JKD in VA and Maryland

[Mike Brewer]

Hey all,
I just wanted to toss out a topic and see if there was any interest. I've moved to the Wshington D.C. area as some of you are now aware. I've been fortunate to meet some great people and trainers out here, and I've found a couple or three gyms I like. Trouble is, no one is specifically doing JKD or Kali. I am finally in a job that doesn't require me to fight every day, so I'd like to take the time to get together on a casual basis with one or more of you and train some plain old PFS style JKD and Kali. I know several of you are in the area (sort of). Hardball, I still want to get together with you and do some training, and I recall several others. Thing is, I don't want to run a group or organize anything because I know full well I would not be consistent enough with my job and the odd hours I keep.

If someone in the area is interested, though, I'd love to help get folks together and be a participant. I hate to say it, but I'm a little (read: completely) burned out on trying to run a commerical club. I just don't want to do the work on that side. I want to train and just be another guy on the floor. If any of you out there have the background and ability to get something going, I'd be happy to lend all the support I can to the endeavor. I'd be happy to teach from time to time if I have something worth learning, and all I'd really ask in trade is that someone else be the man up front.

Just an idea. Please let me know if anyone's interested in doing a whole lot of work to set up a club and get things going so I have a place to train. I'm kidding, of course. I'll help any way I can and I'll put the word out too if someone would like to pick up the reins and make it a project.

Looking forward to the replies

[Prince Vegita]

Kru Scott Anderson and Kru Alvin at the Maryland Thai Boxing Association are instructors in Inosanto Kali. So is Eric Church in Bethesda (school name escapes me). I think there's some Sayoc guys that meet in Laurel but I never met them.

[Hardball]

I'm busy but I'd be open to a once a month meetup or club. Because of the distance, once a month is about all I can commit to. Also, I'd be more interested in the JKD concepts over kali. And also knife defense/offense.

[Mike Brewer]

See what I mean? I think it'd be a great group with a ton of knowledge and experience to draw from! All we really need is someone to step in and take the lead on making it official. Does anyone have a school, gym, or space in the area they'd be willing to donate for a couple hours a week? I know we all have real lives and stuff, but maybe if we all got together just as a training group or something it'd be a real benefit. One of the things I used to really love out in LA was when Vunak would have his instructor's classes, and PFS instructors from everywhere within 60 miles woul show up for a two or three hour get-together. It was more of a group of peers than a class, which made it cool. Everyone shared something new each week, and Paul would direct things so we didn't get too chaotic. When everybody went home, they had new material and a couple hours of sparring it with quality people to take with them. It never felt like a commerical or a competitive thing at all. And since it was no one's main source of business, nobody was a prick about being seen as the guy in charge.

In between sessions, they'd all go make their money running their schools and gyms and then we'd all get together on Wednesday night again for more of the same!

It's clear to me that there is a ton of talent in this area. It's also clear to me that no one really wants to be a center of gravity for us all to get together. I'm too new to have a gym here, so I can't do it. Anyone else? Does anyone work in the area, live in the area, or run a school in the area that might fit this bill? Pleeeeezze?

[PFSofPA]

Hey Mike, I'm in the process of moving to Baltimore and setting up a school. I can think of nothing better than a centralized location for JKD instructors to train with one another and exchange ideas. Kind of like a DelMarVa JKD training center. I'm in. If you need me to spearhead this I'll be glad to. Also, I'm looking for students in the Baltimore area.

Jim Winterbottom
http://www.noquarterjkd.com/

[Mike Brewer]

Jim I think it's an awesome idea. If you're setting up shop there anyway and you'd be willing to host the rest of us, I think it might make for a heck of an interesting school. Like I've already pointed out, there's a lot of talent here in this area, and if you have a school there that might benefit from the background and experience of some of the area instructors, I think it would be just amazing.

In your post, you said you're in the process? Does that mean you don't have a place yet and are looking to get something rolling yourself? If so, does anyone here know of any gym space in the Baltimore area? I have to be honest, Baltimore is a bit out of the way for me (60 miles or so), but I'd commit to making the drive once or twice a month like Hardball. The only downside for me is that I don't know how much help I can be in getting things up and running. I'll do whatever I can for you, though. Does anyone else live closer to Baltimore or have any contacts there that we might be able to funnel toward a project like this? I think it would be really worthwhile, and a great resource for those of us in the area that just want to train and have some fun with other instructors and serious students.

[PFSofPA]

New job, new house, new school. I'm starting, once again, from scratch. As you many of you know, it's a very small JKD world and a small student pool to draw from. The interesting thing about this project will be putting together a place where all kinds of instructors from various disciplines can get together weekly or monthly and train for NO FEE with other instructors thus raising the level of training. In the future it could end up being a place for instructors to do seminars, clinics, or workshops who might not ordinarily have the space to do so. There's lots of ideas many of you could bounce around.

Jim Winterbottom
http://www.noquarterjkd.com/

[Mike Brewer]

Dude! I say make it a commerical moneymaker for yourself, and the instructors that come train will just be a fringe benefit. You have to stay in business, and as far as I'm concerned, I'll do an occasional seminar for free in exchange for your hard work and effort setting up a place for the rest of us to exchange ideas. I'm sure we could pool our resources and take some time out once a year or so (each of us, I mean) to do a short workshop for you on a weekend in order to give your students something they won't find at other schools with less interaction. That way you can charge whatever keeps you competitive and then make a little extra for yourself with seminars by a wide variety of skilled guest instructors and we all get a free place to train together once in a while.

I don't know about the other folks here, but I'd be completely alright with an arrangement like that, and I'd be happy to contribute to your success by repaying your hard work with freebie seminars now and again.

Anyone else? Hardball? Vegita? Khun Kao? Beuller? Anyone? Anyone?

[Hardball]

I live in Baltimore. I can commit to once a month because I have a school where I teach private lessons and that along with a full time job and a family keeps me busy. I'd love to share ideas with the JKD (Concepts) World. I can contribute the teaching of throws, wristlocks and other Japanese Jujitsu techniques.

[Mike Brewer]

Good deal. Let's start PMing our buddies here and see if anyone else might be interested. If Jim is going to take the hit and put out money from his own pocket to set up a place, I'd like to do everything we can to support the project.

Let's do what we can to make him a success in this project so we can all benefit. If it's done right, no one has to worry about cross-competition because the groups participating would all be different. The benefit is, they'd all get to train with people from all sorts of other disciplines without ever having to go pay eight different schools for it. Kind of an area co-op of sorts.

Jim, is this sounding like something you could work with?

[PFSofPA]

It's sounding promising! Let me know what I can do to facilitate this on my end.

[fayd]

Hey all ...Eric Church here ...please let me know if you all get anything worked out. My work/family schedule is just as crazy as all others in this area, but I'll always make extra time, especially for kali or silat.

Wish I could help in the location dept. I don't have a "school" ...I pretty much use what's available at the time. During the nice weather months (because I've become fragile to cold weather) I use local parks ...just something to think about.

Train well...

[Mike Brewer]

Hey Eric,
Looking forward to linking up for some training! I am pretty sure Jim (PFSofPA) has taken the lead on this, but I gotta be honset, I haven't spoken to him in a week or two.

[Tant01]

Here we go again... You guys make me sick! I'd practically give my left nut to be a training dummy with a group like this and you guys are clear across the F**ing country....

Wonderful... Story of my life. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to get my ass kicked by one of you some day.

I hope this becomes a regular event. That would be worth writing about. (hint hint)

[PFSofPA]

Still scouting locations. I'll keep you guys updated when I get a spot, then we'll take off from there.

Jim