Don't let the fact it's run out of his garage fool or disillusioned you in the least. You'll find no better instruction or experience than through Felix Macias Jr. If it's an easy "belt"progression is not what you're looking for, but incredibly (almost unbelievably) experienced, practical instruction is, start here. Be like water.

I have only been a training for 6 months, and have to say. I've been a avid martial arts parctioner…read morefor 47 years and raised. In the bay area, this is the place to learn how to protect your self with all the support and self confidence from the Head Instructor ( Felix Macias Jr.) Great outlook, fun and patient , and the second instrutor Sifu Tom. It's the real thing for street life situations in self defense that you dont get from any of the other schools. It works, and there just producing nothing but pure fighters ....men. and women,,,,come one come all,,,,,you wont be sorry......J.J. Mondays, Wednesday, days or evenings

I wanted to take a Qi Gong class and made several efforts to inquire about instruction. No one ever…read moregot back to me. Very disappointed.

I highly recommend this Shaolin Kung Fu studio. My son started there when he was 5 and now he is…read more17 - a black belt and part-time instructor with Master Yan. I recently told Master Yan's wife, Joanna, that Master Yan helped me become a better father simply by watching his classes. Master Yan is a true master from the Shaolin Temple in China - something that I found out later on my own as Master Yan is very modest. I am so grateful for all Master Yan has done for my son and me. It's amazing that a true master from China teaches here in Alameda. And it's more affordable than any other martial arts place that I have found. Thank you.

I absolutely love Yau Kunk Moon Kung Fu Sport Association and seeing them at events like Chinese…read moreNew Year !!!! There dragons are the absolute BEST ! I can't wait to see them again at another event. I hope to sponsor them for my next event. https://www.kqed.org/news/11976974/crowds-and-dragons-pack-chinatown-for-san-franciscos-chinese-new-year-parade

Yau Kung Moon (YKM) is originally from Hong Kong, but in San Francisco, you can't NOT notice them…read morewhen they are performing on the streets in Chinatown or at the Chinese New Year Parade. YKM sports the Yellow shirt, Yellow pants, red sash and traditional striped red and gold leggings. YKM's students hail from the various family associations around the San Francisco Bay Area. Students learn the Southern Shaolin style martial arts and practice Nam Si Buk Mo lion dance style. I have yet to work with them, but have competed against the YKM students at various martial arts tournaments. Their sportsmanship, friendliness and positive attitude is what attracted me to them. Through mingling at various events, I've made some great friends. YKM is like one of the hidden gems in San Francisco Chinatown along with Leung's White Crane and Hung Sing School.

Traditional Tai Chi taught by the best Shi-Fu. The REAL deal. When done correctly, the impact on…read moreone's health is amazing. It takes at least a year of hard work and frequent practice before you start seeing changes. Now after almost 2 years my back is stronger, my posture much improved, I feel more energetic, and overall feel YEARS younger! The more you put into your practice the more you get out of it. They are very attentive to the students and always thrive to teach the correct form, breathing, posture and movements, no shortcuts. Shi-Fu Wong is truly dedicated to teaching his art and helping all his students improve. Highly recommended.

From the owner: The Tai Chi Mantis Institute provides traditional Chinese Martial Arts instruction for students of…read moreall ages: Tai Chi Chuan and Qi Gong (Internal) as well as Praying Mantis Kung Fu (External). Traditional training principles are employed to deliver a balanced program that includes excellent physical and technically accurate training in movement and technique, as well as training of character traits such as Integrity, Generosity, Self-discipline, Respect and Humility. Training is individualized according to each student's development, capability and level of effort and students are continually assessed to better direct their training program. The Tai Chi Mantis Institute was established in 1974 by Sifu Wong Lam Ling who continues a long lineage of Chinese Martial arts instruction. The School is also a founding member of the US Chuk-Kai Tai Chi Praying Mantis Federation.