Could use some advice on local schools

[TurtleBait]

Hey everybody. I really like the site and I hope you guys can help me out here. I am 16 years old and I want to get back into martial arts. Specifically Krav Maga. Trouble is, there are only 2 schools near me that teach it. One is in Raleigh, NC which is a 4 hour round trip...I don't think I am able to do that 3 + times a week. The other is an ATA place about 10 minutes away.

My issue is that I am really leery of the ATA. A few years back I took Taekwondo with them for about 2 years. I started because I wanted to learn self-defense. I had a really good teacher for a while but then the management changed things around...Turned into a life skills class pretty much. It seemed like we would do maybe 30 minutes out of the hour class actually working on stuff and the rest was listening to the instructor run her mouth about the 'word of the day' 'life skill of the week' type stuff. I could have dealt with that except with the new regime there was very little actual self defense being taught. It was 100% forms except on sparring days and then it was suddenly no contact. I also discovered that the results of your testing was dependent on how expensive your contract was rather than on your actual performance.

So my questions are these. Has anyone had experience with ATA Krav Maga? Could my bad experience be because I wasn't in an adult class, or is that typical for ATA? Also, am I missing any schools that teach Krav Maga in the New Bern area? I seem to be in a bad location as far as martial arts goes...The only other place I know of nearby is the Family Karate Center that teaches Brazilian JiuJitsu and I hear bad things about them...Thanks in advance.

 

[K831]

You would have to check it out to say for sure. I don't know what "ATA" is, but here are some other peoples opinions on their KM:

http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=28391


Don't know my way around NC but you may be able to find something here:

http://www.challengermartialarts.com/schoolsNC.htm

Found some schools in Morehead city and Jacksonville, if you can do an hour each way.

 

[khand50]

ata is the american tae kwon do association, if i am reading him correctly. my advice is the visit the school you want to study at and ask if you can watch a couple of classes. two classes should give you an idea of what they are teaching or how they are teaching.
another way is to try to find someone teaching private classes in an art or blend that would give you some basics. it might be more difficult to do but they are out there and they dont advertise alot. that is how i found my friend who is teaching my his blended art as well as what he has learned in the moy yat ving tsun system. ask around.
i dont know where you live but you might get lucky. good luck.

 

[TurtleBait]

Yeah it was the American Taekwondo Association...Sorry bout that. I guess I'll go watch a few classes. I hadn't thought about finding private lessons...Something to look into. Thanks for the links as well.

 

[JohnASE]

I also suggest that you check out the class.

Just because the Krav Maga class is being held at the ATA school doesn't necessarily mean that it's run by the same people. Sometimes, school owners will let other instructors come in to their school and teach independent programs.

Even if it is run by the same people, I would guess that the focus of the class will be very different. If I understand correctly, ATA programs often stress sport TKD while Krav Maga typically emphasizes self defense. Also, you could be right about your ATA kids class having included more "life skills" stuff than adult classes.

A visit should clear up a lot of this.

 

[frank raud]

http://www.fightsurvival.com/ I would contact Nick Hughes, see if he has something in your area.