help a newbie !!

[Szczepankiewicz]

plaything of Beelzebub

Thou speakest, oh lover of ewes, as if that were to be a bad thing?

At least I'm not a Shinto worshipper, Allah forbid!

[FUH-Q]

hey sage, the part where i say "both if possible" made it pretty clear i thought. but just in case yes, joining either two schools or best scenario join one that teaches both. also, if you train at a BJJ school and they dont teach any standing (judo, wrestling takedowns/ and top controls) your not learning the full range of BJJ.

also, there are many people who have a misconception that BJJ people always automaticly go to their back; this is false, in fact my instructor really emphasizes that in a self defense situation you never want to go to your back.

btw, be carefull about putting too much confidence in people telling you the school they went to is awsome (not to say they are lying) because as you can probobly see their are many tae kwon do (sp) people on this board who think that pure TKD (not the hybrid some people talk about) actually works in real combat. many MA instructors are very good at brainwashing people into believing their art is the end all be all. again, like some others have said, try one for a little while and then try a different style for a little while; see which suites you best.

[Thai Bri]

Originally posted by Mr_Slaughter
hey guys thanks a lot for all your replies, i think i have a preety clear sense of where to go from here

the only thing that could pottentially change my mind from going into jj is going into senshido (i live in montreal and have easy access to the "senshido HQ") anyways, for those of you who are informed on senshido. i was just wondering if this MA is suitable for a begginner such as myself because i dont really feel like going in there and getting my ass kicked. and it seems to me like the major focus of this MA is to place you in dangerous situations and see if you come out alive

although i think all that is a great preparation for a streetfight im just not really to exited about not having any experience and i dont want to dive head first into something like this especially not knowing really what to expect.

If you want to learn how to defend yourself, then go to Senshido. I have conversed with its founder, Richard Dimitri, many times on email and hos forum (currently down due to some technical problem).

I would be amazed if he put new students through too much of a tough time.

Do us all a favour will you? Go and check out Senshido, and then report back what you find. I'm pretty sure he won't kill ya!

[Sean Dempsey]

Originally posted by FUH-Q
also, if you train at a BJJ school and they dont teach any standing (judo, wrestling takedowns/ and top controls) your not learning the full range of BJJ.

also, there are many people who have a misconception that BJJ people always automaticly go to their back; this is false, in fact my instructor really emphasizes that in a self defense situation you never want to go to your back.

People who do traditional Gracie training at a Gracie affiliate will agree with that.

typically, people who "know" all about how Gracie JJ is taught have never really done it.

We do a healthy amount of stand up training, with escapes, clinches, THROWS, straight to submission, straight to mount... lots of stuff. We spend weeks and weeks each year doing standup.

Also, people who say "BJJ guys go to your back, what about teh br0ken glass!!!!??!1" also haven't done BJJ. You know who goes on their back in my class? The new guys. We have purple belts here who's belt is totally worn on their front, but the back of their belt is like new because THEY DONT GO TO THEIR BACK. They are too busy mounting you, or landing standing armbars, or knee-stomaching you, or passing your weak guard.

BJJ guys who go on their back constantly are white belts who don't have enough skill to really control their opponents.

But hell, don't listen to me, a guy who trains at a gracie school in gracie fashion. Listen to the MT guys and JKD guys and MMA who just happen to know how BJJ works... (that's not aimed at anyone specific. But where are all my fellow Gracie students??)

[Mr_Slaughter]

wow ok guys this is all very very cool, i think its best if i attend at least 1 free class of senshido before i make up my mind on anything specific. i'll be sure to let you all know how it went.

ps. does anyone know any decend bjj school's in the montreal area?

[ryanhall]

ps. does anyone know any decend bjj school's in the montreal area?

Ask Rich Dimitri. If BJJ is what you're interested in, he'll turn you in the right direction. One of his guys is a MMA competitor, so I'm sure that you could ask him as well.