Kung Fu Academy of Chicago

VERY welcoming and knowledgeable staff. I think the modest fee is due to their inherent desire to teach others their craft that they have clearly mastered.

After visiting most of the martial art schools in Rogers Park, Edgewater and Evanston, I stopped my search when I found Master Kwan and the Kung Fu Academy of Chicago. He was the first person who didn’t show me a contract, instead he said, “Try it out, see if you like it.” When I asked “Which martial art is the best?” he replied, “You get out what you put in.” Intriguing. Sifu Kwan has been in the neighborhood over 30 years and has raised generations of qualified Black Belts and hundreds of students. He is on the floor every class and shines with energy and empathy, passion and compassion. In the manner of the ancient warrior poets, he is deeply philosophical, universally respected and uniquely goofy. His students are forged into industrious, educated individuals, respectful participants in the martial arts community who follow the words above the shrine: Discipline Mind and Body. Kung Fu is the mother art, derived from ancient yogic breathing techniques and transcendental meditation brought from India into the Shaolin Monasteries. Daily class begins with the I Chin Ching / Chi Kung Exercises, soft style movements that teach how to unite breath to body to internal energy. Foundation follows; stances and footwork, blocks and strikes are perfected. Specific techniques and applications of the Northern Shaolin 7-Star Praying Mantis Style are explored with different partners to learn skills in real time. Finally, the forms are practiced so that the dense layers of complex information held within slowly reveal itself to the practitioner. My favorite time is after class, when the brothers and sisters linger to enjoy each other’s company. We talk with guest teachers, joke and chat over our successes and failures, spar and meditate in the temple. Of course, I am biased. I love the school and have seen the changes it has wrought in my life and in those I have shared the floor with. I have wept in broken frustration and stood tall in the glory of conquering the self. I have seen the curved straighten out and the straight learn to spiral, the weak become strong and the strong grow graceful enough to use weakness. I am a truth seeker walking a path of light, but everything's better with a friend... Try it out, see if you like it.

Legit the best and most positive environment in my list, regardless of whether you're new or old, you fit right into kfa

"Walking by, it looks a bit rundown. Appearances can be deceiving." Lao Tzu. (Note: The "kill rate" of a praying mantis varies significantly depending on the context: it has a high kill rate for its prey, such as insects, with large individuals sometimes killing birds. However, its kill rate for humans is near zero, as its bites are rare and do little damage.) Other than that, I read the biography of Sifu Kwan and my only complaint is that I cannot give you Seven Stars!

The Master of the Neighborhood For over 40 years, Sifu Kwan has watched generations rise and pass through his doors—children who became Black Belts, adults who became warriors, students who grew into teachers. He is both fire and stillness: energetic yet compassionate, disciplined yet playful, as wise as a monk and as cheerful as a friend. He moves like a poem in motion, teaching with the ease of a man who has lived these arts not for years, but for lifetimes. Above the school’s shrine are the words: “Discipline Mind and Body.” And under that motto, he shapes people the way rivers shape valleys—slowly, steadily, with patient strength. Where Shaolin Breathes Class begins not with noise, but with breath. I Chin Ching. Chi Kung. Ancient movements from India carried through the monasteries of Shaolin, now practiced in a Chicago neighborhood where the snow falls heavy and the winds bite sharp. We move like reeds in a silent field. We breathe like monks preparing for prayer. Then comes the foundation—stances that root us, footwork that carries us, strikes that sharpen us, and partner drills that awaken the warrior within. In the Northern Shaolin Seven Star Praying Mantis techniques, we find precision, strategy, and a dance between softness and ferocity. Forms are not mere choreography here. They are books written in motion, each technique a line of a story, each combination a chapter waiting to be understood. Where Warriors Become Family My favorite moments come after class, when the sweat dries and the laughter rises. Students linger like siblings beneath the roof of a shared home. We meditate in silence, spar for fun, exchange philosophies, and joke the way martial artists have for centuries—half teasing, half teaching. I have seen so much in this place: The bent straighten, the straight learn to spiral, the timid find courage, the strong learn humility. I’ve felt frustration crack open into revelation. I’ve felt triumph rise from the ashes of self-doubt. I’ve watched myself change—not into someone new, but into someone true. A Path, A Temple, A Home Kung Fu is more than movement here— it is transformation, discipline, fellowship, and light. It is a path for wanderers, dreamers, and seekers. A temple disguised as a neighborhood school. A home for those willing to learn, to struggle, to grow. I walked in searching for a martial art. I found a community, a lineage, and a piece of myself. As Master Kwan said: “Try it out. See if you like it.” I tried. I stayed. I flourished.