Atlanta Kung Fu and Sanda Center?

I've been interested in martial arts for a long time. In high school and early college I studied Tae Kwon Do for about 4 years, however this was over 20 years ago. Between now and then, I've dabbled in several schools (Aikido, Wah Lum Preying Mantis, Shinkendo, Kali), but due to various circumstances these tended to only be about 6 months or so before I moved away, or changed jobs, etc... and other interests and family have taken up my time as well. Now at 43 years old I'd really like to get back into it and stay with a school for a long time again and make it a regular part of my life.

I've been working on losing weight and stretching to get back some of my prior flexibility prior to joining. I've been researching all the schools nearby, mapping them out, comparing schedules versus our existing time commitments. I also have a friend of similar age who wants to join with me to support each other, he has some previous Jeet Kune Do experience (about a year and a half) and is also wanting a long term commitment. We both have similar desires, we're looking for a traditional martial art which will help us improve ourselves in additional to the self defense benefits. No McDojos, no overly macho MMA gyms.

One of the possibilities that we're looking at is this school:

Atlanta Kung Fu & Sanda Center under Sifu Russell Feldman, teaching Choy Li Fut and Lama Pai (Steven Ventura lineage)
http://www.atlantakungfu.net

Is anyone here familiar with this school or instructor? Choy Li Fut is of course a well known style, and while I hadn't been familiar with Lama Pai previously I've been doing a lot of reading over the last 10 days about it and it sounds very interesting. I like the idea of studying a less common style with an interesting heritage.

Is there any reason these styles would not be appropriate for a couple of somewhat chunky (but working on it) early 40's guys? I'm still reasonably flexible and willing to put in the work to improve my conditioning. Due to having a family now I will only be able to train two nights a week, maybe an occasional Saturday or special event. I work from home, so I'm often able to to set some time aside during my lunch hour for exercise. Currently I am using this to go walking or do some stretching but I could just as easily work on forms or something.

Anyway, we're going to be visiting the school to watch a class tonight and I expect to base much of our decision on our impressions of the schools, instructors, students, and material that we see on our visits to each school but I thought it would be worth asking the community here for their thoughts as well.

Thanks!

What was your impression after coming by?

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Originally Posted by sean_stonehart

What was your impression after coming by?

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We both liked it. First, it's not a fancy school. They're running out of what looks like basically a storage type building, complete with roll-up loading doors in the back and their sign is not very prominent. So certainly not a McDojo type place.

The instructor was very friendly and invited us to take part in class if we wanted. I decided to jump in, my friend was straight from the office in dress slacks and shoes so he opted to just watch. I was taught an exercise of six basic fists and the first five moves of the first form. Class sizes are very small (we had I think 8 students) so you get a good amount of individual attention - if you look at their schedule they run four different class sessions split up by skill level with the direct goal of small classes and having people working on mostly the same things so that the instructor does not have their attention split up too much. I liked this, it seems like a good way of doing things.

Everyone seemed very sincere and open, I did not get the feeling that this is one of those schools that hoards secrets for only the favored students or anything like that - they seemed to go out of their way to explain how things worked and why. I asked if they had a copy of their curriculum and he sent me a copy by email later detailing what you will be studying up to black sash, saying that they recently moved to this location and he didn't have printed copies handy yet.

The way it works with the two styles is that everyone learns Lama Pai first, then they start teaching Choy Li Fut when you get to black sash. I neglected to ask the average time to that point, but I would assume a few years. The reason given was that Lama Pai is a more straightforward style, so I think doing it this way gets you to a practical level of skill faster.

Looking at the curriculum sheet, I would call the number of forms "moderate". More than something like Wing Chun but less than some Kung Fu schools I've seen. There are a few weapon sets but not many. There seems to be an emphasis on principles and practical applications, and there are some interesting headings like "Trapping and Grappling" and "Ground Work". I've been told that Lama Pai has some specific anti-grappling emphasis which may be of interest if you're worried about running into BJJ guys :)

It can be a little slow to get a reply from the webpage but the answers we've gotten have been consistently friendly and helpful.

Anyway, we're currently using these couple weeks time to work on getting in shape and stretching out with plans to start classes at the beginning of February. They don't require any long term contract either, so if you wanted to just try a month or whatever you can do so.

I will send you a PM with my phone number if you're interested in calling to talk about the school further.

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Originally Posted by dboeren

The reason given was that Lama Pai is a more straightforward style

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dear f--king lord....