Martial Arts Classes for Adults and Children

serving Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, East Mountains, Sandia Park, Cedar Crest, Belen, Corrales, Tijeras, Placitas and Los Lunas

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 "Students come in and not only become better martial artists, but grow as people."
— James "Sparky" Esparza (Superpages review)

Martial Artistry

Shaolin Kung Fu & Chinese Wushu

(505) 872-4950

For over two decades, Martial Artistry Shaolin Kung Fu & Chinese Wushu has provided the Albuquerque area with the finest Shaolin kung fu, Chinese wushu and martial arts weapons instruction available. Our school has classes for adults, classes for children, classes for ages 4-8, classes for the entire family. Our warm, welcoming environment, meticulously trained instructors, unparalleled curriculum, huge training area, up-front pricing and flexible schedule have made us a New Mexico favorite for those who seek exceptional martial arts instruction.

"This is by far the best school to learn kung fu or wushu in Albuquerque."
(Google+ review)

Whether you were introduced to us by a friend, through Google+ or our Martial Artistry Facebook Page, via our latest movie or thanks to a performance by Steel Phoenix -- our extraordinary, award-winning exhibition team -- we hope this website will give you an even better idea of just how much we have to offer. Come see why in our long history here we continue to be rated the best martial arts school in Albuquerque.

 (learn more about our $50 New Student Special HERE)

        $50 New Student Special

Mention this website and get a $50 New Student Special (1st time Martial Artistry students only). The new student special includes a month of lessons and a FREE uniform. Monthly tuition after the New Student Special is just $79 and we NEVER charge registration, membership or even testing fees (try asking any other school what their black belt testing fee is and you'll see why that's important). Payment is always on a month-by-month basis. We don’t lock people into contracts - we don’t have to! We know you’re going to enjoy training with us!

"Everyone is respected and encouraged. It is truly an atmosphere of good values and expert instruction."
(Yahoo review by Mary T)

Free Trial Class

We're so confident you're going to enjoy training with us that we invite you to try a free class.  Bring along your family.  Bring along a friend.  Training is more fun together!

"The staff is very patient and works hard to make sure my kids have the kind of attention they need to succeed."
— Eddie Carroll

What is kung fu? What is wushu? Are they karate?

There are many different kinds of martial arts. Karate is the style of martial art developed in Okinawa and Japan. The original kanji — or characters — for karate were composed of the symbols for "China" and "Hand", to acknowledge that martial arts were originally developed in China. It wasn't until fairly recently — within the last century — that Gichin Funakoshi, angry at the Chinese, changed the "China" character in karate to the one for "Open", which is pronounced the same.

 "This is the "graduate" school of martial study. Time to get your masters degree?"
— Brian Baker

 Wushu is the correct term for the martial arts of China, "Wu" being the word for martial, and "Shu" being the word for art or skill -- therefore, wushu is literally "martial art". In China, you will always hear their martial art described as wushu.

"I know after a long day, I can look forward to a good workout without dealing with any of the stigma inherent in the many, many other martial arts schools I visited when looking for the right place for me."
— Ashley Wann, from her Yahoo review

Kung fu, which in the United States has also come to mean the Chinese martial arts, means to be good at something. One can be kung fu at plumbing, or kung fu at diapering babies, or, yes, kung fu at martial arts. One can pretty well imagine how this word became mistaken for the Chinese term for martial arts. Apparently, someone was very kung fu at wushu, and the descriptive term stuck.

"I am Chinese. I really like this school because I think only this Kung Fu that we call Wu Shu (Chinese name) is taught in this school. It is very real Chinese style Wu Shu. I recommend this school to anyone who truly wants to learn real Wu Shu and is willing to challenge themselves to become a true master of this ancient and respected martial arts style."
— Qiu Yan (Yahoo review)

On this website the terms kung fu and wushu will be used interchangeably - wushu, because it is the correct term, and kung fu, because it is more familiar to residents of the United States. The case can certainly be made, however, that in the U.S., kung fu is often used to denote the earlier styles of the Chinese martial arts, while wushu is used to denote the more demanding forms used by those on the competition circuit or in the entertainment industry, such as Martial Artistry's very own Team Steel Phoenix.

Albuquerque Martial Artistry Shaolin Kung Fu & Chinese Wushu Curriculum

"I have done things I never would have thought possible at my age and physical condition. I have rediscovered a long lost dream, to study the martial arts."
— Kyra Gryphon

At Martial Artistry you will learn the martial art of China: wushu, also known in the States as kung fu.

This encompasses many, many styles and systems — after all, China has been developing and refining their martial art for thousands of years! To give you an example: in early 2000, the Chinese government commissioned a cataloging of kung fu weaponry, in order to preserve the knowledge of them as a national treasure. The last report - the study was abandoned before completion - identified over 430 different types of wushu weapons! And that's just kung fu weaponry. There are also hundreds of different styles and systems within the Chinese martial arts.  Animal styles such as tiger, snake, crane, leopard, dragon, monkey — even duck, toad, dog and scorpion! Imitative styles such as drunken and praying mantis. External styles like Long Fist or Nanquan. Internal styles like taiqi (tai chi) or bagua. Without a doubt, one could study 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for an entire lifetime and never learn all there is to know about kung fu.