Ashton
06-15-2004, 05:36 PM
Hello All,
I posted this question on the Reality forum but thought I'd post it here too. I hope it is appropriate to do that. I'm brand new to this forum having been told about it by a friend of mine who lurks here every once in a while.
I would appreciate any input or advice the other members might have for me on a matter that has grown to be very important to me. My situation is this: The company I work at will be relocating me to central America within a year and a half as a result of international expansion & a promotion for me. While the area I'll be living in is relatively safe, where I'll be working, from all accounts, is a crime/war zone. So I have a year and a half to train to prepare for the possibility of street encounters. I've scouted out thae area in which I live (Dallas, Tx) & I've come up with 4 possibilities that appear to be the best options:
(A) WingTsun: www.dallaswingtsun.com A breakaway group from the Leung Ting gang. The main instructor there is a fan of Peyton Quinn, Bob Orlando, Scott Sonnon, Marc Mac Young etc. It appears he tries to make the Wing Tsun training more realistic by adding scenario training, surprise attacks, surprise weapons etc. He has gone through RMCAT training. I really like the reliance on body structure & biomechanics me not being a big guy (5'8). My only real reservations are that there might not be too great foot work in the system & I'm not 100% sure how street effective the system is.
(B) Kenpo/Filipino Kuntaw/Arnis: www.planoselfdefense.com There instructor here is also a sticlker for biomechanics & teaches his students how to mess with an attacker's body structure/body mechanics etc. He teaches something he calls "Reflexogenics"--similar to what I believe Tim Larkin teaches as far as taking advantage of your opponent's reflex actions in a fight. He uses the Tracy Kenpo he teaches as a base to layer the Kuntaw on top of. The Arnis is his weapons system. He was taught by Al Tracy & his Filipino teacher is Raffy Pambuan--apparently a very well-regarded figure in FMA. I also like this system, but I am a litle wary of the Kenpo as it feels to me like a return to the the old Tae Kwon Do days that I'm trying to erase from my muscle memory. The class also trains barefoot wearing traditional uniforms, which in my opinion, seems to detract from the realism of the training. One other good point though, is that he does hire people from a RMCAT-lie organization to come in & do "adrenaline" type training.
(C) Kenpo/Indonesian Kuntao/Silat/Boxing: This is coming from a gentleman that I found through Marc Mac Young's list that happens to be in my area. Similar to the above, he uses Parker Kenpo as a base & injects it with principles from Kuntao, Silat & Western Boxing. It appears to be a formidable system, but he seems to be a little squeamish about teaching some really hardcore "break somebody's elbow here" type of material. Thsi would be private training oncea week rather than group training. He has done work as a bouncer & a body guard. His Kuntao comes from limited training with Bob Orlando & his Silat from a couple of different sources. Boxing was his first "martial art."
(D) American Combatives: www.americancombatives.com As the instructor describes it, the system is basically WWII Combatives with some groundfighting thrown in as he teaches it. No frills; just gouge the eyes, chin jabs, elbows & knees. Has some knife & cane techniques somewhere in the system.
These are the systems I've pretty much been able to dredge up amongst all the Tae Kwon Do & Mc Dojo schools in my area. Iwould really appreciate any feedback or input I can get, particularly from experienced students & instructors that frequent here. BTW...I may be able to cross-train in a couple of the above, but finances won't let me do more than that.
I posted this question on the Reality forum but thought I'd post it here too. I hope it is appropriate to do that. I'm brand new to this forum having been told about it by a friend of mine who lurks here every once in a while.
I would appreciate any input or advice the other members might have for me on a matter that has grown to be very important to me. My situation is this: The company I work at will be relocating me to central America within a year and a half as a result of international expansion & a promotion for me. While the area I'll be living in is relatively safe, where I'll be working, from all accounts, is a crime/war zone. So I have a year and a half to train to prepare for the possibility of street encounters. I've scouted out thae area in which I live (Dallas, Tx) & I've come up with 4 possibilities that appear to be the best options:
(A) WingTsun: www.dallaswingtsun.com A breakaway group from the Leung Ting gang. The main instructor there is a fan of Peyton Quinn, Bob Orlando, Scott Sonnon, Marc Mac Young etc. It appears he tries to make the Wing Tsun training more realistic by adding scenario training, surprise attacks, surprise weapons etc. He has gone through RMCAT training. I really like the reliance on body structure & biomechanics me not being a big guy (5'8). My only real reservations are that there might not be too great foot work in the system & I'm not 100% sure how street effective the system is.
(B) Kenpo/Filipino Kuntaw/Arnis: www.planoselfdefense.com There instructor here is also a sticlker for biomechanics & teaches his students how to mess with an attacker's body structure/body mechanics etc. He teaches something he calls "Reflexogenics"--similar to what I believe Tim Larkin teaches as far as taking advantage of your opponent's reflex actions in a fight. He uses the Tracy Kenpo he teaches as a base to layer the Kuntaw on top of. The Arnis is his weapons system. He was taught by Al Tracy & his Filipino teacher is Raffy Pambuan--apparently a very well-regarded figure in FMA. I also like this system, but I am a litle wary of the Kenpo as it feels to me like a return to the the old Tae Kwon Do days that I'm trying to erase from my muscle memory. The class also trains barefoot wearing traditional uniforms, which in my opinion, seems to detract from the realism of the training. One other good point though, is that he does hire people from a RMCAT-lie organization to come in & do "adrenaline" type training.
(C) Kenpo/Indonesian Kuntao/Silat/Boxing: This is coming from a gentleman that I found through Marc Mac Young's list that happens to be in my area. Similar to the above, he uses Parker Kenpo as a base & injects it with principles from Kuntao, Silat & Western Boxing. It appears to be a formidable system, but he seems to be a little squeamish about teaching some really hardcore "break somebody's elbow here" type of material. Thsi would be private training oncea week rather than group training. He has done work as a bouncer & a body guard. His Kuntao comes from limited training with Bob Orlando & his Silat from a couple of different sources. Boxing was his first "martial art."
(D) American Combatives: www.americancombatives.com As the instructor describes it, the system is basically WWII Combatives with some groundfighting thrown in as he teaches it. No frills; just gouge the eyes, chin jabs, elbows & knees. Has some knife & cane techniques somewhere in the system.
These are the systems I've pretty much been able to dredge up amongst all the Tae Kwon Do & Mc Dojo schools in my area. Iwould really appreciate any feedback or input I can get, particularly from experienced students & instructors that frequent here. BTW...I may be able to cross-train in a couple of the above, but finances won't let me do more than that.