Denver Kung Fu studio helps women find balance, strength

Regardless of sexuality, race or body type, anyone can be a victim of attack, said Mez Charney, an instructor at Denver Kung Fu, one of many Chinese martial arts studios in the metro area and offers women full self-defense and martial arts training using the ving tsun Kung Fu style.

“You can be a white, straight woman and you can be victimized. You can be a part of a minority, and you can be a person of color and you can be victimized,” she said. “Telling somebody you’re a lesbian is not going to prevent them from raping you.”

The term Kung Fu – Chinese for any skill that takes learning and focus – is typically used now describe self-defense techniques through martial arts that cultivates balance, strength and fearlessness.

Charney, who proudly proclaimed, “I’m queer,” understands the social pressures lesbians experience and the dangers that potentially come with being openly gay.

“Homophobia exists, and it exists in vile disgusting ways,” she said. “There are men out there who think that a lesbian is just a woman who never met the right penis and they’re the right penis, which is what ‘corrective rape’ is. They think your behavior can be corrected through rape.”

So she works hard to help her women students learn to protect themselves through Kung Fu.

Charney is not one to mince words. “The only thing that will prevent someone from raping you is ripping off their balls or putting your fingers through their eyes or incapacitating them enough to be able to get away,” she said.

Charney is 5 feet 3 inches and weighs 120 pounds. Yet her 10 years of Kung Fu training give her the skills, strength and knowledge to kick some serious butt.

She has trained side-by-side with Sam Kohlenberg, owner of the studio, for 10 years.

Kung Fu is more than just a martial art, as it gives people the ability to learn how to trust their instincts and react to violence in a positive, relaxed way, Kohlenberg said.

“I think people react differently when they’re able to relax as opposed to a fight or flight reaction,” he said. “There are some people who come into the studio and get a lot of meditation out of Kung Fu. There are some people who want to learn strictly self defense.”

The relaxation that comes through the teachings of Kung Fu has a lot to do with the fact that students gain confidence in their ability to defend themselves. In turn, that confidence carries over into several other areas of life. It reduces stress, Kohlenberg said.

“It allows people to be relaxed enough in order to not pound on the steering wheel when stuck in traffic,” he said, highlighting one of many examples of how the martial art can teach students inner peace.

Originally located in the Rino district of Denver, Kohlenberg opened his studio in 2008. Roughly two years ago, he moved the studio to Broadway for more exposure.

Both Kohlenberg and Charney trained with the elite Kung Fu masters across the nation.

“Mez and I both travel the country regularly to do training with grandmaster Moy Tung,” Kohlenberg said.

Moy Tung is a student of Moy Yat who was one of the most famous students of Ip Man, who trained Bruce Lee years ago in China.

The pair also trained in Detroit under sifu Owen Matson, who is a highly notable instructor in the Kung Fu world.

“As an instructor, I take my training very seriously,” Kohlenberg said, adding that he’s continuously training every year to take his skills to higher levels.

“The best part of the training for me includes qualities and skills that I didn’t even know I was looking for when I started down this road,” he said.

For Charney, Kung Fu has given her the power to say no to anything and the power to make good, solid decisions.