help me help me :)

[phillyman]

Hey guys do any of you know anything about Hapkido. I am going to start bjj at maxercise gym in philly. I want to learn stand up also. So far there is a hapkido guy and a guy that trains savate fighters to fight in real competitions. My question is should i go for savate for the fighting skills or hapkido for the locks and weapons defense. There is a jkd place 40 miles from me where i could do jkd/kali/silat but i can make it to the night they have sparring. Help me out you all thanks.

[John Bennett]

Assuming the cost and schedules are similar, I personally, would go with the Savate.

The BJJ covers your groundwork and takedowns. The Savate covers your standup punching / kicking.

Some Hapkido schools are well-rounded and fantastic. However most are simply TKD + Jap. Jujitsu and don't spar. Sparring is essential.

Jap. Jujitsu / Hapkido is interesting but tends to be unrealistic because the instructors try to add ever and ever more flowery standing wrist techniques to their classes at the expense of solid basics.

These flowery wrist techniques look cool. They impress the newbies and parents. They set forth a huge amount of material to fill classroom hours. Their effectiveness can't be tested in a safe sparring environment. They can be taught without the instructor having to break a sweat. That's why they are so popular.

Just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

[Tony10]

I agree with John. Savate is a pretty kickass (and still somewhat little-known) stand-up art with very practical (for the street) kicking techniques.

Simple = good

[duchman]

Savate is a very good ringsport and street method.

Jap jiu jitsu, is very cool they have stand up, throws, and newaze