Finding a Quality School

[MJS]

Well, seeing that this area has been dead for a while now, I thought I'd attempt to put some life back into it here, with this topic.

When one is trying to find a Krav Maga school, what are some of the key things that they should be looking for? Some martial art schools offer Krav Maga classes, in addition to the base art that they offer, ie: A TKD school may offer KM, a few times a week. Other schools, are just KM schools, such as the KMF in NYC and the IKMA in NJ.

I'm sure we've all heard of some horror stories, so I thought I'd toss this question out for discussion.

 

[WC_lun]

Like any art, find out the instructor's qualifications. If he got his certificate of instructor from the mail or learned in a couple of seminars, run! Talk to the instructor and see if he is someone you can respect and learn from for an extended amount of time. Does what he shows you make sense? Can he tell you what concepts and principles the art is based upon? If either answer is no, then find another teacher or school.

 

[DarkShadowfax]

I'd try to find out as much about the instructor as possible: whether he or she obtained his/her instructors certificate the hard way (years of training, obtaining both student and instructor belts) or the easy way (Instructors crash course). KM is becoming very popular these days, and gym owners might want to add it because it would attract students. Big chance they'd crash course.

I'd also take a look at the people who have trained there for a long time - Of course it's hard to judge whether they're good or not when you're a beginner, but if it doesn't look good, you gotta run.

 

[Supra Vijai]

I've recently found a KM school near me, the credentials seem legit - not too marketing heavy or pushing tons of acheivements on potential students. Most claims seems fairly modest and stick to just years the instructor has spent in the particular art and any other experience. Full time KM school only, nothing else taught. Plus it helps that my Sensei knows the founder of the school and can vouch for their attitude to training

With most schools I've looked at (any art) or been recommended etc, I tend to see what I can find on my own and then approach my Sensei as he's been in the game a lot longer than I have obviously and has had a lot more exposure to various styles/practitioners so I go with his opinion.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

How much time have they actually trained in Krav Maga and with whom?

Do they teach another art? Because, if they do then you may want to watch out
as they may have just attended a weekend instructor course!

There are unfortunately a huge amount of Krav Maga schools where the instructor learned all he or she knows during a weekend course. So before joining one really investigate thoroughly!!!

 

[Supra Vijai]

There are unfortunately a huge amount of Krav Maga schools where the instructor learned all he or she knows during a weekend course. So before joining one really investigate thoroughly!!!

One could say that about almost every art though right? I'm not defending KM per se, I'm not a student of it at present or have any other affiliations towards it, just noting my personal opinion is that statement could be applied across the board

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

One could say that about any school in that you should definitely investigate. However with Krav Maga around six or seven years ago there were a lot of weekend instructor courses. I remember this because being a wholesale century martial arts dealer there were several Krav organizations that went this route and advertised like crazy to school owners. Some went from a couple of schools to hundreds of schools overnight. So with Krav Maga in the United States you really need to look deeply into the instructors background and how much actual training they have. I have personally been in several schools where I have more training than the instructors and my training in Krav Maga has been fairly limited. So it is definitely a buyer beware kind of thing with Krav Maga and it is up to the buyer to investigate and make sure they are getting the real thing and not some thing added on at a local McDojo!

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

There are however some excellent Krav Maga instructors out there and the system is solid!

 

[Supra Vijai]

One could say that about any school in that you should definitely investigate. However with Krav Maga around six or seven years ago there were a lot of weekend instructor courses. I remember this because being a wholesale century martial arts dealer there were several Krav organizations that went this route and advertised like crazy to school owners. Some went from a couple of schools to hundreds of schools overnight. So with Krav Maga in the United States you really need to look deeply into the instructors background and how much actual training they have. I have personally been in several schools where I have more training than the instructors and my training in Krav Maga has been fairly limited. So it is definitely a buyer beware kind of thing with Krav Maga and it is up to the buyer to investigate and make sure they are getting the real thing and not some thing added on at a local McDojo!

Ahh thanks Brian, wasn't aware of that bit of history I've had a look at a few different orgs in Melbourne, Australia and find the IKMF is represented fairly heavily while there is almost nothing for IKMA or IKI. The place I was looking at in particular is an offshoot (Ninjutsu terms coming through lol) teaching TKM (tactical krav maga) and founded by Itay Gil. The Melbourne school is run by Adori Bubble. The place seems to be centred around units rather than belts and primarily a military style as Mr. Gil was/is an active member of the IDF.