Cupertino Kung-fu Club

I’ve trained here from 2004 to 2006. There has always been a positive environment here. I practiced mostly shuai chiao and tai chi. Shuai Chiao is very similar to Judo with many throws, joint manipulation, but with no grappling on the ground. The vigorous foot work drills and forms really helped improve my balance, leg strength, coordination and my throwing. This helped my skills in Judo greatly.
Tai Chi is taught here as a martial art where every flowing slow form is performed like an elegant dance… how do I put this… BAD ASS application for combat. (I was skeptical about this before I actually tried it!)

I used to train here many many many years ago and I can say they are serious about their training and teach good quality martial arts. They offer shuai chiao (wrestling and throws, takedowns), and also tai chi.
Good people, good training. =)

I’ve been a member of the club for the past 10 years now, and I would recommend training here to anyone looking for some solid, traditional, practical chinese martial arts. The club is headed by Daniel Chi-​Hsiu Weng, and his son Jan-​yu Weng. I’ve been learning here a while now, so am helping teach now as well (but not getting paid yet haha). We teach mainly shuai-​chiao and (ch’ang style) taichichuan, but also teach some hsing-​i-​chuan as well, and we sometimes compete in sanshou. We regularly compete in shuai-​chiao and taichi events, and (with the rest of our national organization, the USSA) we represent the USA in international shuai-​chiao (also spelled shuai-​jiao) tournaments.
Shuai-​chiao is the oldest documented martial art in asia, documented on pottery from the Shang Dynasty (~2600 BC). it has known many names throughout history, including jiao-​ti, xiang pu (the same characters as Sumo), jiao-​li, and finally settling on shuai-​jiao in the past few centuries. It is a stand-​up grappling art, akin to judo, where the goal is to control our opponent and ultimately take him/​her down to the ground while remaining standing. Being the mother of all martial arts in china, to this day, it is still the standard of practicality to which all chinese martial arts are compared. The forms are not meant to look pretty, and are simply meant to train your body and refine your power for throwing people. There is an old chinese martial arts saying: «san nian quan, dang nian jiao» meaning «3 years of a fist, is equivalent to the first year of shuai-​jiao».
taichi is great for training fluidity of motion, body control, flexibility, and overall focus and balance of mind and body. at the club, we train it as a real martial art, and not like they do in most parks out there. so when we learn techniques, we also learn what they’re for and how they’re used.
for more information about the styles we teach, see the main website. You can also see the website of GM Chang Tung Sheng’s grandson here:
the club offers a beginning class on sundays at 4:15 pm (mostly kids, but there is an adult section of the class), and an intermediate/​advanced class at 5:30 pm. taichi starts at 4:15 pm as well.

I’ve started training at the Cupertino Kung Fu Club about 2 months ago and my experience has been extremely positive. I first heard about Dr Weng’s Shuai Chiao organization from an article in World Journal years ago, but at the time I was not able to dedicate time to regular martial arts training. About a year and half ago, I resumed martial arts training in Long Fist to get back into shape after a long hiatus in martial arts. When I found out Dr Weng and his son Jan-​yu were teaching Shuai Chiao literally just minutes from my home, I realized this was an opportunity of a life time to train under some of the best Chinese martial arts experts.
Being in my late 30’s and father of a 2.5 year old, these days I am mainly looking for increased fitness and to resume a hobby I loved while hopefully providing a positive influence to my child later on. Cupertino Kung Fu club turned out to fit all of my goals very well. Shuai Chiao also fills a void in my previous martial arts training since I had always been curious in wrestling/​throwing oriented arts but never had the chance to learn. Dr. Weng, who trained under the «Shuai Chiao King» GM Ch’ang, is one of the leading martial arts authorities from Taiwan. He is definitely what you’d call «the real deal». Dr Weng is a national Shuai Chiao champion in Taiwan and his martial arts achievements in Taiwan and US speak for themselves. Dr. Weng’s son Jan-​yu is an excellent coach in the adult class. He is very patient with beginners and I’ve noticed he is very good at observing each individual student’s challenges and progress, helping each student overcome their obstacles. It’s obvious that Jan-​yu mastered the art from his father, and his decorated competition career has provided him with much valuable «real life» experience on making the art work. All of the instructors at the club are friendly people and skilled martial artists. The club has a casual atmosphere while classes are fast paced and challenging. Adult students range from serious competitors to martial arts enthusiasts, and some of the students regularly participate in competitions.
You WILL get a great workout in Shuai Chiao, and for beginners there’s a strong focus on safety, teaching students how to protect themselves in falls (always a great skill to have) prior to moving to more advanced techniques.
Over all, I find Shuai Chiao training at the Cupertino Kung Fu club to be a fun, practical and fulfilling way to increase physical fitness. When my daughter is old enough, I hope I will be able to provide a positive influence so that she is interested in Shuai Chiao as well. There are plenty of studies out there on the benefits martial arts have on children, and Shuai Chiao, like Judo, has the added benefit of helping your child learn how to fall and protect themselves in an accident. As a parent, I feel this alone makes it the #1 choice for your child’s martial arts training.
The principles of Shuai Chiao do not conflict with my current Long Fist Kung Fu training nor my previous training in other MAs such as Wing Chun, Tai Chi and Kenpo (as a matter of fact universal Kung Fu principles such as rooting, power issuing and relaxation seem to be all part of Shuai Chiao as well). If you have previous experience in striking/​kicking type of martial arts, Shuai Chiao should complement your existing skills very well. From a self defense point of view, Shuai Chiao is a very effective and practical art to learn. A powerful throw is one of the best ways to survive a physical attack, and from what I’ve seen, Shuai Chiao techniques are not as gi dependent as Judo techniques. Whether you are looking for a fun way to keep in shape or want to become a San-​Shou competitor, I think you will find Cupertino Kung Fu Club a great example of high quality, authentic and practical martial arts training at an affordable price.