Hung Tao Choi Mei Leadership Institute

"My kid loves this class! She has been going for a year. The instructor keeps the class tight and the kids motivated. The kids learn meditation, kung fu, lion dance, and even drumming!"

"Hung Tao Choy Mei Leadership Institute is a community-oriented martial arts school teaching Jow Ga Kung Fu to children and adults in lion dance, dragon dance, sparring, forms, techniques and drumming. Hung Tao Choy Mei teaches DC residents ages 6-18 for free thanks to city funding. Summer and after-school programs include instruction in Mandarin, Djembe drumming, Balafon. The founder and chief instructor is a native Washingtonian. It's always a good idea to meet the chief instructor to ask questions about heritage, mission, experience, curriculum. This school offers a free trial class. It has welcomed visitors in the same location since 1995."

"I love this place. It is an incredible resource for DC families - the children's program is fun and teaches kids amazing skills of listening, creativity, kindness, and mutual respect, all while building their coordination and strength. And it is free for DC kids and teens."

"It's cool, I think I can say for certain that Jow Ga is the most popular style of kung fu in DC, because it has a long history here... And you can be a part of that tradition :) Masks are still required as of now... Just think of it like high-altitude training!"

"Visited this place a while back, during my search for a legitimate Sanda/Sanshou, or Wushu-based sparring course. Sat in for one class, and didn't feel the junior instructor really had a solid grasp of the fundamental kung fu techniques, let alone, the bag-work (ie. punching correctly with hip, leg, and guard). Moreover, seeing Islamic imagery placed in a Chinese kung fu place (a Daoist, Buddhist, Confucian space) next to traditional incense bowls just screamed "mis-blending", "bastardization", or "misappropriation" to me. The combination of these two did not convince me that this place was philosophically authentic enough, nor would it offer combat-practical training. Frame of reference: lifetime background in Shaolin wushu, Shotokan karate, Muay Thai, and MMA."