Reviews of Thomas Academy Tai Chi Kung Fu

I have been a student at Thomas Academy for just about a year and a half. The All of the instructors are knowledgeable and strive to preserve the authenticity of traditional kung fu and Tai chi. The school possesses a staggeringly vast offering of traditional kung fu and tai chi forms directly from the schools Chinese masters. The material presented in class can be quite challenging at times, however this makes for a greater sense of accomplishment in the student once they have reached a higher level of competency in the forms presented. Learning never stops with simply learning the movements of a form either. Over and over it is stated that we never finish learning with kung fu we always continue to strive for the highest level of our martial art. There is seldom a class where i do not have a new realization about a form or a particular movement that reshapes my understanding of the art all thanks to the careful instruction of each of the teachers. The students at the school are always friendly and over time become like a 2nd family. We all help and support each other both in an out of the school. Though the road can be difficult at times, and it may feel as thought you'll never remember everything you are being taught, students at this school are always met with patient reassurance as well as physical proof that they are making progress. If you are looking for a traditional kung fu school and are ready to put in the work to learn then i would highly recommend Thomas Academy to anyone interested.

“I love Thomas Academy, because I learn about weapons and respect and self-defense. Shirfu and ShirJ are the best teachers ever!” Quote from my daughter who has been taking Kung Fu for 4 years. She is 8 now.

We tried, other Martial Arts schools before settling with Thomas Academy. There is no pressure to learn a form, or any yelling, just patience and respect from all that teach the classes.

I take Tai Chi, and it is so relaxing and helpful for my back. I feel at ease in the classes to learn the forms at my pace.

If I could give this a rating of 10 stars, I so would. I recommend this school for all ages.

This is a top-notch Chinese Martial Arts school. The chief instructor has more than 2 decades of experience, and it shows. The forms are not dumbed down at all, and are challenging so that you will never be bored. The chief instructor spends his own money to visit China on a regular basis in order to train with his Chinese teachers.

Attending a Chinese Martial Arts school is very much like being a member of a family, and that's the feeling you'll get here. Everyone truly cares about everyone else. I would still be there if I hadn't had to move.

You can't get this from a DVD, or a McDojo.

I wish the rating would go lower than 1 star!

This is the absolute WORST Tai Chi school in town. The Shirfu Rick Thomas is a joke. I wish I could get my six months back. I had several Tai Chi friends warn me about his incompetence, but I didn’t listen. I wanted to give him a chance. My mistake! For starters his dog tried to bite my daughter luckily I was there and was able to stop the situation. It is completely unprofessional to bring a dog to a martial arts school. Who does that?! Plus the damn thing gave my wife hives because she is allergic.

The school is shrinking is size literally. Mall 31 where the school is at commandeered half the school. I asked the Shirjie (assistant instructor) about it. She gave some bollocks excuse about the mall temporarily loaning the commandeered half of the school. That is crazy. The only real explanation is Rick does not pay his bills. Which is odd because he can somehow affords to visit China regularly. I guess some people see money, but don’t know what to do with it.

This school is way overpriced in comparison to other more worthwhile martial arts schools. Rick wants a 100 plus dollars for private lessons, and he doesn’t even know proper applications to forms. He literally told me in a competition to just make it up as I go. No one will know the difference. He must think everyone is stupid.

On top of Shirfu Rick Thomas being short tempered and rude he is also completely creepy he was in some type of weird longhaired phase where he was trying to act Native American. Which is completely offense and racist to anyone Native American Like my wife for example. Rick also dates his students. Which is another completely unprofessional trait. I guess his ex wife was a student, and his current bed buddy is a student. There are also rumors I not sure how true that he actually bunks/has student bunk with him. Based on rumors from current students. This place is totally weird.

My advice is look elsewhere. Stay away from the cult drama. It is not worth it. Plus there are plenty of competent schools with flexible schedules and lower prices. I wish his China teachers knew how poorly he represents them. It is insulting!

Instructor/Sifu is rude, and the atmosphere does not feel safe. The environment is not conducive to leaning.

Poor teaching skills of all instructors. Senior students and instructors lack the knowledge and ability to perform consistently given the titles they hold. It may look flashy and cool with the China trip, but the martial arts training at this location is lacking in quality. Save your money!