Adam Hsu Kung Fu School

Adam Hsu Kung Fu school follows a very traditional way of teaching. It go through stances, forms, punches, kicks and strikes. There is no fancy, flashy moves, just rooted kung fu training that exercises mind, body qnd spirit. The classes teaches extern as well as internal styles. The school in Palo Alto offers three claases a week and a Monday open practice. The price is reasonable.

Definitely one of the best I’ve ever trained at. The style is fun and the teachers are phenomenal. The atmosphere is relaxed but they’ll definitely push you. I highly recommend them for both newcomers and experienced martial artist looking for a new school.

I stay with this school for 5 years now and it’s not a surprise I am giving it 5 stars. There are enough kungfu schools in Bay Area to choose from, many of them are very good, but I choose to stay at this one.
I came from tai-​chi practice in a very traditional way — follow your master under a tree in a park, try to copy, ask questions respectfully, practice often. So I liked the way this school is organized. The main idea here is very simple — everybody has it’s own way and speed of learning. Your body and mind need to take time and to pay in sweat to process a new stuff. Once you absorebed enough of it, you can move to the next level of complexity. Then repeat the cycle.
If you want to learn some flashy wushu forms then it’s probably a wrong place for you. But if you are willing to invest time in understanding and learning traditional kungfu then you are welcome here.

I went to this school 10 years ago. I miss it. This is a traditional martial arts school with an ingrained background in Chinese culture. While never like a military/​gung-​ho jock regiment, they do instill a sense of discipline in their lessons as a way to focus on every detail.
Anyways going here really helped my fitness, agility, and confidence despite my health-​related shortcomings. One time I broke my arm in an accident outside of class — I actually rehabilitated it right away going through the various forms I learned in school.
And although I never got a chance to use my gungfu outside of class, I felt prepared. I wish they had a class up here in the North Bay although they do have a sister school in San Francisco.

I’ve read many articles and books by Adam Hsu over the years, and I’ve always enjoyed his writing on Chinese Martial Arts. Recently I’ve decided to get back into martial arts, and I was glad to found that two of Adam Hsu’s students are teaching in locations very close to me. Being in my late 30’s and after taking a long break from martial arts, I am mainly looking for something that will help me get back into shape and improve health while training in an authentic traditional martial art.
After about one month of instructions, I am now completely energized again about martial arts training and my experience at this school has been excellent. Classes are usually smaller compared to commercial schools, but you do received more attention from instructors compared to a commercial school. Students here are very dedicated and serious in their training, yet the environment is friendly and ego free. My instructors both have practiced Chinese martial arts for decades under Adam Hsu, and most importantly they are excellent teachers and coaches. It is not uncommon to see instructors out there who are great at their art with impressive competition records, but they can’t seem to pass their skills and knowledge to their students. IMHO an instructor’s teaching and coaching ability is a very important element in your martial arts success.
If you are looking for a large commercial school with lots of social/​commercial activities or a wushu oriented school with lots of modernized acrobatic forms, you may do better at one of the more commercial facilities. If you are only looking to improve fighting skills without any additional elements of traditional martial arts, needless to say a MMA school would be a much better choice.
However, if you are looking for high quality traditional Chinese martial arts instructions and you are willing to put in some effort to build the foundations, this school should be an excellent choice for you.