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Richard Edwardsvia Google

3 months ago

As a complete beginner, I felt a bit unsure about going along to my first class - was I too old and creaky to be trying this? Would I be poked with a bamboo stick? If not, why not? Thankfully all my fears quickly dissipated. I was met by a friendly and welcoming group of people, with a broad spread of ages and a near 50/50 M/F balance. Initially attempting to hide at the back, I was quickly ushered down to the front where I could see what the instructor was demonstrating (and, I suspect, so he could make sure I wasn't in danger of hurting myself). I'm only a few weeks in, but the experience so far has been fantastic. The senior students are very approachable and helpful in giving advice, the classes are a great mix of physical challenge and memory tests, and it's just all so...*fun*. My wife is also delighted, believing kung fu to be safer for me than motorbikes. UPDATE: 6 months in (Jun-Nov 25) In what feels like the flashiest of flashes, I'm 6 months in! While everyone's experience is going to be different, I hope that sharing my own might give you a better idea of what to expect. Over the first three months, I found that I got much fitter by attending 2-3 times a week - mainly thanks to all the stances we do in warm up; 'horse', 'unicorn' and 'turtles' (I never knew that you could sweat so much just standing still!). The sparring and circuits were also great motivation to get fitter; as the pounds dropped off I found myself gasping less and actually starting to enjoy the challenge of sparring with much more experienced people (all of whom are careful to moderate their moves so that you learn without getting hurt). And any bruises I do get, I'm kinda proud of - proof that I'm trying, and learning. Exercise aside, I've learned a lot of 'form'. I think I only missed two Monday (beginner classes) in 6 months, so managed to get to the end of Gung Ji in 5.5 months, which I was pretty pleased with. It's very satisfying learning how the moves flow, and I find it so absorbing to practice - it completely takes your mind away from the day to day stresses. It also gives you a palpable sense of progress - each week you get another 6 or so new moves, which you're expected to practice before you get given the next set by Sifu or a black belt senior student. Each move has a practical purpose, and I'm gradually learning more about these - while also trying to improve my stances and the speed and power of the various strikes and blocks. Finally, I've also had 3 private lessons with Sifu (Sep-Nov), which has been brilliant and definitely accelerated my understanding. So, 6 months in and this place still gets 5 stars :)

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Jason Clarkvia Google

over 1 year ago

Nice, friendly Kung-Fu school. Traditional Chinese martial arts with animal forms and a good balance between fitness and fighting. Great kids classes with enthusiastic staff.

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Kim Crawfordvia Google

over 2 years ago

Conrad and the lion dance team performed at our wedding at Dundas Castle and were absolutely brilliant! The quality of the lion dance and the costumes were excellent, so vibrant and interactive, they incorporated our surprise elements and all our guests had such a great time interacting with them. They even got the bride and groom involved with props, and had lots of stunts around the dinner tables which kept all the guests entertained. They were such a great energy boost to the wedding day and left the guests raving. Highly highly recommend!! The team were professional and enthusiastic, and reasonable :)

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Angeline Leevia Google

almost 4 years ago

Conrad and the lion dancing team at Yee's came to perform at our wedding and they were absolutely phenomenal. I've seen many lion dance performances and they put up an excellent performance that rivalled some of the best I've seen. They arrived early and set up very quickly and gave a brilliant performance even though they had not seen the venue previously. They even let the bride and groom participate in the performance. Thank you so much for the brilliant performance, we really couldn't have asked for more. Thank you for coming all the way from Edinburgh in the rain too! We really appreciated your skill and dedication.

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Sharon Livia Google

over 9 years ago

Such an excellent brilliant superb fantastic Hung Ga Kung Fu Academy for anyone from aged 3/4 who want to learn and train Authentic Traditional Southern Shaolin Wong Fai Hung Hung Ga Kung Fu passed down by our assessors from generation to generation many years ago! It can train you holistically, spiritually, internally and externally. We are one big friendly family! We do lion and dragon dance too. We also include Qi Gong and body conditioning. It's located in Edinburgh central in Tollcross at Fountainbridge by the Union Canal.