Self Defense
When selecting a martial arts school, we suggest that you consider convenience and fit.
First, the school should be about a twenty to twenty five minute drive from your residence or place of work. When you start studying, you will typically train at the school twice per week. While we have some students that drive as far as an hour each way to study, beginner students typically require some level of convenience to maintain a regular attendance schedule.
Second, take a look at the school, the instructors and the other students. Be an informed consumer. Visit the location. What are the conditions like, in terms of commute, location, facilities, qualifications and costs? There are schools for every type of person, every budget and every interest. Some people may want "no holds barred fighting"; others may want a convenient program near their house. Do you feel comfortable at the school? Are the students respectful? Is that important to you?
Our instructors are expertly trained martial artists, who are selected on the basis of martial arts knowledge, martial arts skill and effectiveness in teaching. Many of our instructors are national, international and world champions in Chinese martial arts.
Each instructor is supported by Assistant Instructors, who are in training to become full Instructors. As such, we may have several Instructors and Assistant Instructors available to teach each class, providing for greater individual attention.
Read more about our instructors on our staff page.
Pricing varies, depending on the program or programs selected. We also offer family discounts and we find that there are a good number of parents and children that choose to attend the school at the same time (in different classes, of course!).
We offer some of the best instruction available, all in dedicated facilities. As such, our prices reflect the fact that we are not one person, of unknown quality, teaching in a community center twice per week.
Unlike other programs, we do not charge fees for testing. Some schools may offer a lower per month rate, but then require you to make additional payments at each promotion test.
Training at U.S. Kuoshu Academy is available for everyone, including experienced martial artists. A number of our students trained in other martial arts styles – tae kwon do, aikido, kung fu, jujitsu and so on – before finding the U.S. Kuoshu Academy. Our only requirements are that you attend with a willingness to participate and a respectful attitude.
We generally start all students at the beginning of the curriculum for our programs. Our program is a time-tested, systematic approach to martial arts training. As such, we want each student to go through a step-by-step program, beginning with basic training. If you have already trained at another school, it is likely that your experience will allow you to attain proficiency at a faster rate than inexperienced students.
Not all of our students are – or at least start as – great martial arts enthusiasts. Some people attend to explore the health benefits available through regular exercise. Others want to enroll their kids in a martial arts program to develop disciple and self-confidence. Our only requirements are that you attend with a willingness to participate and a respectful attitude. Some students find, after some amount of study, that they really enjoy training in martial arts. For more on how to select the right program, see our section on selecting a school
As a student at U.S. Kuoshu Academy, you will not be required to compete at tournaments.
We encourage our students to compete, as we have found that preparing for a competition is an excellent motivator for honing your skills. Many students also enjoy the opportunity to meet other martial arts enthusiasts and see what they are studying.
While you may not join the school with the intention of competing, you may later discover that you enjoy the experience.
Also, Grandmaster Huang – the school’s owner and chief instructor – organizes and sponsors one of the finest Chinese martial arts tournaments in the United States. These tournaments have been held in the Baltimore area for the past twenty years, and our students typically both manage and participate at that event.
If you are set against any kind of sparring, we can work with you to accommodate your concerns.
Generally, our students will begin some form of contact sparring at the intermediate level; this is true for the Adult Tai Chi program as well (we call it "pushing hands" – tai chi chuan is, after all, a martial art).
At the higher levels of training, some contact sparring is required for advancement.
However, unlike some of the Mixed Martial Arts schools that you might have read about, we are not principally a "fighting" school. There is no "requirement" to spar. You will not need to spar other students to earn your promotion.
Classes are generally offered Monday through Thursday 5pm through 9pm, and Saturdays 9am until 1pm. The specific times and days will vary on your selected program and level of experience.
A detailed class schedule is also available on our website
One option is to schedule semi-private or private lessons with Grandmaster Huang. These lessons are generally held during the mornings or early afternoons, Monday through Friday. The specific course of instruction is established through a discussion with Grandmaster Huang; pricing is, due to the nature of the individualized attention, higher than pricing for group classes.
If you are unable to train at the Owings Mills location, we suggest that you look at the programs offered at schools endorsed by Grandmaster Huang. These schools are run by his students, who have chosen to make a career in martial arts and manage their own schools. You will need to contact each school individually to determine schedules, programs and pricing.
It is possible for us to consider such a request. Grandmaster Huang taught Tai Chi classes for many years at Essex Community College and now teaches Tai Chi at the Peabody Conservatory. Some of Grandmaster Huang’s students teach at various locations in the greater Baltimore area. If there is sufficient demand, we can explore setting up a satellite program – offering a limited program at an off-site location.
We include weapons training as part of both our kung fu and tai chi programs. These weapons are made of wood or metal. There are no cutting edge or sharpened weapons in the school. These weapons are no more dangerous than swinging a baseball bat, hockey stick or golf club.
Weapon training is typically initiated at an intermediate level of instruction. Since we offer a traditional instruction program, we teach the traditional Chinese weapons. Training with weapons further develops coordination and strength in different ways than training with empty hands only.
These different names represent arts practiced in various countries and each art has a particular focus or specialty. Karate, judo, aikido, jujitsu, kendo and iaido are all martial arts from Japan. These arts emphasize kicking and punching, throwing, grappling, sword fighting and swordsmanship, respectively. Taekwondo is the Korean sport version of an empty hand (no weapon) martial art. Tang Soo Do and Hap Ki Do are other Korean martial arts.
Some people believe that the martial arts of Korea and Japan were influenced by the Chinese arts. In any case, China developed its own unique self-defense practices. One distinguishing factor for the Chinese martial arts is that they encompass empty hand and weapons training, throwing, grappling, and meditative/health practices. Our curriculum reflects this comprehensive training approach.
Chinese is a character-based language and cannot be directly expressed in English. Linguists have devised several different methods to phonetically express ("Romanization") these Chinese characters using the 26 letters of the English language. Recently, the system used by mainland China (called the pinyin system of Romanization) has become more popular.
Tai chi chuan and taijiquan are the same words, only written in different forms of Romanization. Other variations on Romanization methods that you may be familiar with include peking/beijing, taoism/daoism, chi kung/qigong. As you can see, these are actually the same words in Chinese, just spelled differently in English.
Kuoshu (also spelled Guoshu) is different, however, from wushu. Kuoshu was the name given to the Chinese martial arts in the 1930s and typically represents the traditional martial arts. Wushu was the name given to the Chinese martial arts in the 1960s and typically represents the "new" forms of Chinese martial arts. During this period, performance value was emphasized over martial application; as such, wushu incorporated elements of acrobatics, gymnastics and Chinese opera. Wushu was created as a performance art, with diminished emphasis on self-defense. Since our lineage stress the traditional, self-defense nature of Chinese martial arts, we use the term Kuoshu.
Kung Fu (gongfu) is a Chinese phrase representing extraordinary skill. As such, you could have "kung fu" in dancing, music, or cooking. In the United States, the term "kung fu" became synonymous with traditional martial arts and so we use the term "kung fu" as well, since it is widely understood in the context of excellence in martial arts.
Yes. Bowing is a common practice in Asian countries, similar to shaking hands in the Western world. It is a practice of courtesy, and a means to greet and show respect to others. The type of bow will vary depending on the circumstances.
If – for religious or other reasons – you are unwilling to bow to others, kindly discuss this matter with us and we will see about making an exception for you. Otherwise, refusing to bow to an instructor or fellow student would be unacceptable etiquette – the equivalent of refusing to shake someone’s hand when introduced.
We use a ranking system to facilitate instruction and provide our students with an easy method to understand their progression. Our ranks are based on colored "sashes," where a black sash represents the higher levels of achievement. Even our black sash has different "levels" or degrees, to indicate proficiency in required material.
Each martial arts school has its own ranking system, making it difficult to compare the rank obtained at one school with a rank at another program.
Becoming a disciple is one of the highest achievements in traditional Chinese martial arts. Only a few, dedicated students are successful at garnering this formal recognition by their teacher.
Many years ago in China, there were only two types of students at a martial arts school: students and disciples. The ranking system of colored belts or sashes currently used at many martial arts schools was largely the influence of Japanese martial arts schools, which used a belt ranking system; once Americans became aware of belt rankings in Japanese martial arts, they expected a similar system in the Chinese martial arts. As such, ranking systems have been adopted by many other programs and styles, including our program at U.S. Kuoshu Academy.
When you are selected to become a disciple, it typically indicates that your studies have progressed to a level requiring the utmost seriousness, dedication and ethical behavior. As such, certain techniques and training methods are taught exclusively to disciples.
Beyond martial knowledge and skill, becoming a disciple indicates that your teacher places great trust in your personal conduct and ethical judgment. You could say that becoming a disciple is like becoming an adopted son or daughter of your teacher, as it is a lifelong bond of mutual support and trust.