White Lions of Shaolin - Farmers Branch, Texas

Terry H.

I have been studying marital arts off and on for over 30years. I have been studying at this school for a little over a year. George the Si-fu is one of the best instructors that I have ever studied under. He teaches the complete art including self defense, art, exercise and philosophy. I was amazed when Si-Fu taught my friend who was suffering from a disease that made physical movement difficult. Si-fu's patience and knowledge in teaching my friend was truly remarkable. If your looking for a school with quality teaching at a fair price this is the place. I highly recommend it.

Lynn J.

Since 2010, my husband, Autistic step-son, and I have grown to love Kung Fu Martial Arts at White Lions of Shaolin! I trained at many different schools & all karate styles.
My Kung Fu Master, Sifu George Giatrakis is the best of the best teacher all around! Nothing will keep me from training at White Lions - even my disabled leg due to cancer. In fact, my life feels normal again now that I am able to train again! I’ve learned how to go around the bumps in the road & keep going. We learn practical applications for real life situations. Wing Chun is close range combat, open hand and weapons. Tai Chi for all all ages focuses on improving strength & balance, calming the mind & releasing tension. Choy Li Fut is the most complete & effective martial art.
Kung Fu has not only become a big part of my life, it became a part of me.

EJ M.

Sifu Giatrakis also teaches the self-defense class at Brookhaven College. I took his class almost by accident but it turned out to be an incredible experience. I am a current student of his at both Brookhaven College and White Lions. My original intention was to find and incorporate some kind of physical activity into my daily life. I began in the fall semester of 2013, after six weeks of Choy Li Fut I noticed my back and knees were stronger, my flexibility had increased and my stamina was improving. After giving birth to my first child in January of last year, it was a great relief to be nearly pain free and watch the extra "baby weight" disappear. Sifu Giatrakis is a patient and informative teacher with a solid reputation and documented training. (Yes, I did my research.) I enjoy Choy Li Fut because of its practical application, health benefits, the challenge it presents me both mentally and physically. The instructors and students are kind, respectful, and genuine. If your looking for a good work out and good people check it out.

Jonah R.

I've been a student of Sifu Giatrakis coming up on 6 months now, and i felt it necessary to address the comments made by Anthony Renwick seeing as that what he said couldn't be further from the truth. Although I have to respect Anthony's opinion and input, it saddens me greatly to read such awful misrepresentations of a man I've come to deeply respect and look up to. Sifu Giatrakis is someone I count myself blessed to train under, and I haven't regretted joining his school even one moment since I started. He genuinely cares about his students and the traditional martial arts he is passing on to us. Sifu is man of character, discipline, and experience. I have met no one more qualified to teach the art of Shaolin Kung Fu to anyone looking to improve themselves. I can assure you he is not someone who would ever curse at, belittle, or say anything negative about his students. He is a kind, humble, humorous and incredibly insightful person. He has trained hard and taught for many years now at the same location and many have graduated to the rank of blackbelt under his care. Kung Fu is not just a job to Sifu, it is his passion and something that he works constantly to teach us so that we may improve ourselves physically and mentally and eventually pass on to the next generation of those hungry to learn. I still have very much to learn from him and look forward to the years of hard work I have ahead of me. It's my hope and goal that i can someday master all he has to show me and continue to pass it on to others as a way of thanks to him for instilling in me a love for Kung Fu. All that being said I would greatly encourage anyone who seeks to impove themselves to come visit our school. White Lions offers 3 different styles of traditional Shaolin Kung Fu. Choy Li Fut, praised for it's explosive power and ability to allow it's user to overwhelm even a large group of attackers. Wing Chun known for its incredible speed utilizing quick footwork, direct movements, and simultaneous blocking and punching to end a fight in mere moments. And finally Tai Chi, which specializes in skillful deflection and manipulation of an attackers weight, balance, and force through relaxed and skillfull techniques. These 3 styles are all taught in their complete and traditional forms that trace their lineage to the monks of the Shaolin Temples seeking to attain higher physical and mental heights as well as the ability to defend themselves from those who would kill them in their travels through dangerous lands. Tradional Shaolin Kung Fu was perfected for over a thousand years and not many places still teach it's full forms. Many schools remove, water down, change, and often fail to teach practical application of how to fight with the techniques, but at the White Lions of Shaolin the original styles are preserved and everything is taught with application at heart. If you come to train at this school you will be taught Kung Fu the right way, and you will learn how to use it correctly and skillfully how it was intended to be used. White Lions is for all ages so the children's classes are a great way to make sure you child can benefit from the exercise and stretching and improve their reflexes, grades, and growing brains through practicing and engaging in martial arts with other children their age in a safe and supervised environment. This is a wonderful school with some of the nicest people you'll ever meet so If you're looking for somewhere to learn martial arts or even just a way to get in shape then White Lions of Shaolin is definitely the place to go.

Jared H.

Sifu Giatrakis is a true kung fu teacher and practitioner. He not only teaches 3 authentic systems of kung fu but he also knows how to relate to people and real life situations. In addition to the artistic and fluid forms you will learn how to apply each and every movement to a real situation. Application is something that is often missing from schools today, but not this one. If you are looking for a martial art that can be used as self defense and maybe even change your perspevtive on life, go to the White Lions of Shaolin and experience it for yourself.

Jonathan H.

White lions is unlike any other school I've encountered. Sifu teaches immediate applications for all of the skills, and excellent guidance for both the mental and physical progression in kung fu.

As a very out of shape beginner I've never once felt embarrassed or out of place, and can't really ever see myself not wanting to keep learning from White Lions.

Edward P.

An establishment that purveys Kung Fu must wear a few hats in my opinion to be successful. When I looked for a place to learn, I knew I wanted someone confident and experienced in physical fitness, body mechanics, the martial art, teaching, and practical self defense. Also, I knew it would not be realistic to find a Shaolin Temple in the immediate area and searched for a style that would do. The White Lions of Shaolin became my choice after reading about Choy Li Fut and the impressive documented lineage. When visiting and then joining the school, I found that I had been missing out on something I needed. Sifu leads the school, his business, and our pace with a unique charisma. Like anything worth having in life, what you put into things is what you get out of them. Sifu leads by example in this, which helps paint a picture of what work and time lay ahead. Kung Fu takes a kind of discipline that can be developed with some patience and effort. I love that there is always something else to learn and that it challenges me, which provides relief from the same old reps at the gym. Walking inside for the first time, you may get the sense you are about to sweat and get your heart rate up. This is fact. I enjoy the stretch, the workout, the open schedule, the teachers, and having a place I can go.
There are always things that can be improved upon in anything you look at. This is not ancient China where Kung Fu is practiced by carefully selected ultra loyal students in secret. This is a business open to the public and new people come and go. So I keep an open mind and understand that although I may not like everyone or all situations, those who stick around tend to be good people. This also makes room for a fun atmosphere and there tend to be smiling faces on a daily basis.

Anthony R.

I would not recommend Sifu Giatrakis as an instructor. His conduct made it very uncomfortable for me to train under him. While knowledgeable, dedicated, charismatic and experienced in his field, this is evident by his years teaching inside and outside the dojo, along with his resilience in moving forward with the direction of White Lions and the recognition that he has received over the years. But if you are going to join, there are some things I feel that you need to be informed upon. First of all, there's a big reason why the Shaolin Wu-Yi Institute in Plano, TX came about...to distance themselves from Sifu Giatrakis (ask the instructors there who were formerly associated with the Carrollton location). I studied under him when I was in high school (from 2002-2006 when the school was under a different name, 'Chinese Martial Arts Institute') so I speak from personal experience. I learned a lot during my time and I'm thankful that I did, specifically on the various weaponry (sai, nunchukus, bo staff, broad sword). Though I didn't understand it at the time, along with many things in life, looking back on my experience I can see that Sifu Giatrakis was out-of-control, manipulative, arrogant, petty, belitting and immature in many instances. He would also unnecessarily and unexpectedly curse in our conversations at the dojo. I recall one incident where I asked him a simple, casual question and he went off on a tangent about random, unrelated topics along with being very belitting, never answering my question in the meanwhile. Sifu Giatrakis did have a knack of talking behind my back about me (as a high school kid mind you) and used my private instructor (Mr. Gonzalez) as a conduit for further gossip and to get my private information from him that was not his to begin with. He did this to others as well. Sifu Giatrakis also said I was "arrogant" and made claims that I "think I know it all" as a front to be mean towards me. Looking back I never claimed that, I never had an issue with arrogance and I knew I didn't know it all (hints why I was learning martial arts). Even if I did come off that way, which many high schoolers do and if I did my sincerest apologies, it's not an excuse on his part to be rude. It's really not. I just sought to do my best. I finally recall an incident when we talked on the phone and he talked over me telling me how I was partying in college and I simply had enough, interrupted him and told him that wasn't true (I didn't know what parties were going on much less where they were at), he didn't like it, proceeded to get angry and call me "boy"...really? The man didn't practice, much less understand, what he was preaching. As an instructor, it would behoove him to ask himself if he's showing the same respect that he demands from his students. I would not recommend Sifu Giatrakis nor going to his school based on my past experience with him. Going forward, I have forgiven Sifu Giatrakis and wish him well with his White Lions endeavor, and I am thankful for the knowledge, training, and experience that I received in the art of Kung Fu from someone who knew what they were doing and cared about what they were doing, so I will say there was some redemption in learning from him. And while his actions haven't seriously affected my life however; I simply post this review to make others aware, not to attack him nor the school. (By the way, I am not a part of nor am I trying to promote the Plano Kung Fu school. Nor have I ever been a part of that school. The owner assumed this in his response. And I guess he "folded" already if an entire school distanced themselves from him and removed him from their lineage)