What do you think of this school?

[Diabolus]

Not a lot near me, unfortunately... this seems to be very good in terms of location. I am going Monday to check it out, so please let me know what you think, and what questions I should ask, and what I should look for.

I'm getting a free class monday, so we'll see how that goes too.

http://www.reddragonmaa.com/Red%20Dragon%20Main.html

Thanks!

[aseepish]

He drops some pretty impressive names of people he trains/continues to train with. I would ask how much time he has spent with each of those people.

But his certification is a bit funny. The World Jeet Kune Do Federation is run by a guy who sells JKD rank. http://www.leejkd.com/

I'm not so sure about his Kali certification - The United States Martial Arts Association also sells certification - in any style you want. http://www.mararts.org/membership/meminfo.shtml

Maybe I'm just being paranoid and he's a great instructor who never got proper certification from the top people he's trained with. Pay the school a visit and trust your gut feeling.

[kooky]

RUN to your local boxing/judo club.

[Diabolus]

I took an introductory class and was pretty impressed. I had attended an Aikido school (just to see) and the instructor there was very good by reputation, but I felt the lessons were lacking in being hands-on. This class is all hands-on. There is a lot of Kali and Silat from what the instructor told me, and I'm not sure if this is normal. I asked him where he studied, and he said under Hargrave (I think) and Inosanto. He has credentials for Kenpo Karate as well, which I decided to take as an addon and learn too, to fill out my schedule.

I signed up for 3 months... my first week into it and I'm learning a lot, but it takes time to remember. I watched my fellow students whom all have been there a while how they like it -- they really enjoy it and say they learned a lot.

The teacher is also part of the local SWAT team.

Anything else you folks would recommend I look at to see if I'm getting my money's worth?

Thanks!

[aseepish]

Enjoy your training!

I've said this before on another thread, but something that will help a lot with retention is to keep a training journal. After each class jot down what you did - drills, techniques, any tips the instructor gave you, any observations you made, things you thought you did well, things you need to improve.

If you have access to a video camera, keep a video journal as well! This will especially help with the kenpo, where you will eventually learn many self-defense techniques, sets, and forms.