Adult Kung Fu

In Our Classes, You Will Learn

About Adult Kung Fu Classes

In addition to practical self-defense applications, our Masters and instructors teach a variety of forms. These forms include hard and soft styles, animal forms, and internal sets on meditation, Tai Chi, and “iron” body and palm training. We start with a simple combination of basics which address attacks from all four directions; this includes variations on the Tiger self-defense formula, the six-part blocking form designed by the late Grandmaster R. A. Greenlee. Each part of the form can be practiced by itself or can be added together to create one long form. These forms can be practiced slowly and softly like Tai Chi or with full dynamic tension for strength and muscle tone, at a walking pace to achieve a relaxed and efficient way of moving, or at a fast and hard pace to train for the street.

Another important part of our Kung Fu curriculum is the set of assault prevention techniques developed by Grandmaster Greenlee. Though initially developed for rape prevention, they are useful in a wide range of self-defense contexts against the most common ways that aggressors attack victims. These simple but devastating techniques would never be allowed in competition—they’re designed to get you out of an attacker’s grip and incapacitate them long enough for you to get away. 

Students also perform more conventional blocking drills to help them develop proper timing, distance, and become accustomed to the speed, angles, and force of real attacks. These drills start out at a distance, then gradually as the blocker becomes more confident, he or she ushers the puncher closer and requests faster and harder strikes. When the defender controls the pace and intensity of the blows, he or she overcomes his or her fears more rapidly and quickly learns to stand in and block full force blows. This training leads to the development of accurate reactions and avoids the false distancing associated with many forms of sparring.

About the Shaolin Iron Tiger System

The Shaolin Iron Tiger system is a contemporary one derived from Shaolin Tiger and Muay Thai that is well suited to the demands of the modern world. Most people who come into the system do so because of its simple, no-nonsense approach and because of the testimonials of those who have used it to successfully protect themselves. 

As a self-defense system that is practical and easy to learn, most of its techniques are designed to be simple and effective. The methods and principles of the system can help anyone become street-safe to survive in today's world, and the best part of studying any art is learning how it really works.

The Shaolin Iron Tiger system is predominantly a counter-offensive style that follows the formula of stop, block, counter, follow up, and finish. However, it is possible to use any of the techniques interchangeably according to the situation.

Grandmaster Greenlee took the knowledge given him by his teacher Sing Lee and streamlined it for street use. Grandmaster Greenlee then passed it to Grandmaster Matt Mollica of the Ho-I Kung Fu School, who then entrusted it to Master Ryan Shumaker, the current head of Ho-I.

Characteristics of the Shaolin Iron Tiger System

The first basic weapon in the Shaolin Iron Tiger arsenal is the set of stop techniques that prevent the attacker from completing his first step into range. While utilizing stop techniques, students are taught to position their hands to block and counter in the event that the attacker falls forward or evades the leg kick. This kick must be well timed and accurate to be effective, since there is only one chance to deliver it as a preemptive maneuver. 

Block-and-counter methods can also be used as the first line of defense if the attack begins in close range. Students are taught to keep their blocking motions close to the body, within their own shoulder width, and to wait until the last moment to react. These blocking principles are called “shaving” since they glide close to one's own body. Both the block and the counterattack are performed in an instant with a forceful twist of the waist and a driving step, which places one's weight on the front foot. By stepping in strong when you see power, you interrupt the attacker's rhythm and invade his center: this principle is “tiger rushes in.” Then, by concealing the counterstriking hand directly behind the lead block, the defender effectively stops the assault and turns himself into the aggressor in less than a second.

The favored counterstrike of the Shaolin Iron Tiger system is the palm heel thrust. When thrown with the rear hand and driven by the back leg, its power is sufficient to drop any person in his tracks. This strike can be delivered horizontally at the neck and jaw as well as vertically with a swinging motion to the bridge of the nose. The follow-up strike is thrown immediately after the counterstrike, often a second palm heel strike or a punch, though for practical self-defense applications students are taught the effective snap kick to the groin. 

Tiger students are trained in the use of the elbows and knees as finishing blows to bring an attacker down and put him out of commission. The elbow smash of the system is reinforced by grabbing and pulling in with the opposite hand while one or both hands are used to draw attackers into the “knee drop” that can be aimed at the head or groin.