Boston Area?

[jmd161]

I'm moving to the Boston area, any members here in that area, and what schools are there in the area?


i'm also looking for people to workout/train with style doesn't matter.



jeff:)

[inic]

I'm in boston area. I only post in the health forum though usually.
I'm definitely down for working out together sometimes. My "style" is no style. I've never trained with any official schools and I honestly stick more towards western methods. I mostly practice boxing, kicking and lots of swordsmanships (all styles, although western is my favorite). I'm in the process of getting back into the weekly things that are sponsored by SCA folks. They do weekly fencing of all styles. Great fun and exercise.

[jmd161]

Great i'm about three weeks from arriving there, so i'll pm you my contact info once i'm there.

jeff:)

[Dale Dugas]

Im in Quincy which is right next door to Boston and linked by the T(which is the abbreviation for Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority) our way of saying the subway around here.

There are a few schools around.

I train in Bagua mostly but keep up other things I have done in the past.

Feel free to email me offlist and I will be glad to help you out. You can email me at:
Jooklumpai@hotmail.com or daledugas192@comcast.net either one will get me.

There are Wah Lum mantis schools as well as the white crane school of Dr. Yang Jwing Ming as well as another white crane school in Chinatown. I know of a new school which is teaching some pretty intense classes.

Drop me a line and we can talk more.


Inic,

No offense but playing around with SCA, boxing and kicking is not going to really do anything other than set some really negative engrams which will do you more injustice than anything else. Im all up for meeting up with different people. so drop me a line and we can see what transpires.

In Boston,

Dale Dugas

[Akhilleus]

No offense but playing around with SCA, boxing and kicking is not going to really do anything other than set some really negative engrams which will do you more injustice than anything else. Im all up for meeting up with different people. so drop me a line and we can see what transpires.

What?! Sure if you are self-trained you are going to develop some habits that go against what some formal schools say you should do, but you can still make progress, especially if you are training against resisting partners on a regular basis...there ARE great fighters that learned from videos...I know that is tough to accept for anyone that has paid a great deal of money to learn from a "master"...but its true...

OK sorry not trying to hijack the thread so I will add...Boston San Shou is probably one of the best sport fighting gyms in the country...

[inic]

I understand what you mean about the self trained but I do try very hard to avoid such things. I do study many styles and pick certain things I think are "realistic" and practice them. I am just an "anti-forms" person. I think doing a 10 step form over and over will lead to bad habit, that's just my own belief though. Example I can give is 90% of all my punches are straight fist because it's the most efficient type of punch I've seen and experienced. I just try to take ONE move (not the whole routine)and incorporate it into my own style.

By the way, which gyms or places have bags for punching/kicking? Looking for a free(VERY unlikely in boston) or a cheap $ place that has them. I used to go to city gym but they got bought out by gold gym and they don't have the boxing room with all that great gear anymore :(

Edit: Wanted to add that I noticed formally trained people have a harder time fighting non-formally trained people because they are "spontaneous" and "unorthodox" fighting. I see this A LOT when I fence.

[Mutant]

Hi, welcome to Boston (soon).

Depends on what youre looking for. Plenty of good MA around Boston.

If youre at all interested in san shou / sanda type training, Boston San Shou is being reopened in a new location, 80 Bedford Street, 2nd floor in downtown Boston, right on edge of finacial district and chinatown. near 'downtown crossing' and 'south station' T stops. Should be officially open beginning of June, but we'll be there limited hours before then mon, wed, fri from 6:30-7:30.
Name may change to 'Boston SanDa KungFu'
check out old website at boston-kickboxing.com or see marvinperry.org for general info on us.
And if its not your type of thing for training, still feel welcome to stop in and say hi.
Good luck with your move.

Chris

ps, inic,
I've probably seen you at the old City Gym before they closed, spent some time there myself, miss the bag room. We may have 'open studio' hours at the new gym location, with no instruction for low cost, depends on liability insurance, class structure and other variables which we're developing now. at any rate, will have variety of bags to use.

[Dale Dugas]

Akhilleus,

It is not about learning from a master, rather learning with someone who can watch you and re-adjust you when your posture is off and other little things that will not help you but hurt you. You can get in the way of yourself if you do not learn how to maximize your movements. Also you need to learn true and proper body mechanics and few if anyone can just pick that up. If it were the case you would see everyone peforming perfectly and have no need for coaches, teachers, etc...

I agree with you about learning with partners. that one key to self-mastery. Though again you have to have someone who has a little bit of a background. Just messing around is just messing around.

Inic,

Forms are bad? You mean learning hundreds of forms? Forms give you the material with which you can break down and ingrain a technique into your refelxive actions. Im not talking doing the form exactly as your shown it. Im talking about learning the concepts that make up the techniques emcompassed within the movements of the form. Be careful of that jeet kune do paradigm. Forms in the beginning are useful and then hopefully if your moving in the right direction you would move on to spontaneous reactive training. Never know what Im going to do when someone comes at me. Depends on many factors.

I do not agree with you on the straight punching thing, but thats ok, we do not have to agree brother. I have seen some insane hook and uppercuts used more, again depends on what is thrown at you and by who.

Later,

Dale

[jun_erh]

jmd- I haven't trained in a while, but my old teacher paul rosado at Chinese Kickboxing (.com) I think trained with black tiger for a while. He does san shou and police type training now, or did as recently as a few years ago

[SifuAbel]

Hi, welcome to Boston (soon).


Name may change to 'Boston SanDa KungFu'



shocking.................

[Akhilleus]

It is not about learning from a master, rather learning with someone who can watch you and re-adjust you when your posture is off and other little things that will not help you but hurt you.

I agree that having that person there is a huge help and very important...


You can get in the way of yourself if you do not learn how to maximize your movements.

Yes you can...but there is more to it than whether or not you can maximize your movements...


Also you need to learn true and proper body mechanics and few if anyone can just pick that up.

The word "need" is meaningless to me...I NEED to learn those things in order to do what? In order to perform a particular art correctly? But don't body mechanics differ from art to art somewhat?



If it were the case you would see everyone peforming perfectly and have no need for coaches, teachers, etc...

I don't think anyone performs perfectly, even those that do train with coaches and teachers...

I am not saying that the things you mentioned aren't important, I just disagree with you that someone cannot become a capable martial artist by being self-trained...I disagreed with what I perceived to be the message of your first post in the thread that inic was definitely doing more harm than good by "mostly practic(ing) boxing, kicking and lots of swordsmanships...

And before we say someone is doing some "wrong" or "doing injustice" we have to look at their goals...their way of doing things may not be a good way to achieve my goals but it may suite their own goals just fine...

[Dale Dugas]

Akhilleous( no offense but could I know your real name, these screen names are just freaking silly),

Most people who train will train with good posture and performance and then when they are finished they hunch over or even walk incorrectly out the door after training is over as most people have set patterns to functioning on certain levels. I see this all too often as I teach people at a local gym as well as teach privately.

Inic is setting patterns that could be good or could be totally against what proper body mechanics should be performed. We all self-train if we are dedicated to what we study. I poo poo anyone who picks up a book or video and then starts to "learn" as being a road to incorrect practice without some guidance. Way too many fools out there who think books will teach you something secret that will help your skills. You need to take your material and work the hell out of it and ingrain it in your head.

I also argued the fact the SCA is nothing about combat. Friendly people out to "fantasize" about being a knight or a damsel or what have you. It has NOTHING to do with the martial arts. Do not get me wrong there are some people out there who practice euro style arts, and they are not the SCA. Inic could be gaining some great things out there with his swordmanship. Combat skills are NOT one of them.

Proper body mechanics are the end all be all of ALL arts. Without learning how your body moves without hurting it and damaging it is something lost on most. People have crazy notions that certain moves and movements and exercises are good for them when they are actually very bad for you. the opposite is also true, many things that people have been told are bad are actually kinesestically correct. Im lucky in that for nursing school I have had to take a lot of body science classes. They have helped me gain in a better understanding of how to move and train. Pick up a decent kinesology book and you could double your skills when you add it to your training.

Ark, by your comment that you lack the need for it suggests you do not desire to have good health, longevity and fighting ability. Proper body mechanics is the road that leads to those areas.

I should have written more when I responded to Inics posting.

The word "perfectly" was a misnomer. I should have said correctly. Which in my mind is a constant search for perfection which may never happen but the constant awareness to create it is.

If you cannot learn to maxmize your movement then your not learning to properly apply it. Hence all the dancing around or moving around will mean nothing when you have to use it. I do not train to be a pretty dancer or to obtain trophies, as those things mean nothing in the martial arts world no matter what your goals happen to be. Training is twofold, health and self-defence. Anything else you gleam from that is secondary. Most people's goals lack the training to make them real. These are not hobbies to pick up. For most of us they become a lifestlye.

Hope this helps to clarify my position.

Enjoy your weekend.

Dale

P.S. Where you from? The fantasia location speaks volumes....

[Akhilleus]

OK we just have different ideas/philosophies regarding martial arts...

"I should have said correctly. Which in my mind is a constant search for perfection which may never happen but the constant awareness to create it is."

I'm glad you clarified that statement with the "in your mind" part...you have your idea of what good martial arts is, which is fine, but that may not be the same idea that another person has...

"Akhilleous( no offense but could I know your real name, these screen names are just freaking silly),"

"P.S. Where you from? The fantasia location speaks volumes...."

I really can't think of any good reasons why you would want that info or why I should give it out on a public forum...I'm not the only person living here and I wouldn't want to put myself or my family at risk...I will only say this that I am from the same town as a woman that met a man on the internet then later was killed by him after driving several hours to meet him in hopes of a romantic relationship...in other words, I know better than to disclose personal info over the 'net to someone I know nothing about...

[Akhilleus]

Enjoy your weekend

Thanks...you do the same...I'm going to a fight...one of my guys is trying to get his regional muay thai title back...

[Dale Dugas]

Well not wanting to give out your address out is one thing. I have no problem with giving out my own. You can come over anytime you wish. Though I do not think you will like the outcome of unannounced nocturnal visits. You make valid points with not wanting harm to come to yourself or others where you abide.

Though not wanting to give your name out (when asked) is suspicious to some and tantanmount to cowardice by others. Especially with all the mouth boxing that goes on in these forums.

Funny that you mention the lady who was killed. She should have trained to protect herself knowing that freaks exist in this plane of existence. Way too many people on the planet are of the fuzzy bunny mentality thinking everything is great and others have your best intentions in mind. Too much of a Realist to believe that. Reality blows most of the time and you have to be prepared for anything.

Using that example to back up your wanting to remain in the shadows is rather lame unless your talking about online dating. No correlation.

I, among others, like to post with real names and locations as it gives a realism that screen names and fake locations seems to shy away from. Again the hint of wanting to hide behind something rather than face reality peeks its head up.

Funny you jump into a thread about Boston training though you will not say where you live or who you are. Not only that you get all over my case about self-training having merit and then say your student is going to be fighting a muay thai title fight. I thought self-training is good. Why not let your students self- learn then you can stop being a kung fu instructor and get a better paying job. I have met very few teachers who can eke out a living with the arts.


Dale Dugas

[Mr Punch]

Holy sheet, you need a ladder to get on that horse there Mister Dugas?! :rolleyes: :D

To others, not giving out your name and address on a public forum is neither suspicious, nor cowardly, just a personal choice for any number of reasons.

I would even venture to say that most people restrict addresses and personal details to PMs round here.

And discussion is just that, not necessarily 'getting all over my case'.

LOL at the reference to Akhilleus not liking the outcome of unnannounced nocturnal visits... what the hell makes you think the thought even crossed his mind? What weird 'reality' are you living in? :p

[Merryprankster]

Cool!

I've got a name and address!

Who wants to sign up to Lexis-Nexis with me, grab a couple of other easily obtainable public domain pieces of info since we have a full name and address and get a free credit card?!


And THAT'S why people don't give those out online....


For the record, Akhilleus is no paper tiger. He's had the guts to step in the ring and I thought showed some pretty good skills in his MT fight.

As for who I am, it's fairly well known here - James Valentine.

[Mutant]

Who wants to sign up to Lexis-Nexis with me, grab a couple of other easily obtainable public domain pieces of info since we have a full name and address and get a free credit card?!


And THAT'S why people don't give those out online....



Exactly.

my .02 on the off-topic, is that I personally have never met anyone who was 'self-trained' who i would consider a skilled and competent martial artist. that said, to each their own, whatever floats your boat. as was mentioned, depends on goals.

[Mutant]

shocking.................

:rolleyes:
:D
Always have been a kung fu guy, always will be.

[Akhilleus]

Not only that you get all over my case about self-training having merit

I don't think I jumped all over your case...I simply strongly disagreed with a statement you made and tried to discuss it...unfortunately, what could have been a fruitful discussion on self-training vs. training with a teacher turned to questions about my courage, or lack thereof, which as far as I know has nothing to do with the point being argued...


Using that example to back up your wanting to remain in the shadows is rather lame unless your talking about online dating. No correlation.

First of all, I don't believe in "using" someone's death for anything...secondly, its not that I heard about it and said, "Wow I can use this to justify remaining anonymous online!" rather I read it and thought "Wow I have to be careful online". The correlation would be meeting someone you don't know IRL that you met online...

Anyway, we could argue for pages about the original topic or internet safety, but you clearly don't like my attitude, and I can't say I care very much for yours...so I say to you now, Good day sir!


my .02 on the off-topic, is that I personally have never met anyone who was 'self-trained' who i would consider a skilled and competent martial artist. that said, to each their own, whatever floats your boat. as was mentioned, depends on goals

Yeah I agree w/ that...when I said there are great fighters that have learned from videos I was actually referring to guys that studied from a live teacher for a while then picked up some new stuff/drills from videos...

[Dale Dugas]

Mat,

No ladder needed as there is no horse. Your other comments are ill founded and can bring into question where your reality sets up shop versus my own. If you think that nocturnal visits from strangers means something anything other than you would deal with them in a very concise martial manner, you are way off base. Way off.

I responded to what he wrote about self-training which in my mind is rather two-faced when he supposedly(as I have never met him) teaches the arts for a living. We disagree on many points. Cool, hate to have all Yes Yes Yes people around.

I asked his name and got some lame(in my mind) excuse that because some lady got killed that he should not give that info out. Again he can do whatever it is he wants to.

But his use of that particular example chosen made me wonder as I dare say it would make other people wonder about why he said that. As it has NO connection to what was being talked about nor did it have any real association with us here other than the use of the internet.

Brains are great when they work, aren't they?

No names makes you no one in my opinion and others I know. Fear to name yourself makes me wonder about many things. But who really cares?

I have no idea who Ark is and will not unless he desires to tell me. Again who cares. I was responding to Ark

James(Merrypranckster) gave me his name and I did not even ask him. And you obviously know him if you step up to the plate for him(again an assumption on my part that you know him). I never said he was a paper tiger. I commented on his lack of naming himself when asked.

Is there something wrong with giving your name out. No names pretty much means you do not exist. Hence the giving of names to people. Think about it.

I have your name Mat (an assumption as you never told me that is your name), and James and that is great as I now know how you are called.

Thanks for the info on id theft.

Still doesnt really answer the questions I asked. But thats ok as I didn't ask either of you.

In Boston,

Dale Dugas

[Mr Punch]

...

... :rolleyes:

Anyway.

Training without a teacher is one way to go. I don't really see too many benefits... I'm sure you can become a good fighter that way too, but it seems rather like reinventing the wheel.

If Inic means he has been to a couple of teachers or has competent senior training partners to teach him a couple of simple moves, then maybe that can work if he can then put them into a drill framework and work up to using them in sparring.

Otherwise, if you just learn a couple of things and then spar, chances are you're going to get your ass kicked the first time you fight anyone with the same experience in a formal art (assuming of course that the formal art also teaches a considerable amount of drills and sparring, not just forms). You're going to need someone to watch you and check out that you're not just losing it and backyard brawling when you spar.

A video can be useful, but I've never seen an instructional video that's told me everything I needed to know without having had any prior knowledge, and I've never seen a video that has given as much help as working through some things with a teacher and a partner for the equivalent time.

With a good bag, and some competent, trained partners he should do well enough.

One more thing. I can well understand Inic's allergy to forms and very often I take bits out of the forms - simple moves and combinations - and train them separately; alone, on bags and on people... but then I can understand Dale's point about forms too, and I trained, and was taught and corrected privately and in group lessons forms and the individual moves and combos from them for literally years. From the start I felt happy about trying them ont he bags and on people, but only because I knew that my teacher would pick me up on any mistakes when I got back to class.

However, Dale, I wouldn't say a form ingrains things into your reflexive actions. It trains your muscle memory sure, but until you then work the same move ina live rhythm with a resisting partner, it doesn't become a reflex, just an empty action. I can train my straight punch all I like in a form and still fold without getting one out under pressure, or knock myself backwards as soon as I make contact with something.

So in the same way as it is useful for Inic to have competent training partners to help him from his videos, it's important for people practising forms to have the same.

Mat Hill (no-one), Nerima-ku, Tokyo.

[jun_erh]

most people who use their real names on this board are trying to sell something. Why else would they use their real name?

[Dale Dugas]

Ark- I apologize for seemingly flying to an extreme. Being what you posted recently I can see where that point would lend a hella of a lot more creedence to what you posted before. But not reading that until now only pushed the assumption on my part that training by oneself has merit. Self training does have it merits but like you mentioned you need to have a bit of a base to then move from.

many examples in Hsing Yi and Bagua circles of the master coming into town or the student making his way to the masters house learning for a period of time and then going home and working on the material like a madman.

mat- i wasnt talking about forms training as being solo, forms training includes two man or multi man breakdown as well as seeing what the stuff looks like when people are coming at you. Solo form training to me is more like frame/structure reinforcement training to set up the frame of your body to the moves you are learning. then you take this and apply it with people coming at you with different attacks and see how the material lends itself to different situations. Engram and muscle memory are synonyms in my book.

jun erh- I use my name as well as others. Im no Gene Ching...LOL no selling here. Just not into the hiding my identity thing.

Sorry I disagree with you guys about internet safety. Not an issue with me as common sense was something the creator and my parents instilled in me.

I apologize to Ark. He has prescence if not a name.

Dale

[Mr Punch]

mat- i wasnt talking about forms training as being solo, forms training includes two man or multi man breakdownAh, OK, my bad, I was assuming just solo for some reason.

As for the two-man stuff I just tend to prefer two-man sparring or sticky hand based drills than set forms, but that's just me.


... common sense was something the creator and my parents instilled in me.Are you sure?! I'd still take off your address if I were you... Plus, what benefits does it have? Has anyone nice visited you because you have your address on this forum... even written a letter to you?

Still, it's your call.

Cheers for the discussion.

[Akhilleus]

I apologize to Ark.

No worries, friend; I know how easy it is to misunderstand eachother on these internet forums. Still, I am glad that now I have the opportunity to clarify a few things...anyway here is how I feel about some of the main points that were brought up...

-Videos/books are a very poor substitute for an actual living breathing teacher

-People just starting out can learn and make some limited progress by being self-trained, but they will almost certainly develop habits that are counterproductive and not reach their goals without a real teacher

-Training on your own allows you to figure things out for yourself which can help you grow as a martial artist and person

-Regarding Internet security, I would rather be safe than sorry; if someone knows who I am and where I am located, then decides to hurt me IRL, chances are they will succeed...I probably won't know what they look like or even that they are after me...they can find pictures of me over the 'net so they know what I look like...

[Mutant]

my old teacher paul rosado at Chinese Kickboxing (.com)

I was just down at Paul's new school in Roslindale (part of Boston) this past weekend, real nice place, great program, would highly recommend checking it out.

[Ford Prefect]

There are plenty of good schools in and around Boston:

Boston Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Watertown)

Yang's Martial Arts - Yang Jwing Ming teaching Longfist, White Crane, Tai chi (Boston)

Boston San Shou/SanDa (Boston)

Wah Lum Tam Tui Northern Praying Mantis - from Chan Poi (Boston)

Sityodtong Muay Thai - best camp in all Thailand; also teach JKD, Grappling, MMA (Somerville)

Joe Maffei's JKD - Integrated Martial Development- Maffei has extensive knowledge and experience (Waltham)

New England Aikikai - School of the late Mistunari Kanai 8th dan in Aikido and former live-in student of Ueshiba - (Cambridge)

Jae Hun Kim Tae Kwon Do - They actually fight real hard - (Boston & Cambridge)

Tohuko Judo Club - Great judo club; Olympian Jimmy Pedro often stops by- (Somerville)

Bay Union Wrestling Club - folkystle and freestyle wrestling- (Boston)

Bobby Giordono JKD - Muay Thai and stick oriented - (belmont)

--------------

That's just a small taste of the better schools. I've trained at most of the combat arts schools like Boston BJJ, Tohuko, Maff's JKD, Bay Union, Sityodtong... some extensively and some just to fill in a gap or get some hard sparring in. All the locations I named are either in Boston or under 10 miles from city limits.

[jmd161]

There are plenty of good schools in and around Boston:

Boston Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Watertown)

Yang's Martial Arts - Yang Jwing Ming teaching Longfist, White Crane, Tai chi (Boston)

Boston San Shou/SanDa (Boston)

Wah Lum Tam Tui Northern Praying Mantis - from Chan Poi (Boston)

Sityodtong Muay Thai - best camp in all Thailand; also teach JKD, Grappling, MMA (Somerville)

Joe Maffei's JKD - Integrated Martial Development- Maffei has extensive knowledge and experience (Waltham)

New England Aikikai - School of the late Mistunari Kanai 8th dan in Aikido and former live-in student of Ueshiba - (Cambridge)

Jae Hun Kim Tae Kwon Do - They actually fight real hard - (Boston & Cambridge)

Tohuko Judo Club - Great judo club; Olympian Jimmy Pedro often stops by- (Somerville)

Bay Union Wrestling Club - folkystle and freestyle wrestling- (Boston)

Bobby Giordono JKD - Muay Thai and stick oriented - (belmont)

--------------

That's just a small taste of the better schools. I've trained at most of the combat arts schools like Boston BJJ, Tohuko, Maff's JKD, Bay Union, Sityodtong... some extensively and some just to fill in a gap or get some hard sparring in. All the locations I named are either in Boston or under 10 miles from city limits.


Thank's for all the info Ford!


Thanks to everyone else for their assistance also

jeff:)