Austin, TX Beginner, What's the best way to start?

[jstreet]

You should at least visit 1 or 2 BJJ schools. Sample everything that's out there. Everything. You never know what art you're going to fall in love with until you get out there and try it. How was the SC school?

I think I have found what I am looking for.
I have a new number one pick.

[Water Dragon]

heh heh. Liked getting tossed on your noggin'. huh? I did SC for about 4 years. If you have the time, try training both Judo and SC. If you can devote 2 days a week to each, you'll end up a monster in 2 years.

[jstreet]

http://www.rrkungfu.com/

This school is more than likely going to be the one I go with. The few remaining schools I have to visit would have to cut me a sweet deal for me to go anywhere else but here. Sifu Dave Pickens has an extremely engaging personality and his instruction is crystal clear. He has an incredible background and the blend of Tai Chi, Northern Shaolin Boxing, and Shuai Chiao made the class very interesting and well rounded. He had one of his senior students lead the class tonight and the guy was incredible. I think this style will be a great way to get in shape AND learn self-defense at the same time. I was nervous about this class at first because of all of the throws and falls you take in class. As a beginner you FIRST learn how to fall correctly before you start getting hands on with ther Shuai Chiao. This was important for me as a beginner because I didn't want to sign up, get my ass kicked, and then not be able to work the next day or be so **** sore I have to miss class. I would be able to attend the Kung-Fu classes on Mon and Wed evening and the Tai-Chi only class on Thursday. This school is 2.7 miles from my Apartment and I don't have to access any main roads to get there, so traffic is no problem. This school is the best location for me out of all of them I have visited, by far. I am sold, on the location, the curriculum, the instructor and it is the best price I have found so far. As much as I have enjoyed everything I have seen, I can say if I had to make the decision right now, this would be the one hands down.

Sifu Pickens is friends with Sifu Hughes who runs this school ( http://usakfa.com/ )
I am visting that school Thursday, I love the styles they offer but I could only attend one day per week and it is way across town, so I don't think it can beat what I have seen tonight, but I am going to check it out anyway. Then I have one more TKD school on the list and that's it. I saw a BJJ class the same day I saw the JKD class at Adam Ganshirt's studio. The link to that school is a couple of pages back, I believe it is the Ray Parra/Inosanto link. Once I have a good foundation then I may consider BJJ. BJJ and Muay Thai may have more "street cred", but that Shuai Chiao looked pretty bad ass to me.

[Water Dragon]

Bro, Shuai Chiao was the only thing that saved my butt when I went to MMA, and Dave Pickens is a great coach. You're gonna learn good stuff with him.

[jstreet]

heh heh. Liked getting tossed on your noggin'. huh? I did SC for about 4 years. If you have the time, try training both Judo and SC. If you can devote 2 days a week to each, you'll end up a monster in 2 years.

I didn't know what to expect so I kept an open mind about it. He says when he immediatley throws newbies around with the SC he starts losing them left and right. He knows I need to crawl before I can walk and the getting my ass kicked aspect of the SC will come when I am ready for it and I know how to fall correctly.

I didn't want to take Judo because I wanted something more well rounded. Sifu mixes the Northern Shaolin and Tai Chi in the class with the SC and it seems like a good well rounded mix. The SC looks solid to me, but what do I know I am a beginner.

[Water Dragon]

That's fine, especially with time restraints. I do Judo now and I'm telling you that if you can train both, your throwing skills will develop rapidly, and you'll develop a decent ground game. Plus, if you're getting even a little striking from Pickens you have yourself a well developed game with a hardcore throwing foundation.

[jstreet]

Bro, Shuai Chiao was the only thing that saved my butt when I went to MMA, and Dave Pickens is a great coach. You're gonna learn good stuff with him.

Thanks for your help WD. I feel I have done my due diligence and researched everything I was interested in and even a few things I wasn't. One of the main things I was looking for was good instruction, and you are right about Dave, you can no doubt learn from him. He has a great deal of knowledge to share for those who seek it.

[jstreet]

That's fine, especially with time restraints. I do Judo now and I'm telling you that if you can train both, your throwing skills will develop rapidly, and you'll develop a decent ground game. Plus, if you're getting even a little striking from Pickens you have yourself a well developed game with a hardcore throwing foundation.

You are right about the Judo working well with the SC, Sifu mentioned that in a round about way, once I have a foundation built, I will look in to it. He is a student of the game. He has studied TKD when overseas with the Air Force as well as Shotokan Karate. He has been involved in the MA's for 41 years. I can tell this is going to be fun.

[Pork Chop]

http://www.rrkungfu.com/

I used to work out there occasionally (every Wednesday; mostly learning breakfalls). My main sifu at the time was Jeff Hughes. Lookin back, I probably shoulda stuck with Round Rock full time. Sifu Pickens is awesome, all the guys there were nice. GGL from this forum trains there. Think I woulda accomplished so much more goin there full-time than doin the cross-town drive I did for that year or so. Plus, they've got a lei tai program.

[jstreet]

http://www.rrkungfu.com/

I used to work out there occasionally (every Wednesday; mostly learning breakfalls). My main sifu at the time was Jeff Hughes. Lookin back, I probably shoulda stuck with Round Rock full time. Sifu Pickens is awesome, all the guys there were nice. GGL from this forum trains there. Think I woulda accomplished so much more goin there full-time than doin the cross-town drive I did for that year or so. Plus, they've got a lei tai program.

Sifu Hughes and Pickens are friends and they hold events together. What are the main differences between them? Style wise and instructor wise? I am visiting Sifu Hughes's school Thursday,

[Reggie1]

Sifu Hughes and Pickens are friends and they hold events together. What are the main differences between them? Style wise and instructor wise? I am visiting Sifu Hughes's school Thursday,

I"ve never been to sifu Pickens' school, but I've heard really good things about him. I was a student of sifu Hughes for a little over a year at USAKFA.

I can't tell you the differences, but I can tell you about the 7* school. Sifu Hughes is an incredible teacher, and the style is very interesting. I'd say a typical class was broken down like this:

15 minute warmup
15 minutes of drills (punching, kicking, Chin Na)
10 minutes of resistance training (or other drills)
20 minutes of forms and weapons

Most days there would also be an extra 30 minutes to work on a 2-man form. The classes were pretty intense--it's a very demanding workout. On Saturdays there are a lot of classes available as well. Saturdays is really the only day that they free spar.

In my opinion if you'd only be able to make it one day a week to sifu Hughes' class then it might not be worth going. 7* is a pretty complex system that requires a lot of dedication.

[jstreet]

I"ve never been to sifu Pickens' school, but I've heard really good things about him. I was a student of sifu Hughes for a little over a year at USAKFA.

I can't tell you the differences, but I can tell you about the 7* school. Sifu Hughes is an incredible teacher, and the style is very interesting. I'd say a typical class was broken down like this:

15 minute warmup
15 minutes of drills (punching, kicking, Chin Na)
10 minutes of resistance training (or other drills)
20 minutes of forms and weapons

Most days there would also be an extra 30 minutes to work on a 2-man form. The classes were pretty intense--it's a very demanding workout. On Saturdays there are a lot of classes available as well. Saturdays is really the only day that they free spar.

In my opinion if you'd only be able to make it one day a week to sifu Hughes' class then it might not be worth going. 7* is a pretty complex system that requires a lot of dedication.

I think this would be a great place to start. I am a pretty big guy, and I am not in the best shape, so I am not excited about being thrown around with the SC. I just don't see 7* working because of location and schedule.

[Reggie1]

That sucks about the whole location/schedule thing. But I would say the 7* school is a great place to start. If you're interested in authetic traditional Chinese Martial Arts, then Sifu Hughes' school is 100% for you.

I don't know what your schedule is like, but they do (or did when I was there) have classes Monday - Saturday. If you want to get in shape, they'll do it. Like I said, the conditioning is pretty intense.

The only negative things I can say about training at sifu Hughes' school was that they didn't spar enough for my taste, and there were a lot of forms and weapons work. The students got together and sparred after hours, but with my time constraints I couldn't always go. And I didn't have the focus for all the forms and weapons forms.

[Pork Chop]

When I was at Hughes' school sparring was on Saturdays. Saturdays were also the only days we actually hit stuff (pads or whatever). In retrospect I think I wanted more of the fight training. I have no idea how they've been running things the last 6 years tho.

The reason I said I could've gotten further in Round Rock is coz the Round Rock school was a good 15 minutes from my house.

I had a hard time making it down to USAKFA coz it was a 45min drive with no traffic- on weekdays in rush hour that would double. At one point I had a hard time making it down Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The long drive would make me stiff by the time i got there and make me cramp up on the way home.

I'll pm you with more specifics.

[Reggie1]

When I was at Hughes' school sparring was on Saturdays. Saturdays were also the only days we actually hit stuff (pads or whatever). In retrospect I think I wanted more of the fight training. I have no idea how they've been running things the last 6 years tho.

It was the same when I was there.