What to Expect in Your First Class
Our Philosophy
Expect a welcoming environment and serious training. Kindred Fist is traditional martial arts taught with clarity, respect, and high standards—without ego or intimidation. You’ll be coached step-by-step, with progressions scaled to your body, your goals, and your experience level.
You’ll also notice a purposeful difference in how we begin:
- Lung Ying (龍形拳) often starts with a more external foundation—stance, alignment, conditioning, and clear mechanics—so your body becomes strong enough to express the art’s power correctly.
- Tai Chi and Qi Gong / Nei Gong often begin with a more internal foundation—breath, relaxation, structure, intent, and sensitivity—so your nervous system and body connection develop from the inside out.
These are not separate worlds. Over time, external development must become internal, and internal development must become functional. In Kindred Fist training, both approaches eventually meet in the middle: calm breath supporting strong structure, and strong structure expressing real-world power.
Most first classes include a warm-up, foundational stance and movement work, a focused drill, and a short closing to reinforce breath and recovery. Come as you are—ready to learn, ready to practice, and ready to build skill the traditional way.
In keeping with our traditional roots, we do not use belt rankings—students measure progress through personal growth, skill, and earned capability.
OUR SPECIALIZED TRAINING PROGRAMS
Lung Ying (Southern Dragon Fist)
Lung Ying (Southern Dragon Fist)
Lung Ying (Southern Dragon Fist)
- The Art: A rare, aggressive Hakka martial art forged for absolute survival, utilizing evasive footwork, unbreakable stances, and explosive close-range striking.
- The Benefits: Develop devastating short-bridge power (Ging), forge an immovable physical structure, and cultivate the rapid, tactile reflexes required to dismantle an opponent's defense the moment you make contact.
- Who Should Join: Serious practitioners seeking reality-based self-defense, individuals willing to embrace strict discipline, and anyone looking to forge elite physical and mental resilience through authentic traditional Kung Fu.
Tai Chi & Qi Gong
Lung Ying (Southern Dragon Fist)
Lung Ying (Southern Dragon Fist)
(Internal Cultivation)
- The Art: A profound synergy of movement and breath, seamlessly blending the yielding biomechanics of Tai Chi with the deep, restorative energy cultivation (Qi) of traditional Hakka breathwork.
- The Benefits: Harmonize your nervous system, rebuild joint mobility, cultivate deceptive internal power, and forge an unbreakable mind-body connection that actively heals the physical form from the inside out.
- Who Should Join: Practitioners seeking to reverse the physical toll of modern stress, martial artists needing to heal old injuries, and anyone dedicated to building the deep internal engine required for lifelong vitality and focus.
Lung Ying Combat & Self-Defense
Lung Ying (Southern Dragon Fist)
Lung Ying Combat & Self-Defense
- The Art: The brutal, reality-based application of traditional Hakka Kung Fu, bridging the gap between formal stance work and the absolute chaos of real-world, non-compliant conflict.
- The Benefits: Master the art of bridging the gap to safely enter striking range, learn to control an attacker's structure, apply your explosive power under pressure, and forge an unshakeable survivor's mindset.
- Who Should Join: Dedicated students who are ready to pressure-test their fundamental skills, develop practical situational awareness, and learn to protect themselves and their families without hesitation.
THE DRAGON KUNG FU SYSTEM
Our Philosophy
“Controling one’s self, and letting others do what they will. Does not mean I am weak. Controling your heart, and obeying the principles of life. This does not mean that others are stronger.
克己讓人非我弱。存心守道任他強。”
-Southern Dragon Style Kung Fu motto-
Control your heart, obey the principles of life
Dragon Shape Authentic Fist
Experience the benefits of martial arts training. Build strength, endurance, and flexibility. Improve mind-body connection. Sign up for our classes today!
TAI CHI CHUAN
The Path of Internal Balance & Yielding Structure
Tai Chi is an internal form of martial arts and a practice that involves a series of slow, gentle movements and physical postures. Considered a form of moving meditation, it requires a meditative state of mind and controlled breathing.
Where the Dragon attacks, Tai Chi yields. Often described as a moving meditation, our Tai Chi curriculum focuses on the profound internal mechanics of the body. It teaches the practitioner how to absorb and redirect incoming force rather than meeting it with aggression.
- Structural Alignment: Correct imbalances in your posture, relieving joint pain and tension.
- Yielding Power: Learn the biomechanics of using an opponent's own energy against them.
- Moving Meditation: Calm the mind, reduce modern stress, and achieve profound mental clarity through continuous, flowing movement.
QI GONG
The Path of Breath, Vitality, and Internal Healing
Qi Gong is a comprehensive system of coordinated body posture, movement, breathing, and meditation. Rooted in ancient Chinese medicine and philosophy, it is practiced to cultivate health, spirituality, and deep internal vitality.
A martial artist is only as strong as their internal energy. Qi Gong is the ancient practice of coordinating breath, movement, and awareness to cultivate Qi (life force). This is the secret engine that powers the devastating strikes of Lung Ying and the effortless flow of Tai Chi.
- Deep Breathwork (Hei Gung): Expand your lung capacity and control your nervous system.
- Internal Healing: Stimulate blood flow and energy circulation to heal old injuries and maintain lifelong vitality.
- Mental Focus: Develop the razor-sharp, unbroken concentration required for high-level martial arts.
tai chi Practice
Tai Chi and Qi Gong
Tai Chi is an internal form of Chinese martial arts practiced for self-defense training, health benefits, and meditation. Chen, Yang, Wu, Sun and Hao Styles. Tai Chi's path is developing naturalness by relaxing, attending inward, and slowing mind, body, and breath. This allows us to become less tense, drop our conditioned habits, let go of thoughts, allow qi to flow smoothly, and be more in tune with ourselves. It is a form of moving meditation that will enable us to let go of the negative self and experience peaceful calm and spontaneity. There are five major family styles.
Qigong, pronounced "chi gong," was developed in China thousands of years ago as part of traditional Chinese medicine. It involves using exercises to optimize energy within the body, mind, and spirit to improve and maintain health and well-being. Qigong has psychological and physical components that regulate the mind, breath, and body's movement and posture.
Training For Balance
I began my Tai Chi training with Master Yip to enhance the practice of Dragon Fist Kung Fu. After learning the 24 forms, I later learned and was certified to teach Wu Style. Under the patient guidance of Master Yip and Grand Master Ho Lai, I have grown to understand the importance of the external-internal and hard-soft aspects of the Dragon system.
Teaching The Way
Over the years, my Tai Chi practice has expanded to include several other empty hand forms, straight sword forms, fan forms, and broadsword forms. Although I do not like public displays of my martial arts, I have competed in several events. I enjoy teaching Tai Chi because separating the comparative qualities and focusing on the health benefits is easy.
Combat Principles & Self-Defense
The Path of Reality-Based Application
Forms and stances are only the alphabet; this is where we teach you how to speak. Our Combat Principles track takes the traditional techniques of the Hakka masters and applies them to the chaotic reality of modern self-defense.
- Bridging the Gap: Learn how to safely enter striking range.
- Pressure Testing: Understand how traditional techniques hold up against unpredictable, non-compliant energy.
- Martial Mindset: Cultivate the situational awareness and psychological fortitude necessary to protect yourself and your family.
COMBAT PHILOSOPHY
Mo Kiu (Rubbing Bridges & Centerline Control)
In Lung Ying, defense is not passive. Instead of blocking and retreating, practitioners aggressively "bridge the gap." By making heavy, bone-to-bone contact with the opponent's forearms, you learn to sense their kinetic energy, trap their hands, and instantly dismantle their guard at extremely close range.
Low, Destructive Kicking (The Unseen Strike)
In authentic Southern Hakka arts, the hands attack the upper gates while the feet dismantle the foundation. Lung Ying kicks are rarely aimed above the waist. They are fast, deceptive, and devastating—targeting the shins, knees, and groin. Because our kicks stay low, we never compromise our own balance or root, allowing us to crush the opponent's structure while our hands simultaneously deliver explosive strikes.
Whole-Body Shock Power (Ying Lik)
Lung Ying does not rely on isolated arm muscles to generate force. True explosive power dictates that the hand and the foot must arrive at the exact same millisecond. By syncing the breath (Daan Tin) with a whip-like spiraling of the waist (Yiu Lik), the practitioner delivers the entire weight of their body into a strike at zero distance.
Traditional Weapons: The Extension of the Dragon
Traditional Weapons: The Extension of the Dragon
In the authentic Hakka lineages, a weapon is never treated as a separate art; it is the ultimate test of your empty-hand foundation. At Kindred Fist, we train traditional weaponry—such as the Southern Long Pole and the Double Butterfly Swords—not as relics of the past, but as highly sophisticated tools to forge your body mechanics.
When you pick up a weapon in our Kwoon, you are learning to amplify the mechanics of the Dragon.
- Extending the Ging: Learn the advanced mechanics of projecting your internal energy and short-bridge explosive power past your fingertips and through the steel or wood of the weapon.
- Conditioning the Root: Wielding heavy traditional weapons forces the practitioner to sink deeper into their Sei Ping Ma (horse stance), demanding absolute structural perfection to maintain balance.
- The Empty-Hand Connection: Every weapon technique we teach directly translates back to your unarmed combat. Training with the weight of a weapon makes your empty-hand blocks unmovable and your strikes devastatingly heavy.
Three Pillars of Weapons Training
The Extension of Intent
Mind and Weapon as One: In traditional Kung Fu, a weapon is never merely a tool held in the hand; it is a direct extension of your nervous system and your Qi. Training teaches you to project your focus, energy, and intent past your physical fingertips and through the very tip of the blade or pole.
Forging the Physical Structure
Tendon and Bone Conditioning: Wielding traditional, heavy weapons—such as the Long Pole or Butterfly Swords—places extreme demand on the body. It forces the practitioner to sink their root deeper into the earth, rapidly developing the wrist strength, forearm density, and core stability required for devastating short-bridge power (Ging).
Perfecting Empty
Hand Mechanics: Every weapon technique is a magnified empty-hand technique. The heavy leverage of a weapon will instantly expose any flaw or weakness in your stance and waist rotation. By mastering the weapon, you refine your fundamental body mechanics, making your unarmed strikes exponentially heavier and your defense unbreakable.
A Martial Art Journy
STRONG FOUNDADTION
STRONG FOUNDADTION
STRONG FOUNDADTION
Practice and think about what you're going to do and why. Do not judge others, everyone has their own way.
EVENT TRAINING
STRONG FOUNDADTION
STRONG FOUNDADTION
All forms demand your focus, learn to be natural. Breath and follow the movement to understand your power.
MASTER CLASS
STRONG FOUNDADTION
Training that depends solely on physical ability has nothing to do with the discipline and development of the mind.
Training Experience
Specialty events and announcements
All training past and present has its benefits in helping you build a solid approach to your future goals.
Specialty events and announcements
Specialty events and announcements
Specialty events and announcements
Sharing your knowledge with like-minded individuals who are readily willing to give support and encouragement is vital when doubt begins to affect your goals.
Master level guidance
Specialty events and announcements
Specialty events and announcements
Finding a teacher who knows the importance of training both the body and the mind is essential for proper guidance through your training from novice to advanced levels.
