Newbie Needs Advice

[justanormalguy]

Work in Plainfield and unfortunately there are no schools further south than Spitfire.

 

[crazydiamond]

Work in Plainfield and unfortunately there are no schools further south than Spitfire.

Closest Suggestion I can come up with - The Carlson Gracie MMA Team Mixed Martial Arts Boxing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Muay Thai Kickboxing and Wrestling

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Closest Suggestion I can come up with - The Carlson Gracie MMA Team Mixed Martial Arts Boxing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Muay Thai Kickboxing and Wrestling

Great school, and one I would likely attend if I lived in the area. (Carlson awarded me my black belt, so I would say that.) However, the best aspect of that school is the BJJ and the OP has said that he's not interested in grappling arts. They do have Muay Thai and boxing classes, but I'm not sure if it's a longer drive than the OP want's to make. If it's not too far, it would be worth checking out.

 

[Paul_D]

My daughter is 13 and I worry about her safety in today's society.

Teaching her (or learning for yourself) martial arts for the purposes of self defence is like teaching children to do a stuntman roll over the hood of a car for the purposes of road saftey. You have ignored all of the things they need to learn to avoid being run over in the first place and gone straight to the "**** has hit the fan" stage.

or, to put it another way, pilots learn how to do emergency crash landings. However, most of their time, effort and training is focused on doing whatever to takes to avoid ever having to get to the stage where one becomes necessary. Just learning only how to do an emergency crash landing makes you very good at emergency crash landing, but it doesn't make you a pilot. Learning martial arts makes you good at martial arts, it doesn't make you good at keep yourself safe so you never have to use them.

Not that teaching her (or learning for yourself) physical techniques is a bad thing, but you are focusing your efforts on what to do once everything has gone wrong, if self defence is your main focus your efforts are better focused on preventative measures.

Iain Abernethy uses the following percentages, and I quite like them as in my expedience I think they are about right.

95% of self defence is Threat Awareness and Evaluation, and Target Hardening.
4% is verbal de-escalation
1% is physical (material arts/fighting) techqniues

If you concentrate your efforts on the 99% chances you reduce the chances of ever having to get to the 1%.

I recommend you check out two things. One is a book called Dead or Alive: The Ultimate Self Protection Handbook by Geoff Thomposn. It will, amongst many many other things, teach you what criminals (muggers/sexual attackers) look for when selecting their targets. If you know what they are looking for, you know what to avoid doing, and they will pass you over for an easier victim. I am also told by people I have leant the book to that the first third seems aimed at women, although I must admit I never picked upon that when I read it.

Secondly I would recommend you check out the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. It's a free website, particularly useful for women, which gives practical advise on how to stay safe.

As for what art you should take up, I always say the same thing. Try everything in your area, and chose the one you enjoy the most because if you enjoy it you are more likely to stick with it, and therefore become good at it

 

[donald1]

For new people there are 5 crucial rules
1. Follow ALL of the rules
2. Do NOT break any of the rules
3. Obey rule #2
4. Dont question the rules
5. Do not forget any of the rules

Joking aside... some important things to remember pay attention, give it your best, ask relevant questions when apropriate, practice at home if possible, be serious but its okay to have fun

 

[K-man]

Thanks for the response EddieCyrax. I was planning on visiting one of the two Krav Maga schools to take an introductory class. Like I said earlier, the one that is further away seems to be better (because of the instructor's experience and how long it's been around) but I think I may be less apt to really get into it due to the time and hassle involved with the travel.
I am drawn to Krav Maga for a number of reasons. I first heard about it when my wife and I were on our honeymoon approximately 9 years ago and met another couple who were involved and loved it. Ever since then I've wanted to start in it but distance was always stopped me. I like Krav Maga because it is seems pretty straight-forward (not a lot of fancy moves and time spent emphasizing tradition) and effective (I like that it incorporates weapons and multiple attackers). I'm not really interested in disciplines that emphasize more on wrestling techniques (never appealed to me).

By all means take as many introductory classes on offer and watch for the following things. How well can the instructor perform the techniques he is demonstrating. That will generally give an indication of his level of training. I would not be overly concerned with the actual level of the instructor. That can be political and may or may not be an indication of ability. Also, if a top instructor can't get the message across to his students, I wouldn't train there, no matter how good he seems.

Which brings me to the second point. Look at how well his top students perform. If they look good and their techniques are working, thumbs up for their instruction. Talk to those students and ask why they are training there and how they feel the training goes in terms of being effective and instilling confidence.

And finally, I'll come back to the instructor. In many cases instructors have been taken into Krav as instructors because they have extensive martial art backgrounds. Krav is not rocket science and doesn't take years to learn. There are only a couple of techniques that are pretty much exclusively Krav and a good martial artist with have those off pat in very short time. What I am saying is, in say Aikido, if the teacher didn't have at least six or seven years experience I wouldn't be training there. Not saying the training is bad, but they are not going to have the skills after that small time to teach me what I want. Same for Karate.

But Krav is different. Every single Krav instructor in the organisation I am part of was a black belt in karate first, many of them above 3rd dan. Some had military backgrounds, others security. Some had been training Systema for years, some kick boxing or Muay Thai, others have black belts in BJJ. A couple of us are also Aikido black belts. Most, if not all have been instructing other styles for years. Within Krav, none would have been Krav instructors for more than two years because it is a new organisation. What I am saying is, look beyond the immediate qualification.

I looked at the syllabus and it is similar to most around. It has a few bits that have been added and that is what Krav is about. Using anything effective you can lay your hands on. I would have no issues going to the nearest class if my concerns listed above are addressed.

So, good luck with your training. Krav is good training and should be great fun as well.

By the way, I would still check out the guy Brian recommended. That's first hand advice.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

For new people there are 5 crucial rules
1. Follow ALL of the rules
2. Do NOT break any of the rules
3. Obey rule #2
4. Dont question the rules
5. Do not forget any of the rules

Joking aside... some important things to remember pay attention, give it your best, ask relevant questions when apropriate, practice at home if possible, be serious but its okay to have fun

Wait ... what was rule 5 again?

 

[justanormalguy]

I talked to the trainer at the closer Krav Maga location (Spitfire Krav Maga). She said they do not spar in level 1 (they want students to learn and practice the fundamentals of combatives and make them safer in as little amount of time as they can). They introduce light sparring in Level 2 and progress from there once their students have the philosophy and fundamentals. They do full gear boxing and MMA sparring.

She also said she is working on adding classes (maybe a week night) but needs to make more classes feasible. She said she would have no problem with me taking some classes at the further location (Dupage Krav Maga) and is sure the instructor at the other location would be fine with it too (she trains there). She also said most of her students are concentrating on the self-defense aspect (fitness is secondary) and she has a couple of boxers/trainers that drop in when they don't have classes of their own. She said she has a couple of guys that would be suitable training partners for me.

So I think I am going to check it out Saturday and see how it goes.

 

[Rich Parsons]

I would consider taking a free class or two from anyone you are interested in training with.
If not available then watch a class or two and make sure you can get along with the instructor.

I also would add FMA (Filipino Martial Arts) Schools to your list as they have a lot to offer you based upon your first post.

Good Luck

 

[donasidasd]

Boxer defends his wife

Video Boxer defends his wife Find Yourself

 

[Rich Parsons]

Boxer defends his wife

Video Boxer defends his wife Find Yourself

Where is his wife in the video?

 

[Tony Dismukes]

I talked to the trainer at the closer Krav Maga location (Spitfire Krav Maga). She said they do not spar in level 1 (they want students to learn and practice the fundamentals of combatives and make them safer in as little amount of time as they can). They introduce light sparring in Level 2 and progress from there once their students have the philosophy and fundamentals. They do full gear boxing and MMA sparring.

She also said she is working on adding classes (maybe a week night) but needs to make more classes feasible. She said she would have no problem with me taking some classes at the further location (Dupage Krav Maga) and is sure the instructor at the other location would be fine with it too (she trains there). She also said most of her students are concentrating on the self-defense aspect (fitness is secondary) and she has a couple of boxers/trainers that drop in when they don't have classes of their own. She said she has a couple of guys that would be suitable training partners for me.

So I think I am going to check it out Saturday and see how it goes.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

[VT_Vectis]

Hi, welcome to the forum and good luck on your search.

Have you looked at wing chun at all, I know Dominic Izzo is in Chicago and I have heard good things about him and his you tube videos are very thought provoking. He's a former Chicago cop with a wrestling background and his gym/school is located at
Tower Rd in Schaumburg, Il. Anywhere near you?

Here's a link to his site;

About Izzo Tactical Combat

Good luck at the Krav place, would love to try that some when myself. All the best.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

Hi, welcome to the forum and good luck on your search.

Have you looked at wing chun at all, I know Dominic Izzo is in Chicago and I have heard good things about him and his you tube videos are very thought provoking. He's a former Chicago cop with a wrestling background and his gym/school is located at
Tower Rd in Schaumburg, Il. Anywhere near you?

Here's a link to his site;

About Izzo Tactical Combat

Good luck at the Krav place, would love to try that some when myself. All the best.

Unfortunately, that's an hour away from the OP. Too bad, because it might be a good fit for him. (Although I don't know that WC is cardio-intensive enough to help with his weight-loss goal.)

 

[VT_Vectis]

Ah well, not to worry.

Izzo does a lot of fitness/cardio etc as part of his training See him on his YT channel; the guys a machine! Lol

 

[donald1]

Where is his wife in the video?

Imo, im a little skeptic about that post, I saw the exact same post on next poster 2.0

 

[Buka]

Welcome aboard, bro. Best of luck finding what works for you, please keep us posted.

 

[Zero]

Teaching her (or learning for yourself) martial arts for the purposes of self defence is like teaching children to do a stuntman roll over the hood of a car for the purposes of road saftey. You have ignored all of the things they need to learn to avoid being run over in the first place and gone straight to the "**** has hit the fan" stage.

or, to put it another way, pilots learn how to do emergency crash landings. However, most of their time, effort and training is focused on doing whatever to takes to avoid ever having to get to the stage where one becomes necessary. Just learning only how to do an emergency crash landing makes you very good at emergency crash landing, but it doesn't make you a pilot. Learning martial arts makes you good at martial arts, it doesn't make you good at keep yourself safe so you never have to use them.

Not that teaching her (or learning for yourself) physical techniques is a bad thing, but you are focusing your efforts on what to do once everything has gone wrong, if self defence is your main focus your efforts are better focused on preventative measures.

Iain Abernethy uses the following percentages, and I quite like them as in my expedience I think they are about right.

95% of self defence is Threat Awareness and Evaluation, and Target Hardening.
4% is verbal de-escalation
1% is physical (material arts/fighting) techqniues

If you concentrate your efforts on the 99% chances you reduce the chances of ever having to get to the 1%.

I recommend you check out two things. One is a book called Dead or Alive: The Ultimate Self Protection Handbook by Geoff Thomposn. It will, amongst many many other things, teach you what criminals (muggers/sexual attackers) look for when selecting their targets. If you know what they are looking for, you know what to avoid doing, and they will pass you over for an easier victim. I am also told by people I have leant the book to that the first third seems aimed at women, although I must admit I never picked upon that when I read it.

Secondly I would recommend you check out the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. It's a free website, particularly useful for women, which gives practical advise on how to stay safe.

As for what art you should take up, I always say the same thing. Try everything in your area, and chose the one you enjoy the most because if you enjoy it you are more likely to stick with it, and therefore become good at it

Paul-D has also made a good point for you JustANormalGuy. Understand you want to get into a school you can stick with long term but if "self defence" for yourself and you daughter/wife are a priority and also core driver for your desire to pick up a martial art, it may pay dividends to, alongside or ahead of your [Krav] or whatever school it is, attend some quality (there is some real bad stuff out there!) SD classes and impart this knowledge on your family members. Also, there are great books out there, perfect for you, your daughter and wife to read - given her age, your daughter may be inclined to tiff the book out the window but no reason why you or/and your wife can't talk her through this stuff. I would also add to the list "The Gift of Fear". I read the book, took some good things from it and then passed on to my wife and some female friends at work to read (as personally I thought more of the book was focused on and of value to female readers). I take the time to explain and go through things with my 5 year old daughter about all kind of "safety" matters and to revisit and reinforce them so they "go home" and "stay home". There will be many more subjects for a 13 year old to take on board and appreciate.

As said, self defence is primarily about avoiding the nasty situation in the first place, physical defence techniques are being applied pretty late in the SD game...