has anyone here trained with Sammy Franco?

[Joab]

Or been taught by Sammy Franco? I'm more interested in the man than the style, although any insights you have as to the practicality of his system would be appreciated. He really doesn't let you talk to him before you sign up, your supposed to do the research, than send $100 for his t- shirt and dvd and other things and that is only if he accepts your application. You are not allowed to view one of his classes before becoming a student, and that is all from Franco's own website. I find a lot of red flags in all of this quite frankly, and I'm not sure he has the right kind of attitude I'm looking for in a teacher. Any insights would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[wushuguy]

never heard of him, but a search on google brought up this: http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=14164
although things on there should still be taken with a spoon full of salt.
​

 

[MJS]

Personally, I'd take anything I read on BSDO with a serious grain of salt. If its anything outside of the nutrider club, its usually frowned upon.

Just my .02 on that site.

To the OP: I'm not familiar with your area. What schools are in your area? How far are you willing to travel to train? As I said in the other thread, my only experience with him is what I've seen from a few of his books and on his forum.

 

[sgtmac_46]

I've seen a couple of his videos. It's not bad stuff. He does seem to know what he's talking about for the most part, and what i've seen is practical and straight forward.

Bottom line as i've seen is that what he's selling as far as training materials is of average quality and would be useful for someone wanting a basic understanding of practical self defense training, if they are willing to train and apply it.......nothing earth shattering or ground breaking, but decent for what it is.

As for the guy himself, I have no idea. Could be a total ego maniac or the nicest guy that ever walked.......if personal training is what you're looking for, buy a couple of his videos.......see if what he's teaching is what you want to learn. If so, go from there.......if not, don't.

I think he actually has a free product video he sends out for the cost of shipping. Won't tell you much about how he is personally, but it should at least give a flavor for what he's teaching.

 

[Omar B]

I always assumed he was a video guy more than a guy who teaches classes. That being said, he could have some solid ideas and concepts but I'm not one for videos and books. His web site's forum seems to frown upon traditional martial arts and even more modern ones like Krav Maga.

He seems to have a nice business going and I guess that's evidence that people are buying his products and find value in it. But it's not in me to learn from anything but hands on instruction.

 

[Tames D]

.

 

[Draven]

I did met some people who learned from him years ago, they kept talking about how "bad ***" they were so left.

 

[Bobby135]

Maybe it is just me, but I am a little leery of someone who would not let me observer a class before hand. It seems kind of strange that keeping the location of the school secret and charging someone $100 before they walk in the door seems kind strange. Just my .02

 

[SensibleManiac]

I'll just say there are better out there and that you should follow your gut.

 

[Joab]

Thanks, I've done my research and have no doubt that I should stay as far away from Sammy Franco as possible, we would not get along at all. Thanks for your comments.