Our Tempe Falling Leaves Kung Fu location are currently being held in the open air, directly adjacent to the Sister Cities Gardens at Kiwanis Park in Tempe, AZ 85283



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Private lessons available by appointment

Don't forget to check our calendar for our special events, workshops and additional learning opportunities.

Call 602-751-7003 to get started today!

Falling Leaves Kung Fu has a variety of payment options available depending on your level of commitment and availability to attend our martial arts classes.

If you're interested in classes but are concerned about the cost, the very best thing you can do is come in and discuss the different options available. There's no pressure or commitment to register for classes if you do. We want you to be completely happy with your experience at FLKF and harassing you with high pressure sales techniques is not the right way to start things off.

Get started by calling 602-751-7003.

Very safe. Everything is taught step-by-step in a controlled environment and besides a few pulled muscles, we have NEVER had a single serious injury!

Our style of martial arts (I Liq Chuan) is a type of Tai Chi - Kung fu, and so has many, many drills that can be trained very softly, which present a minimal risk of injury.

Partner training does present a slightly greater risk of injury, but outside of the occasional scratch or bloody lip, we have never had an injury in class

Students who wish to train for fighting effectiveness will need to participate in sparring, which is always somewhat dangerous.

All students are welcome to not participate in ANY level of partner training until they feel comfortable doing so.

Not at all. Because I Liq Chuan is a type of Tai Chi - Kung Fu, with many "soft" drills, people of all ages have found they can practice our style of martial art with very little stress on the joints while experiencing improvements in their health and state of mind.

Class sizes are typically small and are structured around the skill level of the participants in a semi-private lesson format.

Each class is two hours long and follows the basic outline below:

• Stretching and warm ups (10-15 minutes)
• Basics and drills (15-40 minutes)
• Partner Training -Spinning and Sticky Hands (30-60 minutes)

Each class will cover the three sections of I Liq Chuan;

1. Tai Chi and Zen principles and philosophy as well as I Liq Chuan concepts that help the student to bridge the gap between theory and application of Tai Chi and Zen to their martial arts and life.
2. Solo Training. This consists of the 15 Basic exercises and 21 and Butterfly form.
3. Partner training (Spinning and Sticky Hands)

Questions from the students are always welcome during class. This approach makes for a good workout for both the mind and body. We say that I Liq Chuan is like an onion, in that we are always looking to peel away the layers to recognize the essence of the movements. What this means is that the I Liq Chuan curriculum is quite lean, yet we seek to constantly refine what we have already learned rather than constantly adding more and new techniques.

Because I Liq Chuan training is especially mentally rigorous due to our focus on mindfulness and awareness, a certain level of maturity and self control are needed before you can begin taking martial arts lessons with us. As such, we generally will only work with individuals who are 14+ years old, although we may make exceptions for particularly mature young individuals.

Absolutely! Although the gender ratio varies from class to class, Falling Leaves Kung Fu in Tempe has always naturally maintained a gender balance in our classes, and at times have even had more female students than male.

I Liq Chuan (the martial art taught at Falling Leaves Kung Fu) is based on the nature of the human body, which is essentially the same for both men and women. I Liq Chuan derives it's power from using attention combined with optimum posture, not "show muscle".

The benefits of improved strength, coordination, balance, concentration and relaxation are great for everyone!

The short answer is we learn how to pay attention to our bodies much more acutely by becoming aware of Tai Chi principles in the body.

Tai Chi has yin and yang, and yin and yang have distinct qualities. Yin has the quality of drawing, absorbing and condensing. Yang has the qualities of projection and expansion.

For the purposes of martial art, in the body we’re concerned with the ligaments, tendons and bones. The bones are neutral, and we have yin muscles and yang muscles. By learning to recognize which muscles are yin, and which yang, we can place our attention on them to balance out the body posture.

This practice improves your physical self awareness moment to moment, and this is Zen. Just be there, fully in this moment.

Yes and no. Although some kind of meditation is a part of all religious practices, the type of meditation we practic at Falling Leaves Kung Fu is a type of concentration practice, which is not in and of itself a religeous practice, but simply a skill.

Let's look at Mirriam-Websters definition of meditating and concentration -

Developing ones concentration through meditation is a skill that can be applied to all parts of your life, helping you relieve stress as well as preparing you to deal more easily with difficult situations in your day to day life, meaning you have less stress to bust!

Falling Leaves Kung Fu in Tempe, AZ currently operates as a private club, offering semi-private instrction to small groups in the martial art of I Liq Chuan.

Don't be fooled by the fact we are not a large commercial school! We are still the source for the most comprehensive authentic Tai Chi - Kung Fu program in Arizona.

At the current time, the small group, semi-private lesson format allows for the best outcomes for the time invested for both instructor and the other members.

The club is still be open to new membership but will involve a vetting process including an written application as well as a small application fee which will cover the trial period of training.

Applicants who fail to complete the orientation program during the trial period will not be asked to continue training.