# Looking for Kung fu in the Federal Way/Kent, Washington area.



## shadowfox (Jan 23, 2014)

Hi everyone,

I just recently moved to Washington state from Colorado and am looking for a new kung fu school to join. I did Shaolinquan when I was in Denver and really enjoyed it and wanted to continue training out here. I have surfed the internet and found out that I really am not sure what to look for here. I have done a little bit of Hungar and some Wing Chun (not really my style as i have long limbs and am kind of lanky). I'm mostly looking around the Kent/Federal Way area but I'm willing to drive to Tacoma for a good teacher. I am avoiding Seattle because traffic is a nightmare and i would never be able to make the classes without painful adjustments at work. I'm open to different styles (e.g. Choy Lay Fut, Baguazhang, etc.) If anybody can help I would greatly appreciate it. I have found one school nearby but I am wary since the teacher calls himself Grand Master and I may be a little cynical about that title here in the states.

http://www.chinataichikungfu.com/grand-master.html


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## Blindside (Jan 23, 2014)

You might try calling the Seattle Kung Fu Club (under Sifu John Leung) and ask them if they know of anyone in the area.  They have a great rep and should know all the players.


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## clfsean (Jan 24, 2014)

Mak Hin Fai for Choy Lay Fut


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## Xue Sheng (Jan 24, 2014)

I know nothing about these but both say Shaolin, but that does not actuually mean they are. You would need to go look for yourself

Chuan Tao Kung Fu
http://www.chuantaokungfu.com/#
http://www.chuantaokungfu.com/about-us/
231 Main Ave S
Renton, WA 98057

And 

JunHong's Kung Fu Club
http://junhongkungfu.com/
http://junhongkungfu.com/about-us/
5004 Genessee St. 
Seattle, WA 98118

And you can check here  and here for styles like Bagua, Xingyi and Taiji

But I am not sure how up to date the list is


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## shadowfox (Jan 24, 2014)

Thanks everyone. I had heard of Sifu Leung and the great reputation his school has. If I had my choice I would train under him. If only his school wasnt so far away from me i would jump at the chance. I will try and contact his school though to get their perspective.

I had also looked into Mak Hin Fai. He may be a choice that is a little closer for me and will check him out.

As for Chuan Tao my old sifu did not recommend. I wont say why as I don't want to bash him. He just didn't recommend him. I had not heard of Jun Hong looking at his website though I'm not enthused by the programs he offers as they seem mostly geared towards kids aside for the advanced sparring class. Thank you for the bagua lists though i will certainly look into it.

Thanks again every body. If any other recommendations pop by please let me know.


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## Flying Crane (Jan 25, 2014)

shadowfox said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I just recently moved to Washington state from Colorado and am looking for a new kung fu school to join. I did Shaolinquan when I was in Denver and really enjoyed it and wanted to continue training out here. I have surfed the internet and found out that I really am not sure what to look for here. I have done a little bit of Hungar and some Wing Chun (not really my style as i have long limbs and am kind of lanky). I'm mostly looking around the Kent/Federal Way area but I'm willing to drive to Tacoma for a good teacher. I am avoiding Seattle because traffic is a nightmare and i would never be able to make the classes without painful adjustments at work. I'm open to different styles (e.g. Choy Lay Fut, Baguazhang, etc.) If anybody can help I would greatly appreciate it. I have found one school nearby but I am wary since the teacher calls himself Grand Master and I may be a little cynical about that title here in the states.
> 
> http://www.chinataichikungfu.com/grand-master.html




From the website:  Grand Master Zhu Bi-Sheng (&#26417;&#30887;&#29983 was born in 1949 and has been studying martial arts since he was 6 years old.  He started in Guangzhou, China (Canton) Martial Arts School under Master Ng Siu Chun (&#21555;&#23569;&#27849;) .  Ng Siu Chun's master is legendary grandmaster Lam Sai Wing (&#26519;&#19990;&#27054. 

I don't read the Chinese characters, so I guess it's possible that there is a similar name that might actually be a different person from who I am talking about, but Ng Siu Chung was the man who established the Tibetan White Crane system as a separate and distinct lineage from Hop Gar.  I have never heard that he studied under Lam Sai Wing, which would imply that he trained in Hung Gar.  Stating the lineage in this way implies that what Sifu Zhu learned from him is Hung Gar.  Mr. Zhu's website doesn't seem to say what exactly it is that he teaches (unless I missed it somewhere).  While I've seen mention that Sifu Ng studied some Hung style martial arts when he was young, I've never heard that he propagated nor taught it.  He was the White Crane founder, and that is what he taught.

I do not know when Sifu Ng passed away, but I'm guessing it was in the 1950s or 1960s, so I guess it's possible that Mr. Zhu may have studied with him when he was young.  But this presentation on his website is something I am simply finding strange.  I've emailed the website link to my sifu and asked for his comments.  I'll let you know what I find out.


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## Flying Crane (Jan 25, 2014)

shadowfox said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> .
> 
> http://www.chinataichikungfu.com/grand-master.html



i just looked thru some of the video clips on his website, it looks to me like he's teaching mostly Modern Wushu.  not my cup of tea.


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## shadowfox (Jan 25, 2014)

I hadn't noticed they had updated their videos page. Their flyers say they teach Hung Gar and Longfist as the Kung Fu portions of their curriculum. However after looking at the black belt testing videos it doesnt look like any of those styles. They also remind me of the Wushu that they taught in my old school in Colorado. Also not my cup of tea. Back to looking for a school i guess.


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## Flying Crane (Jan 25, 2014)

shadowfox said:


> I hadn't noticed they had updated their videos page. Their flyers say they teach Hung Gar and Longfist as the Kung Fu portions of their curriculum. However after looking at the black belt testing videos it doesnt look like any of those styles. They also remind me of the Wushu that they taught in my old school in Colorado. Also not my cup of tea. Back to looking for a school i guess.




ayup, I saw some things that looked like Hung Gar-inspired modern wushu.  But that ain't hung gar.

I saw some other stuff that looked like the generic wushu stuff that is seen all over the place.  My first sifu was a coach of modern wushu, among other things, so I saw plenty of that stuff over the years.  I can hardly stand to watch it anymore, even for pure entertainment.


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## Flying Crane (Jan 25, 2014)

Flying Crane said:


> From the website:  Grand Master Zhu Bi-Sheng (&#26417;&#30887;&#29983 was born in 1949 and has been studying martial arts since he was 6 years old.  He started in Guangzhou, China (Canton) Martial Arts School under Master Ng Siu Chun (&#21555;&#23569;&#27849;) .  Ng Siu Chun's master is legendary grandmaster Lam Sai Wing (&#26519;&#19990;&#27054.
> 
> I don't read the Chinese characters, so I guess it's possible that there is a similar name that might actually be a different person from who I am talking about, but Ng Siu Chung was the man who established the Tibetan White Crane system as a separate and distinct lineage from Hop Gar.  I have never heard that he studied under Lam Sai Wing, which would imply that he trained in Hung Gar.  Stating the lineage in this way implies that what Sifu Zhu learned from him is Hung Gar.  Mr. Zhu's website doesn't seem to say what exactly it is that he teaches (unless I missed it somewhere).  While I've seen mention that Sifu Ng studied some Hung style martial arts when he was young, I've never heard that he propagated nor taught it.  He was the White Crane founder, and that is what he taught.
> 
> I do not know when Sifu Ng passed away, but I'm guessing it was in the 1950s or 1960s, so I guess it's possible that Mr. Zhu may have studied with him when he was young.  But this presentation on his website is something I am simply finding strange.  I've emailed the website link to my sifu and asked for his comments.  I'll let you know what I find out.



OK, I just heard back from my Sifu.  These are two different people:  Ng Siu Chung, White Crane Founder.  Ng Siu Chun, student of Lam Sai Wing.  Similar sounding name, different people.

I did compare the Chinese character for the names and they are different.  But since I can't actually read them, I wanted to check with him.


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## blindsage (Jan 27, 2014)

Ok, so I'll give you my 2 cents from a kung fu person in Seattle.  You can always come check out my sifu:  http://www.wuji.us.com/, mostly Taiji and Bagua.  And I can recommend some other internal teachers.


shadowfox said:


> http://www.chinataichikungfu.com/grand-master.html


I didn't know he was there, but he blatantly looks like straight Wushu.

Seattle Kung Fu Club- John Leong
A mixed bag.  There's real stuff there, but good luck getting to it, and he's in Seattle.

Mak Fai-
I've been to his school once and things looked good.  He's got a very good reputation.  Also in Seattle.

http://www.chuantaokungfu.com/#
I remember researching these guys before and there were some red flags, but I don't remember what they were anymore.

http://junhongkungfu.com/
Never heard of them, but they look like Wushu and probably Sanda.


I found this Hung Gar school in Tacoma- http://www.davidfogg.com/Welcome.html

I think this guy teaches Gao Bagua in the Tacoma area, but I only have his blog, so you'd probably have to message him to find out more- http://warriorfox.blogspot.com/


As for Seattle proper:

There is definitely a lot of Wing Chun in the Seattle area and I can recommend a few if you're interested.

This is Hung Gar, it may be John Leong's son but I'm not sure- http://www.nwkungfuandfitness.com/

These guys do Eagle Claw, but I'm not sure how performance oriented they are- http://www.bakshaolineagleclaw.com/seattle/info/

This guy teaches Northern Praying Mantis and some internal stuff and is a student of Tim Cartmell, but to train those styles directly I believe you have to do private lessons- http://www.threeharmonies.com/

These guys are in Redmond and say they teach Shaolin, Hung Gar and Taiji.  I know nothing about them- http://redmondkungfu.com/

I'm sure there a couple I'm forgetting, but that covers most of it.  Let me know if I can help any further.


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## ST1Doppelganger (May 10, 2014)

blindsage said:


> Ok, so I'll give you my 2 cents from a kung fu person in Seattle.  You can always come check out my sifu:  http://www.wuji.us.com/, mostly Taiji and Bagua.  And I can recommend some other internal teachers.



Yep if I lived in western WA Andy Dale would be one of my choices to train under. I acquired his schools bagua training videos thru ebay a while back and like what I saw but haven't been able to focus on them since I've been concentrating on my Tom Bisio Bagua DVDs at the moment. 

Too bad Im in the tri cities portion of WA. 


Strive To Be A Martial Artist & Not A Jock Artist.


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## blindsage (May 10, 2014)

ST1Doppelganger said:


> Yep if I lived in western WA Andy Dale would be one of my choices to train under. I acquired his schools bagua training videos thru ebay a while back and like what I saw but haven't been able to focus on them since I've been concentrating on my Tom Bisio Bagua DVDs at the moment.
> 
> Too bad Im in the tri cities portion of WA.
> 
> ...


If Walla Walla isn't too far, you really need to check out Steve Smith at the Little Dojo.


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## ST1Doppelganger (May 10, 2014)

blindsage said:


> If Walla Walla isn't too far, you really need to check out Steve Smith at the Little Dojo.



Thanks for that suggestion I looked at his school but I can't justify paying for lessons and only being able to make it out a few times a month due to work & family schedule. 

I've actually given up on finding a Kung fu school in the tri cities and am going to be doing a school that is non profit but has aikido, judo & Brazilian ju jitsu all for the cost of $65 a month and is about 10 minutes away from my residence. 

I would normally stay away from a mix school because the quality isn't usually there when multiple styles but all the styles are taught by different instructors and are pretty much on different nights of the week. Not to mention i love judo and have always been curious about aikido plus I still have a WC training partner to get my Kung fu fix with. 


Strive To Be A Martial Artist & Not A Jock Artist.


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