Privacy policy

Effective Date: September 20, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how U.S. Kuo Shu Academy collects, uses, and shares information when you visit uskuoshu.com (the "Site"), fill out a form, or text or call us, and the choices you have. By using the Site, you agree to the practices described here.

1. Who we are

The Site is operated by U.S. Kuo Shu Academy (also written US Kuo Shu Academy or USKSA), a martial arts school in Maryland. We teach kung fu, tai chi, meditation, and related martial arts to children, families, and adults at two Maryland campuses:

• Owings Mills campus: 10999 Red Run Blvd, Suite 214, Owings Mills, MD 21117. Phone (443) 394-9222.
• Marriottsville campus (serving Ellicott City): 2470 Longstone Lane, Suite O, Marriottsville, MD 21104. Phone (443) 545-5566.

You can reach us about this policy at info@uskuoshu.com, by text at (443) 888-2429, or by mail at either campus, attention: Privacy.

2. Information we collect

Information you give us. When you fill out a form on the Site, we collect what you type into it. Our forms currently ask for:

• Lesson request and contact forms: your email address, contact phone number, the campus you select (Owings Mills or Marriottsville), and the program you are interested in (Children's Martial Arts, Adult Martial Arts, or Tai Chi Classes). Some versions also ask for your name.
• Free book and free lesson offer: your name, email, phone, program interest, campus, and a shipping address (street, city, state, and ZIP) so we can mail the book.

Form submissions are tagged as prospects and added to our email list, which you can leave at any time (Section 4). We also collect what you send us by email, text, or phone. Enrollment forms and waivers signed at a campus are governed by the enrollment agreement and school policies, not by this policy.

Accounts and purchases, if offered. The Site runs on Shopify. If we offer customer accounts, memberships, event tickets, or products online, Shopify collects what is needed for your account or order, such as name, billing and shipping address, email, phone, and payment details. We never see or store your full card number. As of the Effective Date, the Site lists no products for sale and does not require an account.

Information collected automatically. When you visit the Site, we and our service providers collect technical data through cookies, pixels, and similar technologies: your IP address and the approximate location it implies, device and browser type and settings, pages viewed, links clicked, time on page, the site or ad that referred you, and cookie identifiers. Section 3 describes these tools and how to control them.

3. Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small files placed on your device. Pixels and tags are code that tells a service you loaded a page or took an action. Some are essential to make the Site work; others measure use. We do not run Google Analytics, advertising pixels, or any other third-party advertising or analytics tracker on the Site. As of the Effective Date, the Site uses only the tools below. If that changes, we will update this page and ask for your consent where the law requires it.

• Shopify store analytics. Shopify, our website platform, sets its own cookies and collects visit and performance data. See shopify.com/legal/privacy.
• Third-party form hosting. Our lesson request form is embedded from a customer relationship management platform (NetScore) that hosts the form, stores what you submit so we can follow up, and may set its own cookies inside the form.
• Google Fonts. The Site loads icon fonts from Google Fonts, which sends your IP address to Google.
• Spam protection. Forms on the Site use Google reCAPTCHA through Shopify, which sends device and browser data to Google to tell people from automated bots.

How to control cookies. You can delete or block cookies in your browser settings; blocking essential cookies may stop parts of the Site from working.

Global Privacy Control. Where required by law, we treat a Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signal as a request to opt out of targeted advertising and any sale or sharing of personal data for that browser. A browser signal cannot identify you, so to opt out across all records held under your name, contact us (Section 8). The Site does not respond to the older "Do Not Track" setting.

4. How we use information

We use information to:

• Respond to your questions and lesson requests, and schedule trial classes and appointments.
• Mail you a free book or other materials you requested.
• Process registrations, memberships, event sign-ups, and purchases, if offered on the Site.
• Send class updates, schedule changes, closure notices, and reminders.
• Send marketing email about our programs, events, and offers. Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link, and you can also email us to be removed.
• Send text messages when you have agreed to receive them (Section 5).
• Understand how the Site is used, fix problems, and improve it.
• Keep students, staff, and campuses safe, prevent fraud and misuse, and comply with the law.

5. Text messages

We offer two-way texting at (443) 888-2429. If you text us first, we will reply. We send reminder or marketing texts only to people who have agreed to receive them, for example by texting us or giving us a mobile number for that purpose. Consent to texts is not a condition of enrollment or purchase.

Message frequency varies with your conversation; reminder or promotional texts are typically no more than a few per month. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP at any time to stop; you will get one final confirmation message. Reply HELP for help, or email info@uskuoshu.com. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. We do not share your mobile number or texting consent with third parties for their marketing.

6. How we share information

We share personal information only as described here.

• Service providers. Companies that help us run the Site and the school and may use your data only to serve us: Shopify (hosting, accounts, and any checkout), our customer relationship management and form platform, email and text providers, payment processors, scheduling tools, and technical support.
• Legal requirements and safety. When we believe in good faith that a law, subpoena, court order, or government request requires it, or to protect the safety of our students, staff, visitors, or the public.
• Business transfers. If the school or its assets are sold, merged, or reorganized, your information may transfer with the transaction, subject to this policy.
• With your direction. For example, when you ask us to publish a testimonial or photo.

We do not sell personal data for money or for any other valuable consideration, we never sell sensitive personal data, and we do not give your information to other businesses for their own marketing. We do not run targeted advertising from the Site, and we honor a Global Privacy Control signal where the law requires it.

7. Children

We teach children, but the Site is directed to parents, guardians, and adults. Parents and guardians handle enrollment, and we do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has submitted information through the Site, email us and we will delete it promptly.

Under Maryland law, we do not sell the personal data of any consumer we know is under 18, and we do not run targeted advertising to users we know are under 18. Information about child students collected at the school (name, age, emergency contacts, health notes on a waiver) comes from the parent or guardian, is used only to run the program safely, and is never used for advertising. A parent or guardian can review, correct, or request deletion of a child's information by contacting us. We may need to keep certain records, such as signed waivers and incident reports, for the period required by law or our insurer.

8. Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under state privacy laws, including the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act (effective October 1, 2025) and similar laws elsewhere. Many apply only to businesses above certain size thresholds. Whether or not a law applies to us, we honor these requests from anyone:

• Access. Confirm whether we process your personal data and get a copy in a portable format.
• Correction. Fix inaccurate personal data.
• Deletion. Delete personal data we hold about you, subject to legal retention requirements.
• Opt out. Stop the use of your personal data for targeted advertising, any sale, or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects. We do not sell data, run targeted advertising from the Site, or profile in that way. If you believe we hold data used for any of these purposes, contact us and we will stop.

We do not collect sensitive data through the Site. Health information provided on a signed waiver at a campus is used only to run the program safely, is never sold, and is never used for advertising.

How to submit a request. Email info@uskuoshu.com with "Privacy Request" in the subject line, or mail a request to either campus. Tell us which right you are exercising and the email and phone number you used with us. We respond within 45 days and will tell you if we need up to 45 more. The first request in a 12-month period is free.

Verifying your identity. We match your request against the information we hold and may send a confirmation to the email or phone on file. For a request about a child, we verify that you are the parent or guardian. You may authorize an agent in writing; we may ask for proof and still verify your identity directly.

Appeals. If we decline a request, we will explain why. You may appeal within 60 days by replying to our decision, and we will answer in writing within 60 days. If we deny the appeal, you may contact the Maryland Attorney General's Division of Consumer Protection (marylandattorneygeneral.gov, 410-528-8662).

No discrimination. We will not deny you service, charge a different price, or treat you differently for exercising these rights.

9. Data retention

We keep personal information as long as needed for the purposes in this policy, then delete or anonymize it. In general: lesson requests and prospect records are kept for up to 24 months after your last contact with us unless you enroll; student and family records are kept for the term of enrollment and the period afterward required by law, our insurer, or accounting rules; marketing list entries until you unsubscribe; and analytics data per the retention settings of the tools in Section 3. We keep records longer when needed to resolve a dispute or comply with a legal hold.

10. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, including access controls, secure hosting through Shopify and our service providers, and encryption of data in transit. No website is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a breach affects your personal information, we will notify you and the authorities as required by law. Use a strong, unique password for any account and tell us if you suspect unauthorized access.

11. Third-party links

The Site links to other websites and services, such as Google Maps, video hosts, social media pages, and scheduling or payment providers. Each has its own privacy policy, and we are not responsible for its practices.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our practices, tools, or the law change. We will post the new version here and update the Effective Date. If a change materially reduces your rights, we will give notice on the Site or by email before it takes effect. Continued use of the Site after a change means you accept the updated policy.

13. How to contact us

Questions or requests about this policy:

• Email: info@uskuoshu.com (subject line "Privacy Request" for rights requests)
• Text: (443) 888-2429
• Phone: (443) 394-9222 (Owings Mills) or (443) 545-5566 (Marriottsville)
• Mail: U.S. Kuo Shu Academy, Attn: Privacy, at either campus address in Section 1

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact your state's consumer protection office (for Maryland, see Section 8).