Reviews of USA Shaolin Temple

Trained at this school and I found it to be nothing more than an aerobics class You won’t learn any self defense techniques or free sparring. Shi Yan Ming came to this country with all the hype but don’t get caught up in his mystical BS . It’s just another money grabbing school for the misguided. When you leave the school you’d better hope you don’t run into something because he’s not teaching you how to defend yourself. Save your money it would be well spent training at a school that teaches street survival techniques

I am not sure I know exactly where to begin with this review. I will try to offer my honest opinion on this place and hope that this review helps the reader make an informed decision.

This place is in a great location, easy to get to from any part of the city. The school itself is very large with plenty of space to accommodate a large classes. ..but honestly that is the best that this school had to offer. ....its location.

I was a member for only a couple of months as it did not take long to realize I can get better Kung Fu training at the local Y. ..seriously my local Y had better Kung Fu. ...this is no a joke. All you have to do is look at what they call their " demonstration team" to realize this. I cannot believe that this is the best the school has to offer. ....this is mediocrity at its finest ! As if this was not bad enough, their " confidence-to-talent" ratio of this team is completely out of whack. ...

The school is run in a very particular way. It is part cult, part fraternity and part " safe haven" for people looking to fit in. Although there are a handful of cool people there, the majority are a bunch of wannabes. Wannabe's what I am not sure. ..but whatever it is I don't "wannabe" that is why I got out of there before they could charge me for a third month!

During my brief membership of this circus, the head instructor ( little bold guy. ..I forgot his name shinfu something) taught only one class ( and his breath smelled like alcohol). The rest of the classes he relied on some senior student to teach ( yep. ..same skill level as the demonstration team) . It is not that he was not there, he was but was pre-occupied hitting on female students instead of teaching the classes that we all paid a lot of money for.

So in summary, if you want to learn good Kung Fu. .....join your local YMCA.

I would like to end the review on a positive note, I got a cool pair of shoes from this place. ...these are great for skateboarding!

I trained there for several years. Why? Because I couldn't believe/accept how disgraceful this school could be. Especially knowing how acclaimed the "monk" Shi Yan Ming is depicted by the media and other students alike. Firstly, you are expected to have sex with the "monk" and/or senior students. If not, be prepared to get harassed and abused daily, and forget about ever being taught ANYTHING. All senior students are unwelcoming and for the most part, are not at all skilled. Shifu says he is the best, but I have never seen him do much of anything, as not only does he not teach (unless you are a pretty, very young woman her first month there), but he also NEVER demonstrates, and is usually too drunk to do much of anything but sit around, hit on women, and watch movies all day. He will allow people to do things incorrectly for years, and will never correct them. Not only does this create ugly and ineffective Kung fu, but can lead to tremendous and unnecessary wear and tear and injury to the body. As a plus, the girl behind the desk runs a very tight ship, and is honorable in all dealings. Also, you will be in the greatest cardio shape of your life, and the school itself is in a great location and is beautiful. So if you don't mind being abused sexually, emotionally, physically, and spiritually, and not learn any Kung fu, then USAST is the place for you.

My camera and personal information was stolen and shared illegally. If I had read the reviews first I would never had went to this joke of a school, avoid this place before they rob you.

I used to work at the USA Shaolin Temple and most of their reviews are planted by people who work there. Amy behind the desk wrote at least 3 of them on Google and Yelp (and the review at the bottom of the page with the prices). Read this to understand how the temple profiteering system works, and what the "Shaolin Temple" currently is in modern society (not the cool movies we all hoped would be real. )

http://www. buzzfeed. com/kevintang/sex-money-and-kung-fu-shaolin-temple-faces-rumors-and-scanda#. qcOOVb6GbE

The new temple in Fleishmans has been bad for the local people. They bring drug addicts from New Jersey and sell them nature for hundreds of dollars. These people are disrespectful to the locals who actually live here and that white monk heng ree is a womanizer who was trying to hookup with my younger sister! She is only 16. She told him her age and he didn't care. Go back to New Jersey and hit on your teens there stay out of our town! I've been to a few martial arts places and this is the worst, don't believe they are Buddhist because they haven't a clue what a sober body and mind is.

One of the teachers demanded to have sex with me, and I said no. They tried several more times and grabbed me. Because I said no and because they have access to my personal information they called my boss and landlord and tried to get me fired and evicted. Because I was a fan of the Shaolin Temple and because I didn't put out to a teacher the Temple screwed me over bad out of revenge. I now no longer like Shaolin and see them as corrupt and fake. I've also heard the teachers are not only allowed to sleep with students, but they thrive on it. That's what happens with the cult mentality, I have no idea why parents would send their children there, what a rip off.

I've read a news article about all the fake monks being arrested for selling trinkets to make money. It seems usa shaolin temple does the same with their merchandise website. Also the sifu just asks for more money every class and tricks people with forced donations. He's a lazy drunk and uses teens as a free labor force. What a cheapskate!

My daughter went there and a teacher named heng ri or Henry kept flirting with my daughter. He told her he doesn't wear any underwear and kept touching her. She got tired of this happening every day and quit. I'm tired of places like this hiring random people mostly perverts and criminals and having them play characters to take advantage of teenagers, there should be a parents awareness program against this place. False advertising!

I went there and this bald guy from China kept touching me, ewww he was so short. The girls that go there sleep with the teachers and get walked all over by them, they seemed suprised when I said no because I have self respect. Creepsters from China come here and fake being monks to hook up with groupies. This was a let down and didn't seem to follow the Buddhist path, it's just a fake program for profit with a bunch of Chinese people who want to be worshiped. Ewwwwwww gross

Every class is the same if you go here for 3 years you won't learn anything new. All classes are taught by unskilled student teachers usually too high or drunk to remember the lessons, they use shi Yan mings name as an advertisement and the shaolin name as an advertisement. The sifu is too lazy to teach and barely cares about his students yet they worship him like a cult leader. He isn't even a real monk and has children with multiple women, why should I give money to incorrectly trained students in a fake program that's not shaolin? Don't be fooled by the name or his fake magic powers of reflecting metal blades it's not actually real. Real Kung fu is skill and honesty, something shi Yan ming doesn't have.

I went there and a teacher named Sue Linn or something got fired for stealing from students, illegally recording them and using drugs. This is not a temple don't be fooled by the name it's a scam. It's a cardio class. They then played the illegal recordings to other students which was somehow allowed. If you don't believe me go ask them. Don't pay for corrupt monks in costumes!

I went to their mountain temple and the teacher flying cloud was showing videos of him breaking fake spears. We tried to get him to show us with a kitchen knife and he couldn't do a real blade. He told a female student he was from the shaolin temple in china and slept with her there at the Fleishman ny location. We later found out he was from a random school and was not telling the truth. The spears were fake and he just got drunk the whole time and felt the girls necks. .. it saddens me to see fake monks pretending and being a part of the temple profiteering scams. I was really let down by this experience and now am full of doubt. More chi more money I'd how I feel now. I'm looking for a better program to join

USA Shaolin Temple has some good things and some bad things. I went here for a Long time and its just Cardio Wushu, classes are taught by student teachers and they kick people out infront of the class instead of waiting for privacy. Most students are controlled by fear and think its scary, and are uncomfortable with the lengthy bowing ceremony when the Shifu is worshiped at the end. Not a very friendly atmosphere for beginners. However, they will push you into getting in good shape! :)

I would recommend trying it out to learn a good workout, but don't believe its Buddhist or the temple from the movies. Amitoufo :)

I went there back in April and was very impressed by the energy of the students and the connection they have with Shifu. He's very enthusiastic and watches each student closely. The first hour or so of the class I visited consisted of a pretty intense and continuous series of techniques that WILL challenge your cardiovascular endurance.

While the students practice their techniques and Shifu looks on, he occasionally will perform the technique while the students train to give examples of how it is done. I would say he is about as flexible as a real life contortionist! Seriously, I watched him shoot his legs straight up in the air to over and BEHIND his head!! By the way, he did that with the speed of a professional boxer's jab! Scary!

By the way, he greets EVERY visitor and if you're not looking at him, he will wait until you notice him to make sure he greets you! A true Buddhist!

Membership aka Tuition fees run roughly $150/mo. adult, $105/mo. child but if you choose Credit Card Auto-Pay, it's only $130/mo. adult, $100/mo. child! Folks, if you know ANYTHING about NYC, especially, MANHATTAN martial arts school rates, this is dirt CHEAP! I know of at least a few schools (Hapkido, Taekwondo, Gracie Jiujitsu) that were $250/mo. and that was more than 5 years ago.

Even better, if you choose the 3 month option, it's only $405 regular or $345 Credit Card Auto Pay for adults!! That's crazy!

For what you are getting, $250 would be appropriate. If you're overweight, you'll lose weight just looking at the workout. If you're in shape, you'll become a Marine in 3 months! lol Check it out, you can watch a class for free or take a trial class for $40 (child $20).

I'll be honest, I went out of curiousity as I'm currently a Jiujitsu student, however, if I was truly dedicated to getting in the best physical shape of my life and could commute to the school more easily, I would be there at least 3 times a week. BTW, for the Gongfu (Shaolin Kung Fu), there are classes 7 days per week. Night classes are: Mon - Fri 7pm -9pm. Day classes are Sat/Sun 11a-1p and Mon/Wed/Fri from 12p-1:30pm

I can't find the above membership fees or tuition costs on their webpage so since I'm writing this so long after my visit, I don't know if the brochure is still correct. You can call for a free brochure to be mailed to your house.

my son learned to break spears on his neck within a month