Kung fu · Wushu · Sanda · Tai chi · Lion dance
Where the dragon learns to dance.
Traditional Southern kung fu, modern wushu, sanda, tai chi — and a lion dance troupe that has opened Chinatown’s New Year since 1974. One school, five animals, three generations.
The Five Animals
Five ways to move. One body that learns them all.
Tiger
Power and bone. Low stances, hard bridges and the courage to stand still.
Crane
Balance and reach. One leg, a long arm, and striking only when the moment is open.
Leopard
Speed and timing. Close distance before the eye catches up.
Snake
Breath and precision. Soft until it is not; the fingers find the gap.
Dragon
Spirit and flow. The whole body moving as one wave, from the floor to the fingertips.
Programs
Six scrolls. Choose the one you will unroll first.
01
02
03
04
05
06Lineage
Fifty-two years on one gold thread.
A school is a lineage before it is a building. Ours began with six students, one teacher and a borrowed garage; everything since has been added by hand, in order, and nothing has been taken away.
1972
A garage in Oakland
Sifu Wong Kam-fai arrives from Guangzhou and teaches Hung Gar to six students in a borrowed garage on Harrison Street.
1974
The first lion
The troupe’s first lion head, built by hand over a winter, opens Chinatown’s New Year parade. It still hangs above the door.
1983
Wushu arrives
Mei Wong returns from Beijing with modern wushu, and the school knocks through the wall into its second room.
1991
Sanda
Full-contact sanda joins the curriculum. The first team brings home three medals from the national championships.
2002
Second generation
Raymond Wong becomes head sifu, and the school moves to the present hall on Webster Street, lanterns and all.
2011
Tai chi at dawn
The morning tai chi and qigong program begins — free for seniors, and crowded within a year.
2019
Third generation
Daniel Wong takes the drum of the lion dance troupe after twelve years inside the head.
2024
Fifty-two years
Three generations, five animals, nine hundred students taught, and a lion that still opens the New Year.
Timetable
The week, printed on ivory.
Tai Chi & Qigong06:30
Daily · all ages · free for seniors
Kids Kung Fu16:30
Tue · Thu · ages 5–12
Kids Kung Fu, advanced17:30
Tue · Thu · yellow sash and up
Adult Wushu18:30
Mon · Wed · Fri · teens and adults
Hung Gar forms19:45
Mon · Wed · all sashes
Sanda19:30
Tue · Thu · green sash and up
Open forms practice19:45
Fri · all sashes · coached
Kids Kung Fu, Saturday09:30
Sat · ages 5–12
Weapons11:00
Sat · green sash and up
Family class12:15
Sat · train with your child
Lion Dance Troupe10:00
Sun · by audition
Sash testing13:00
First Sunday of the month
Wear loose clothing and flat shoes; uniforms are given at the first sash. Your first class in any program is free — arrive ten minutes early and a sifu will meet you at the door.
Sifu & instructors
Taught by the family, and the family it has made.
Sifu Raymond Wong
Head sifu · Hung Gar · Second generation
Learned the tiger-crane form from his father in the Oakland garage where the school began, and modern wushu in Guangzhou at nineteen. Teaches both with one rule: the form must be beautiful, and it must work.
Sifu Lin Zhao
Tai chi, qigong & weapons · Chen style, 20th generation
Came to the school as a wushu competitor and stayed for the slow work. Leads the dawn tai chi and the Saturday weapons class, and makes every student learn the staff before the sword.
Daniel Wong
Lion dance troupe leader · Sanda coach · Third generation
Spent twelve years inside the lion’s head before taking the drum. Coaches sanda on weeknights and books the troupe for weddings, openings and the New Year — a hundred and eighty times a year.
Lion Dance Troupe
Bring the lion to your door.
Weddings, restaurant openings, company New Year celebrations and festivals: our troupe performs the traditional southern lion with live drum, gong and cymbals, a lettuce-plucking blessing and, for the brave, the jong poles. Thirty minutes to two hours, anywhere in the Bay Area, every day of the year.
In numbers
What a lineage adds up to.
My son has trained here for six years. He can hold a horse stance for three minutes and he bows to his grandmother. I did not teach him either.
The lion dance at our restaurant opening stopped traffic on Webster Street. Daniel’s troupe were professional, joyful and on time to the minute.
I came to the dawn tai chi after knee surgery at sixty-one. Two years later I am learning the straight sword.
Tuition
Three ways to belong.
Kids
$119per month
- Two Kids Kung Fu classes a week
- Uniform at the first sash
- Sash testing included
- Saturday family class
Ages 5–12.
Unlimited
$159per month
- Every class, every style
- Dawn tai chi and weapons
- Sash testing included
- Troupe audition eligible
Teens and adults. Pause any month.
Family
$279per month
- Two to four family members
- Unlimited classes for everyone
- Uniforms and testing included
- Saturday family class
Each extra member after four: $40.
Month to month, no joining fee, no annual contract. Lion dance performances are quoted by length and distance — most weddings and openings fall between $480 and $1,200.
Questions we are asked
Is kung fu a good fit for a shy child?
Often the best. Kids Kung Fu is structured, predictable and kind; children learn to speak up by counting the class in, and to lead by helping the newest student. Most shy five-year-olds are teaching the bow by seven.
What is the difference between kung fu, wushu and sanda?
Kung fu is the traditional art — our Hung Gar forms and the Five Animals. Wushu is its modern athletic form, judged like gymnastics. Sanda is Chinese full-contact fighting. We teach all three, and most adults do two.
Can I start tai chi with no fitness, or later in life?
Yes — that is exactly who the dawn class is for. Movements are slow, scaled to you and done standing or seated. Free for seniors; the oldest regular is eighty-four.
How long until a sash, and until black?
Sashes are tested twice a year. Most students who train twice a week reach green in about two years and black in six to eight. We would rather it took longer.
What should we wear to a first class?
Loose clothing and flat indoor shoes. Uniforms are given at the first sash, and your first class in any program is free.
How do I book the lion dance, and what does it cost?
Use the form below and choose “Book the lion dance”. Tell us the date, place and occasion; we quote within a day. Most weddings and openings fall between $480 and $1,200, and the New Year calendar fills by December.
Begin your training · Book the lion dance
One door. Two ways through it.
Tell us whether you are coming to train, bringing the lion to an event, or both. A sifu replies within a day — with a free class to try, a quote for your date, or one of each.
