Dragon Tiger Kung Fu Center - Five Animal Shaolin Kung Fu

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"Hello, my name is Sean. I first joined the Dragon Tiger Kung Fu Center in 1998. I would like to share some of my experiences.

I would say that joining the Dragon Tiger Kung Fu Center has been one of the greatest decisions I have ever made. When I began attending classes, I had no idea what I was in store for. Right from the very first meeting with Sifu Jan Miller and Simo Miller I knew this was going to be unlike any other martial arts school I had ever been to or heard about. I was impressed with the respect and care Sifu and Simo gave to preserving the tradition of the Shaolin art. Each class was more than just a lesson in martial arts, it was lessons for life where the attentive student could gain patience, discipline, and cultivate willpower. The instruction of Sifu and Simo is given with care and each student is given individual attention. As time went on, I gained knowledge of proper eating habits, anatomy, and history of the art form. As I developed a practice routine, I began to become a more orderly person, neater and cleaner with myself and with objects and places around me. I began to feel better and happier in my life, physically and mentally. Tasks and responsibilities that once seemed difficult or time consuming became much easier to handle or to manage. People around me say they are energized by my presence. My friends and family have developed healthier lifestyles as a response to changes I have made in my lifestyle. I have also become stronger physically and mentally, which has increased my confidence level.

I have learned some very invaluable self-defense skills. I have not looked at the world the same after leaving the Chin Na workshops. I see vulnerabilities where once I feared danger; I see ways of creating space for escape where once I would have been trapped. Any fear of people or of dangerous situations has been greatly diminished. Anyone who may attempt to take advantage of me or impose his or her will over me will find it a difficult task, and should he let his guard down he may not find an opportunity to recover. The Chin Na we have learned in class is extremely interesting as it is something anyone can do and the movements seem so simple, yet the result is profound, and can subdue any opponent if applied correctly.

I am grateful every day that my path has led me to the Dragon Tiger Kung Fu Center."

Sean A.
Medford, NY

"Life is a road - sometimes you walk and sometimes you run. I came to the Dragon Tiger Kung Fu Center at times when I was running in different directions. Studying & practicing Tai Chi Chuan gave me a sense to come to a complete stop and reevaluate my priorities in life. I started to see what I've been missing - little things that make up big things, and how it's important to understand and develop the foundation, the belief system that will guide you through life.

Thank you Sifu & Simo for your dedication and professionalism. I hope more people will recognize the underlying values martial arts provide."

Sergey L.
Merrick, NY
48 years old, joined the Dragon Tiger Kung Fu Center in 2007, currently working in the Information Technology field.

"I have had the pleasure of studying with Sifu Dr. Jan L. Miller for almost 2 years now. Out of all of the martial arts that I have studied and the places where I had studied so far in my life, I cannot find one of them that out-matches the quality of instruction given at Dragon Tiger Kung Fu Center. The moment I began learning Kung Fu Sifu Miller showed me a lot of in-depth information about the beginning topics of the art that it amazed me. Although I switched to Tai Chi Chuan, I found that the knowledge he held of Tai Chi, when I began studying, was just as large as that of Shaolin Kung Fu. Every lesson I went to I always learned something new. He makes the classes of all three martial arts that he teaches there, an exciting place to learn. His methods of teaching, from my point of view, are just astounding. He does not give you more than you can handle, makes sure that you have comfortably learned the movement or form before he continues, but most of all, he teaches a very difficult topic in a near perfect way that even a child can understand; a rare quality that is very hard to find in martial art teachers.

Along with the three martial arts he teaches, he holds monthly workshops that to me are like another martial art, and every one that I have been to he held an amazing amount of knowledge in each. I cannot think of one workshop that I took where I found something I already knew from the classes. Meaning, I find that not only does he know a huge amount of knowledge in the three martial arts that he teaches, but that all together, Sifu Miller knows an extremely large amount of information that would take a man decades to learn all of them.

I do not see myself ending my studies at Dragon Tiger Kung Fu Center for a pretty long while, perhaps for a very long time. I sincerely recommend studying with Sifu Miller in any of the three martial arts. Even though I was only able to experience two, I can be certain that you will learn a lot from him in any one you choose. You will not regret a moment of it.

I cannot say enough about Simo Miller, (Sifu Miller's wife). She is a wonderful person to have around in the classes. I found that she too holds an extraordinary amount of knowledge, like Sifu Miller, in Chinese medicine and herbology. She has always given me something interesting to know whenever I ask her about a certain health topic, and you would not hear it from a doctor. In my eyes, she knows many things about health and Chinese medicine and herbs that it will just amaze anyone. She reminds me of a doctor who prescribes medicine that is either free or less than 50 dollars, and the natural remedies she suggests in my eyes are ten times more effective than man-made medicine a M.D. prescribes. She is also a very sweet person. Simo always makes the place more fun to be in. I always enjoy going to the class and knowing that she is there to talk to before the class starts.

Dragon Tiger Kung Fu Center is an extremely wonderful place to go and learn something that is enormously rewarding to know. I would never find another place like this very easily. The only place I know of that would have the extraordinary amount of knowledge of Chinese Martial Arts as Dragon Tiger Kung Fu Center does would be somewhere in China. I think that it is a great place to learn Hong Style Shaolin Kung Fu, Sun Style Tai Chi Chuan, and Arnis De Mano in a friendly environment."

Philip H.
Saint James, NY

"I must say, before anything else, that studying kung fu at the Dragon Tiger Kung Fu Center has been one of the best decisions of my life. For years I had read about different styles of self defense, but not invested the time or effort to actually practice one; after finally deciding to give it a go, to have happened upon Sifu and Simo Miller's establishment could not have been a more fortuitous occasion. At my first meeting with Sifu, I had no idea that practicing this ancient art would bring not only my physical body but my entire being into peak condition within a mere few months.

I feel mentally more capable and psychologically healthy, as well as more spiritually attuned to my life purpose; I have more self respect; and I have new tools to deal with both the typical stresses and the more challenging issues that arise from time to time in daily life. My thighs have nearly doubled in size from horse stance training, and I have more flexibility in every part of my body than I have ever had. And curiously, in spite of the fact that kung classes require a great deal of physical exertion, even after a 10-hour day between class in Queens and teaching all afternoon and evening in Saint James with hardly a break, and even though I generally then have only just enough time to scarf down a slice of (hopefully) warm pizza next door before I stumble into the Center 10 or 20 minutes late to class on Thursday evenings, I still feel more invigorated driving home after two hours at the Dragon Tiger Kung Fu Center than I quite possibly ever have at any other point in my life.

Furthermore, the atmosphere is loving and supportive, and Sifu and Simo's knowledge of everything from various fighting styles to Chinese herbology and astrology is encyclopedic. And perhaps most miraculously, the serious nature of the subject matter is always matched by a lighthearted humor and camaraderie that Sifu, Simo, and the students at the Center always maintain, which ultimately creates what I feel is a wonderful atmosphere for anyone who wants to improve their physical, mental, and spiritual well being."

Stefan P.
Bayside, NY