Dave Hopkins Kung-Fu San Soo

I had my daughter enrolled in the little dragons program for a little over a year. I thought it was a little silly but the kids are young and assumed the program would be progressing. After a year I started getting frustrated that they kept giving belts and stripes out but I saw no real progression. So I asked to have my kid moved to a harder program. They agreed saying it costs more. Fine. I see her get all the way up to a green belt and after about another six months I still saw no progress!
I took my kid to another studio where white belts slaughtered my baby in real sparing! She was totally unprepared for the real deal, which is what I told Dave Hopkins. He said he’s kids never spar and don’t compete with other studios. They don’t compete because they can’t! There kids wouldn’t stand a chance and he knows it.
If you just want a pretty belt for your child then by all means go to Dave Hopkins, he gives them out like candy. But if you want your child to really be safe, like I do mine, shop around and ask questions! This spot only cares about the money!

I absolutely LOVE this school! I would drive all the way from Mission Viejo to go here. Dave is so amazing and easy to understand. Unfortunately I had some family emergencies that popped up one after another so I haven’t been able to attend in a few months. I will be back as soon as all these crazy things have been handled. I miss my class and Dave and the practicality of the art. Dave Hopkins is the place to go for San Soo. They train gentle and it’s not like a mma school where everyone acts like they are the king lion. You don’t have attitudes and people going too hard and hurting people. It’s very controlled and you train with very skilled masters. Love love love this place! I’ll be back soon Dave. I promise.

My kids have been in the children’s class for a month. They always have a great time here and the instructors are very patient.

My teenage daughter took classes here for nearly one year. She achieved her green belt before leaving for college. The school is amazing. I watched her lessons and learned a lot just by viewing. The instructors are black belts in the discipline, the other black belts stay to assist beginning students, everyone is extremely friendly, helpful and respectful. Excellent for younger children as well — all ages are welcome. I am going back next Thursday for a special women’s self defense class. In addition to classes there are open sessions when students can go spar and practice with a partner. Lots of room to work out and immaculately clean. Love the place!

For some reason Unilocal will not post my review as recommended, why I’m not sure, but let me tell you this I highly recommend this studio it is fantastic. I will be attending Dave Hopkins kung fu San Soo for life. I love it there the people the instructors the studio and of course the art, can’t get enough.

If you wanna learn to really defend yourself this is the place. They eliminate all the «fluff» from martial arts and just teach you to end a fight quick and get home. I like that they also offer jiu jitsu, kickboxing, and conditioning classes in addition to Kung fu San soo. The price is a bit high compared to other martial arts studios, but there are so many classes available a week it is worth it. Also Dave Hopkins is an extremely nice guy and will not pressure you to join, he is genuinely concerned that you want to be there and enjoy the classes. There are no big egos at this school, everyone is nice, warm, and welcoming.

I took Tae Kwon Do as a kid and it was alright, nothing really practical. This place is pretty expensive but man, do they teach you how to fight dirty. Not regular average joe dirty but we are talking professional dirty fighting. Its also not a good source of calcium.
Here is a black belt demonstration:
Practicality wise, very useful, they teach you how to fight in bars, against walls, against choke holds, disarming, although its kind of slow at first (if you dont have a good partner). The most important tip I would give about this place: Find a good sparring partner, some people dont like contact, some people like contact so finding the right partner goes a long way.
All in all, the staff is friendly, the people are friendly, its somewhat intimidating but you get comfortable pretty quickly. The only problem I have is… if you’re a student and jobless, it will be somewhat pricey. 120 a month and 50ish dollars on the pants, suit, and cup (that is if you require one). A great place to exercise, and hit someone in the nuts and pay for it.