The Kung Fu School, Houston

Owned by a cadre of US-military veterans, The Kung Fu School operates under the direction of Sifu Houston Fuqua—a martial-arts prodigy who started out when he was 7 years old and taught his first class when he was 12. Sifu Houston went on to serve in the US Army, where he developed unquestionable discipline while training in special operations and ordinance. While serving his country, he continued his martial-arts training, earning two black sashes in two styles of kung fu. His skills caught the attention of a Chinese monastery, where he was invited to spend up to eight years perfecting his art. However, Houston declined this honor in order to stay home and continue teaching his students.

Today, Sifu Houston tutors his pupils in martial-arts styles such as my jhong law horn, wing chun, hung gar, and tai chi. His cohort, Sandy Kehoe, works in real estate by day and assists Sifu by night. She, too, is a product of armed-services discipline, as she spent four years in the Air Force, two years studying kung fu, and proudly wears a red sash. The duo facilitates classes on kung fu, mixed martial arts, self-defense, personal training, cardio kickboxing, and tai chi. They strive to imbue each session with the spirit of kung fu, which means “success through effort”—a phrase first uttered by the man who built the Great Wall of China.