THUNDER KUNG FU ACADEMY - Dublin, California

Kavitha N.

My daughter has been going to Thunder kungfu for the last 6 years and I have seen tremendous transformation in her confidence, strength, power and skills. Shifu Gao and Shifu Ning are amazing teachers and can judge each student well on their abilities and work with them on improving their capabilities. My daughter has had opportunities to perform in various events like Warriors Game, Dublin Splatter event and Dublin St.Patricks day parade and has also won medals in various kungfu competitions. I highly recommend Thunder Kungfu for yourself or your child.

Ryan T.

I've been taking my daughter to Thunder Kung Fu for the past 6 months and I can't say enough good things about the overall program, instruction, and ambition of the masters. Shifu Gao is the real deal and comes from the school of Shaolin. He is traditional strict, but also knows very well how to gauge his students and their abilities, which not all teachers I've come across know how to. Shifu Ning is exceptional with her instructions and not only displays mastery of her form, but also demands the same from her students, which creates the highest level of expectation. I've sat in on almost every class over the past 6 months and have seen the progression of all students; not just my daughter. I highly recommend Thunder Kung Fu if you want your children to experience art, culture, discipline, self defense, and even learn a bit of Mandarin! That's what I've experienced so far and looking forward to additional growth and learning not only for my daughter, but myself as we continue our journey together with Thunder Kung Fu Academy.

Ken L.

My 8yo daughter has been going to Thunder Kung Fu for almost 7 months, and we love it! She always looks forward to attending.

There is flexibility in the amount of days and which day of the week you want to attend. Shifu Gao is the owner, and he has two other instructors who assist in class. They promote the true Chinese culture and art of Kung Fu. They also offer adult classes and private lessons, as well as the opportunity to join the more competitive team (performing at competitions and Warriors games). We are always greeted with a smile, but once class starts it’s all about focus and discipline.

Shifu Gao is strict, demands respect, but in turn also encourages students and challenges them to the best of their own abilities. He sees each student for who they are, and pushes them to be the best that they can be. Even though the classes have up to 20 kids, Shifu knows each one by name, and what their individual strengths and areas of improvement are. His attention to detail and preciseness for each belt form is much appreciated. He won’t pass a student for the next belt form just because they completed a certain amount of classes, but rather only when each student masters each form.

Shifu Gao and Shifu Ning have the amazing ability to balance strict instruction and brevity in the classes, which keep the students focused and entertained at the same time. I highly recommend Thunder Kung Fu!

Gaurav G.

This is a great Kung Fu school in Dublin. The program is focused on teaching kids discipline, focus, and some great Kung Fu skills. All the sifus are very dedicated in making sure that the kids learn Kung Fu. The schedule is also quite flexible. I highly recommend Thunder Kung Fu academy.

Sudhar S.

My Teen is attending the classes since 2022.The Teachers are amazing.They are very friendly and encouraging! Also they make sure that there students are learning each skill in a perfect way! Great place to learn👌🏻

S V.

Thunder Kung Fu Academy is a local Kung Fu school I highly recommend to adults and young kids.The class starts with warm up exercises, and then Kung Fu basic drills. Each student is assigned a Kung Fu form and to train with Shifu. The instructors are very friendly. They encourage students to do their best but not over their limit. I feel relaxed and have more energy after each class.

Tina D.

This is a sanctuary for children and adults besides their homes. I've had years of martial arts experience in the past from different schools, but had to stop for many reasons. Last year, I felt the desire to go back to training, but refused to come back to previous schools. I found Thunder Kung Fu, did a trial class, signed up the same day, and have been there ever since. The school offers dynamic styles with traditional Chinese kung fu (from Shaolin root), modern Wushu, Tai Chi and Self Defense classes.

Sifu Gao, and Sifu Ning are very nice, knowledgeable and extremely understanding. Sifu Gao is kind, talented, and very down to earth. They are the sole teachers in the school and pay attention to each and every student; you know that you learn the techniques from the source. Both Sifu's understand that all adults have life and responsibilities outside of the kung fu school and we all go there to whine down after a long day at work or other duties. They are very lenient to the adults in terms of the belt materials and requirements; make it fun to learn yet maintaining the quality of techniques and movements. At the end of the day, kung fu is a hobby for most adults, and so we just want to learn and have fun at the same time. All the adults students are nice, friendly and have a sense of camaraderie. We often get together outside of classes for fun activities.
On the other hands, I observe that kids receive different kinds of discipline and learning methods which help them focus, be responsibilities for their actions in and outside of the kung fu school.
I highly recommend Thunder Kung Fu. Come and join, and you will not be disappointed!!!

Semira B.

My son has been at Thunder Kung Fu for about two years now. He started in the kids class when he was already in middle school, and was able to belt up into the intermediate class with more kids his age fairly quickly. The training program for the kids is very well done. In every class, warm ups are done thoroughly, stamina and strength training is executed well, and about 1/2 the class time is dedicated to individual 1:1 training (including weapons training). The teaching method is firm and fun which motivates the students to continue long term with their training. This school is not rigid and dogmatic. There are still school rules and the flavor of respect, discipline and other character development traits are taught. Belt testing is a tad more serious than I've seen at other schools requiring parents/guardians fill out a 1 page survey rating their child on things such as respectfulness, did they help out with chores, grades, etc. I actually appreciate this. Since we're paying for each belt testing, it's nice to know that it's taken fairly serious. Also, at each belt level, a new form/weapon is taught. There aren't a lot of drawbacks here, maybe a few small ones. There's no real viewing section. There are some chairs near 3 doorways that people can sit at to watch the class. The view is a bit restricted. During forms/weapons training, sometimes the students will sit idle as they wait for their turn. --This could be helpful in teaching the kids to be present in the moment and learn to sit still/quietly, but oftentimes, the kids look bored or try to amuse themselves in other ways. Also, there's no wind down stretches. Sometimes when my son really pushes himself, he'll get sore the next day --it would be great if wind down stretching was incorporated into the class. Maybe while the the kids are waiting for their forms/weapons training they could stretch (if safe to do so). Overall though, I think this is a great place to train. They work with each kid at their level and there's never any type of shaming or guilt. The teachers are knowledgeable, skilled, and kind.