(no subject)

[camwyn]

Hm. Anyone know anything about http://kravmagainc.com? The specific school, I mean? I've heard about the art and the former Marine in my office speaks well of it. I'm asking about this specific school because Groupon is running a special on them today- $39 for four lessons, $75 for eight- and I'm curious about whether this is a good idea.

Comments

[lions-wings.livejournal.com]

It looks worth a try, especially since you can double-check with the former Marine ("he says to try this, would that get my ass kicked?") afterward. :P

The leader of the school appears to be fairly good. There's more emphasis on fancy pretty ranks and stuff than I would like, but the problem is that none of this stuff is really ranked and integrated in a way that's both functional and pays the bills... you learn martial arts to try to have to use only a minimum, but it's the pizazz that makes it a business. Meanwhile Krav Maga is fairly new as martial arts go and the big practitioners are mostly in another country.

(It's a little like show dog vs. hunting dog. Just because it gets all the ribbons doesn't mean it'll swim out in the cold and shove its head underwater to fetch you a duck, or that it's even built for the field. But show dogs get the attention anyway.)

That said, he does appear to have gotten his knowledge straight from the source (he claims to have been trained by Haim Zut, who does appear to be respected,) so you're more likely to get the actual style and not a remixed or just-related version.

TL;DR I'd go for the experience but then be sure my new knowledge was effective. :D

[camwyn]

's fair enough. Turns out one guy in this office took lessons there in the past and he says they're pretty solid, so I'm gonna give it a try, with the four lessons for $39. (He says his original lessons cost him $30 each, so four for $30 is a bargain.)

[lions-wings.livejournal.com]

I only practiced for like... a year and change so it's not like I'm all old and wise and martial. But my instructor was very down-to-earth and practical in his approach, and I did get a look at some schools in my area who trained to win competitions and see the difference.

But I also met someone with a lot more, er, practical experience and higher-level training who told me that something my instructor had said to deal with a certain situation was inadequate. (Also showed me what nerve to go for in that situation instead of just giving up. :P)

So it really depends not just on what you learn there, but how you fit it in and where you go next.

[viridian.livejournal.com]

Someone I tangentially know from college and through bpal perfume boards takes classes there and likes it. But since I only know this through web-stalking her when I realized she was someone I used to know irl, I can't actually ask for her recommendation. /creeper

[ladymondegreen.livejournal.com]

chaos_wrangler used to take Krav Maga somewhere in the city and liked it. She might be the person to ask.