New Dojo in town.

Check this out, the instructor is great and the style is the best!

http://www.contactkicks.com

Any questions feel free to ask.

 

tell me about the style. what's it compare to?

on the website it pokes at "McDojos" but everything on the site has a serious McDojo "we're the best thing liek, evar!" type feel to it.

It's hard for me to get behind a traditional style these days, but please, feel free to convince me I have the wrong idea.

 

Of course every style thinks theres is the best. This is my third and it is actually the first traditional karate style to go full contact. It is a stron mix of traditional with practical fighting. The instructor feels out each student and will only go as far as their comfortable. I myself want a full contact with a little kick boxing mixed in. Its like karate on the next level. The other really big benefits are -brand new-not alot of students yet. Its big on the east coast and cali but not very known here yet. Its a chance to get in on the ground floor of an emerging style in the midwest and maybe help shape its future. I hope this helps.

 

Yeah, it kind of reeks of that "Mcdojo" cobra kai type mentality. Then again, I stray away from any dojo who's sole purpose is to make a buck.

I suppose I have a different perspective, all my martial arts training has been traditional (and free) - the way it should be anyway IMO. I dont think I could never handle going to a for-profit dojo starting as a ju-kyu...

 

unfortunately there's not much choice for someone who wants to train in BJJ as there aren't too many old guys with black belts to train you Kickboxer/Bloodsport style. Actually, I've never known anyone who was trained that way in any style...

 

Have you guys had alot of experience with VARIOUS martial arts. It doesnt sound like it. It is in no way a Mc dojo. Its a new style here. There is one other Dojo with a similar style. This was the first traditional style to go full contact. As for some of them "trying to make a buck" sounds like youve had bad experiences-but no style I have been a part of has been out for just a buck. You two seem very quick to bash without sharing your level of experience. As for the Kobra Kai comment-you seem very misinformed.

 

Unfortunately, for those of us in P-town, the only dojos we have are McDojos. The last place we went to actually sunk the majority of their classes so they could make more time slots to teach the city's health fanatics Tai-Bo.

I guess the only plus to us having wasted our time and money is that we met the Birrers there, and they got us so much deeper into geek stuff than we cared to get. I blame it all on Mac and Zac. At least I got to beat up on Scott.

 

Still though, you don't need years of training and dedication to become a ninja. All it takes is watching lots of ninja movies, and a t-shirt. True ninjitsu is in the heart.

And everybody knows ninjas are way cooler than pirates.

 

That make sense. Ive never been part of a "bad" style. The other two style I took-Yoshukai and American States were very similar but very bland and I have been waiting for a style like this for a while. Do a little research on the style itself-its a very good style. It pulls in alot of non-first timers. Alot of people have taken other style. As for the kickboxing side. That is from the instructor taking it himself and willing to train this as well if you want-but he never pushes you.

 

ah the infamous Birrers. I would still like to meet them someday. They seem very nice. I still have never met anyone from this site yet so its really hard to picture what the personality of the person im replying to is like. I have to know someone before I understand them. Maybe the November meeting if i in town.

 

We got you in deeper?. I seem to remember you introducing us to FF and the 501st and the RL.

I got dischanted with it when they switched to an alomost all sparring format. I was much more interested in the kata and technique side of things,sparring was fun everyonce in a while.Then when the shortened the classes to 45 min i wasnt happy at all. 5 to 10 min of exercise, 10min of technique/kata and the rest was sparring.There was very few ppl who were any fun to do that with. Josh you are good, you actully did something. Unlike the pannsies who just stood there and tried the odd punch.

 

LOL. No amount of punching and kicking was of much use on you guys though.

Hmmm...I just found a ninja school in Springs. Just talked to the guy, he seems pretty cool. He teaches children's classes at his son's school, and the classes were actually reasonably priced. Unfortunately, driving up to Springs every couple of days to turn my little girl into a ninja seems a bit extreme. It'd be cheaper to take a year off work and spend my time searching for the Urn of Instant Unstoppable Ninja Dragon Power at the summit of Wu-Tang Mountain than it would be to drive to Springs all the time.

I'll just have to work on enhancin my inner ninja powers and start stalking 40's-ish SCA Feudal Japan members.

 

"McDojo" LOL

That's the word of the day.

 

No, it was Mac that introduced us to the FF and RL. And the FF has become a springboard to get everyone into the other geek groups. Before, we were just your standard everyday reclusive 501st members.

Or maybe it's the other way around. The FF is more laid back, and people don't freak out as much as some people if you talk about something else. The FF has a wider range of fanbases. Primarly SW, but geez, half our threads are non-SW-related.

So when do we have to start paying dues?

 

I may have been the pestering to get you to join FF, but way back when you sent me an email containing links to the 501st, the RMFF site, and the legion. I just took the plunge first, but you led us to the cliff.


and McDojo makes me think of that commercial where ronald had the karate stuff.

 

I never said it was a "McDojo", just that the web site kind of advertises with that type of gusto. Sorry, my spidey sense usually goes off when I see that sort of stuff. Plus any triumphant trophy displays or competition ribbons kind of gives me bad vibes from my personal experience over the years.

Yes I have had quite a bit of experience with VARIOUS martial arts. About 20 yrs worth. How long have you been training again? I have Dan grades in different styles (Okinawan and American karate) as well as some training in traditional Iai-jutsu and Kendo. Also played in other styles here and there just for completeness. So I will weigh your "uninformed" comments as such.

Any dojo that takes money from students is "for profit". They are a business you know. I was pointing out that its just not my cup of tea. Doesnt mean you wont learn something if YOU go. I am allowed to state an opinion just as you are.

I just wont learn much from that type of dojo/environment. Been there done that. Every one of these dojos I've been to has just been a miserable experience in my opinion. Perhaps yours is different.

Fact is, the only reason you have all these stupid belt colors, i.e. white, blue, teal, aqua, yellow, orange, orange-yellow, green, sea green, brown, dark brown, light brown, medium brown, off black, blah, blah, blah is for the generation of money through testing. Plus it keeps the kneejerk students from quitting by giving them promotions often. For example, I entered a black-belt school for Kenpo and was held back on a test only because the other rag-tag students couldnt master the kata in the same time I did. And I was the new guy! I was disgusted. The dojo was based on keeping students happy while collecting money each month. Blech. That got old quick. And it wasnt the first time that happened in a commercial dojo I visited.

Anyway I still stick to traditional training. All the hoopla of combining martial arts into "new" styles is basically another way for Americans to make money IMO. It's hard to find a dojo willing to teach a traditional style in a traditional manner while not giving in to the ADD and flavor-of-the-month mentality of most folks. Typically in my dominant style (Okinawan Isshin-ryu) you failed quite often before being promoted. It was more a rite of passage and knowing the material instead of just feeding the mediocrity and passing out belts. Earning a Dan grade wasnt just an sundry accomplishment, it was a downright conquest.

Or course that's just my opinion, I could be wrong...

 

BTW, if anyone wants to see a Sho-Dan kata test along with me getting beat on with gut punches, shutos, and ridge hands to the ribs while doing Sanchin, let me know. I have a great DVD of me taking lots of punishment in my college days. Always a hoot to reminisce, especially since it's not as painful nowadays... LOL

I agree that an all sparring class is not so much fun, particularly for beginners. I enjoy learning kata first, then transistioning what I learned into sparring. They are 2 totally different beasts and should be treated as such. Getting white belts to go out and spar all the time without some experience behind it is a recipe for disaster IMO.

 

I have always felts as you have about the belt system-kinda for the money. I wasn't trying to come across being so harsh-sorry dude. I did think American States was a bit greedy-they did do a credit check on their students-like you said it is a business though. I took yoshukai for 3 years and it was alot of defense and traditional kata, plus some cool weapons. I just found this style to be the next perfect step-kinda a addition. sorry if I offended you-you really sound like you HAVE had alot of experience with VARIOUS styles.

You gotta stick up for your dojo.

 

Dang, credit checks?!? That is overboard. One dojo I visited wanted payment up front, they called it there "black belt program". Pay them $5000 and you WILL become a black belt. LOL

I agree! If you like the dojo, that is of utmost importance. Sounds like you have a handle on the belt scam situation and what to look out for. I would stick up for my dojo too, so no offense taken. Now if I could ever find a local dojo I liked that wasnt trying to bilk me....

 

We were in a program like that, and it was supposed to be the best program in P-town. We left. We didn't practice for a month, and couldn't even attend class for a month because they killed the only class time we could fit in for a Tai-bo class.

And yet, at the end of that month, they made us take a belt test, we horribly failed, and we still got our new belts. Isn't that AWESOME???

I may as well put the "Become a Ninja in 100 Days" DVDs on my Netflix. It'll be in the queue right after my "Enhance Your Psychic Powers" set.

 

Here's the last martial arts thread we had that we hijacked.

If anyone wants to join my new ninja school, PM and I'll add you to the list.

In order to pass your entrance exam, you will need to survive the bite of a deadly blue ringed octopus, whose bite can kill a man in minutes. The teacher is exempt from the entrance exam because he's buying the videos.

 

I have had alot of experience with the McDojo. Let me just give you some of my background firs. I was in Tae Kwon Doe for 12 years. For alot of those 12 years I went to Mile High Karate. They put the Mc into McDojo. I did receive a Black Belt from them and I almost made it to 2nd Degree Black Belt. I must admit the Black Belt tests they had were very challenging physically and mentally. We are talking about running and many calisthenics. We also did Katas which we called forms. We would do full contact sparing at the wee hours of the night and would only get roughly 3 hours of sleep. With motivational seminars during the in between times. These black belt tests would run 3 days.

So I guess the good part about the McDojo I went to was it was very structured. I was able to learn alot and it was very physical. The bad part, the money, everything you did cost money and to much money. Also you would have to buy motivational books and read them. For a 14-year-old boy, those types of books are very boring. Also, is an 11 year old capable of receiving a black belt. I received my first degree black belt when I was 13. Also the black belt that I received was not recognized anywhere else but with Mile High Karate.

So after that whole experience I moved out of state to Seattle Washing. When I moved there I joined a real Dojo. It was ran by a real Korean Fifth Degree master. He did charge but it was just a way for him to make a living. He was a very nice man and his brother was part of the Korean Olympic team. Through him I received my National Tae Kwon Doe Black Belt and my World Tae Kwon Doe Black Belt. I was very happy to receive the real thing. The only bad thing that came from the experience was breaking my hand breaking bricks. That really hurt.

I then moved back to Colorado. I ended up going back to the McDojo, mistake if you ask me. I ended up quitting when I was 18. So I started when I was 6 and finished when I was 18, a long time if you ask me. I was pretty good at one time. I would love to get back into it now that I am almost done with college. But not a McDojo LOL.

Does anyone know of any good Tae Kwon Doe Dojos up North?

 

is there such a thing as a good TKD dojo? sorry, friendly rivalry with sumbissions/bjj and TKD

Yeah, my experiences with traditional styles and their practitioners have been less than pleasant in the past. By traditional I mean the McDojo karate/tkd/etc. people. I've never run across anyone who has had the type of training that Jim is talking about. Which leads me to ask how/where did you get involved with this training and how does someone become part of that? I dunno if it's for me, my love is for grappling arts mostly, but I am interested in learning about it.

But anyway, in the past when I've attended traditional style classes, the teachers would often find out what my background was in groundfighting and such, and all of a sudden they had a huge chip on their shoulder around me. I wasn't the guy who came into class thinking "OH YEAH, I'M AN ULTIMATE FIGHTER, TRADITIONAL IS CRAP, I'M GONNA SCHOOL YOUR WHOLE CLASS" or anything like that, but they'd still treat me as if I was that guy. It's extremely hard to learn in an environment when your instructor is openly hostile and tries to single you out just to show you up in front of the class.

It irritated me to no end, b/c if I was one of those jerks, I would have come in and challenged him or something. I was there to try to expand my knowledge in different styles, and would usually end up dropping the class after the first week. I did stick it out for awhile in the Bushido Kempo class I took mostly just b/c I had friends in the class, but it just made me more jaded on traditional schools. After that I just avoided them in favor of MMA or BJJ schools.

 

anyway, that's basically why I asked what the style compared to. It appears the guy teaches Muay Thai kickboxing there, though, so that gives me hope that he wouldn't be so much of a jackass to me based on my MMA background.

 

Join My ninja school , It's much better than zooms. I will promote you on you ability to with stand the Deadly double Purple nurple.