Authentic White Tiger Kung Fu

Excellent martial art school. Great atmosphere with friendly and helpful staff. Have been training here for over four years. Come here if you want to get your sweat on and get healthier in the process

I have been a student of White Tiger Kung Fu for almost 3 years. Every day I am grateful for the strength and self confidence that their teachings have instilled in me. Not only am I stronger in body but also in mind and spirit. This truly is an internal art and I would recommend it for anyone seeking holistic improvement in all facets of their life. White Tiger provides a safe environment to grow at your own pace and all who learn and teach here conduct themselves with uncompromising integrity.

White Tiger Kung Fu (Bak Fu Pai) was chosen by Chinese Emperors to protect the Royal Family. This makes it the most dominate form of martial art in existence. Unlike any other martial arts school that I’ve encountered, they have an extensive variety of Dit Da, Tea, and other herbs used to supplement and enhance training.
It is also an internally focused system with powerful Chi Kung meditations and amazing Tai Chi forms. Students here also have the potential to learn Iron Body and Iron Palm techniques. Sifu Joel Rizzo is extremely knowledgeable and his teachings have produced phenomenal results in countless individuals. The staff is highly adept and very friendly. I highly recommend this style to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you are young, old, in shape, or out of shape. White Tiger Kung Fu will put you on a training regimen that will guide you on a positive, productive, and healthful path. And Kung Fu is fun to learn!

I’ve trained at several gyms throughout the years and I can honestly say that I have experienced the most personal growth from Rizzo’s White Tiger Kung Fu School. What drew me in was the fact that it is a complete system where you learn everything from fighting aspects, to meditations, to Chinese herbology, and many more. There is so much knowledge to be gained here that I don’t need to go anywhere else.
I want to thank Sifu Joel for all the guidance in making me the man I am today and for all the help he’s given my family. I look forward to many more years of growth through White Tiger Kung Fu.

This place is totally shady, totally unprofessional, and I don’t even think they deserve the one star.
They took my payment for the month and quickly dismissed me due to a «violation of contract.» They won’t provide clear examples of how the contract was violated, they are keeping my contract from me, and threatening to have me arrested if I come in to see it. They’re accusing me of associating with people who have stolen from them, but refusing to give me their names (presumably because these people don’t exist) and they are accusing me of making a group of high-​ranking martial artists feel threatened (by a white belt who can’t do a push-​up). To top it all off, a lot of the students (people I consider friends) have now blocked me online. Whether it’s because they believe the lies, or because they’re afraid of being dismissed for associating with me, I don’t know, but I’m not happy about it.
Initially, I thought this place was amazing. A bit expensive ($ 200 per month, plus $ 50/​month to attend the promotion ceremony, $ 60 for the mandatory uniform, and some very expensive teas and herbal supplements that are recommended but not required). BUT, the classes were great, and the students were friendly.
However, during my third month there, I was dismissed without any previous warnings at all. I was told that the reason was that I was «making students feel unsafe.» When I tried to ask for an explanation, the receptionist threatened to call the cops on me, so I left.
I sent the Sifu a message expressing my confusion, and never heard back from him, so finally I just called the dojo to ask for an explanation. The same receptionist told me that I was dismissed for «sitting too close to Sifu’s chair.» This caught me off-​guard, as it has nothing to do with the safety of the students. Apparently, the contract says that sitting near the chair is grounds for dismissal. Violation of the contract is also the reason they are refusing to give me a prorated refund for the month (I paid $ 200 for October, and was dismissed on the 12^th, so they owe me $ 122). I requested a copy of my contract through e-​mail — I can’t go get it in person, because they are still threatening to call the cops — but I still haven’t recieved anything 6 days later.
Afterwards, the same woman told me that I had been dismissed because I was associating with students who had previously been dismissed from the school for stealing things. I told her that I never hang out with students outside of class, and I had no idea who she was talking about. She said, «You know who they are. Don’t play dumb.»
I then told her that I’d tried to contact Sifu, and apparently he’d missed my message. She told me, «He won’t contact you online,» but gave me the option to talk to him on the phone another day. Now, in my experience, when people will talk to you over the phone but refuse to communicate online, it’s because they don’t want anything in writing that could be legally used against them.
After she hung up, I realized that I never got to ask the question I’d called to ask in the first place, so I called back. The reasons for dismissal she gave me over the phone were totally different from what she’d told me in person, and I wanted to know what I had done to make other students feel unsafe. She basically told me to MEDITATE ON IT until the answer came to me, and then hung up on me.
Like I said before, this place is so shady. If you value your money and your dignity at all, you will find a different place to train.

A few weeks ago, I won several lessons here as a part of a raffle held at Mira Mesa Edwards Cinema 18 celebrating the weekend première of Kung Fu Panda 2. I had taken Shaolin Kempo at the United Studios of Self Defense a lifetime ago, and so I was looking forward to trying a new system.
Located in the Denny’s area of Miramar Road, this studio in a bit nondescript from the outside (and parking’s at a premium as well). But, the interior will sure shock you, as it looks a bit like a wine bar! The White Tiger system uses herbology and tonics, and these products are shown prominently in the display cases near the entrance.
The students and the instructors, to be honest, are some of the most positive people I have ever met. Perhaps it’s because of the style they practice — southern Chinese kung fu — but despite being the newbie, they went out of their way to make me feel welcome and were quite patient with me — a major difference from the escrima classes I had taken several months prior set up by
. Never before had I seen a studio void of students with no egos; the higher ranking students helped out the lower ones without them feeling like the instruction was beneath them. The energy in the room was so positive — not even in my old system did I feel something like it.
While I’m approaching the final free lesson that I have, I’m a bit apprehensive about continuing here due to finances. Martial arts lessons are quite expensive — although one of the senior intructors gave me a bit of information about the pricing of the White Dragon Kung Fu studio nearby that made my jaw drop. If I can afford it, I will be looking forward to my time spent here.