Best Kung fu Schools in China

This is my list of the best kung fu schools in China for 2017. In this article I have chosen only the very best kung fu schools based on what they offer in terms of training, location, food and how well they cater to kids. Each year we will update this list based our school visits and student reviews.

Best Training

Best Kung Fu School for Training

Consistently the best kung fu school for training in terms of structure, tuition and depth of transmission is WDP China. The instructors are mostly bi or multi lingual. The school training schedule runs 6 days per week. 7 hours per day. You can see a typical training schedule below.

06:30 – Get Up
07:30-09:40 – Warm Up & Hun Yuan Fa Li, Standing Qigong, Walking Meditation
09:50-12:00 – Morning Class
16:00-17:30 – Afternoon Class
19-00-21:00 – Evening Class

The school curriculum has been systematically developed and taught with modern teaching methods in mind. This curriculum features 8 Trigrams IN-BETWEEN the 4 Instructor-Levels.

Students can choose:

WDP CLASSIC (All traditional styles with specific basics, qigong, tao lu and style specific applications)
WDP COMBAT (realistic fighting skills using INTERNAL PRINCIPLES of all styles).

In addition to the regular curriculum the school also has, online training, seminars in sword, push hands, body conditioning, hand conditioning, neigong and much more throughout the year.

Best Location

Best Kung Fu School for Location

Studying Martial Arts in China is gaining in popularity as an adventure travel experience. Part of that experience along with intensive martial arts training is being able to train hard all year round in an environment that not only inspires but adds to your development. Rising Dragon Martial Arts School provides one of the best places to learn martial arts in China.

Located in Yong Ping county in Southern Yunnan the province is mountainous and borders Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, and has an average altitude of 1980m. Yong Ping has a population of around 170,000, and is roughly in between the two Cities of Dali and Bao Shan. Dali and Bao Shan are an hour away from the school.

Immediately surrounding RDS is an area steeped in history. There are numerous temples, scenic areas, mountains, lakes and even natural hot springs for attending students to visit. The School is 15 minutes away from Yong Ping town and is within a million square meter private park. This park is filled with beautiful multi-coloured plants, amazing wild-life, statues, lakes, forests of wild bamboo, as well as RDS’s own temple.

Despite being at an altitude of 1,700m there are many neighbouring mountains that tower over the school reaching altitudes of 4000+m, which make for many a challenging hike during your free time. Considering the schools remoteness it is still quite easy to get to with airports in Bao Shan, Dali City, and Lijiang International airport. The capital, Kunming, is only a 40-minute flight from Dali and Bao Shan making travel very convenient. There are many Kung Fu schools in China, but few can complete with this in terms of location, and low pollution levels.

Training Martial Arts in China is a rewarding experience. Doing it in an amazing location makes it even more special.

Like Rising Dragon Martial Arts School, the Maitreya Buddha Temple School is in a stunning location. This school now also offers a structured TCM course and Language learning course. If students wish to join these courses they must enrol in advance. Students who complete the 6 month course offered will receive a foundational level in both TCM and Mandarin.

Best for Kids

Best Kung Fu School for Kids

I have chosen Yuntai Shan International Culture and Martial Arts School as being the best school for kids 12-16 because unlike other martial arts schools this one offers an authentic opportunity for your children to interact and train with other Chinese kung fu students of a similar age. This means that they are not forced to hangout with older students, and so are less likely to be exposed to inappropriate language or behaviour.

Another benefit of this schools is that throughout the day students are expected to present themselves for line ups. This means that students are regularly monitored and accounted for throughout the day. On the downside however, older students can find this tedious. In terms of the schools accommodation and amenities. These are fairly basic and internet connections can be irregular. Nevertheless, this school has much more experience than other schools of a similar nature. Hence it has a better track record of dealing with foreigners.

Best for Food

Best Kung Fu Retreat for Food

To say that this Kung Fu School in China was only best for food would be an injustice. Kung Fu Zen Garden Retreat has so much more going for it. The retreat is on the outskirts of Beijing within in a beautiful traditional court yard. It offers not only excellent traditional Chinese food, but also zen meditation, calligraphy practice, lectures on Chinese martial culture and of course the ability to learn martial arts in a number of traditional styles.

The food at the school is locally sourced, and lovingly prepared to suit all tastes and diets.

To learn kung fu in China or learn more about any of these schools. Visit the StudyMartialArts.Org website or email us direct at info@studymartialarts.org