One Year To Train...What to Do?

[Ashton]

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.

[Merryprankster]

Box

[IronFist]

Boxing/Muay Thai/Brazilian Jujitsu (BJJ)

If you want to learn how to fight.

[CaptinPickAxe]

Box. You get a helluva lot more ringtime than anything else.

[LEGEND]

WRESTLING also. U get a lot of mat time and u'll develop great strength.

[jungle-mania]

I would actually tell you to skip boxing and wrestling and do sanda, but then i would be biased, as I am sanda fighter.

I have to agree with the rest, do boxing and wrestling. Hate to admit it, but my boxing and wrestling background saved my arse more times than any other art I learned in most of my sparring with other martial artists.

Saying that, I don't see anything wrong learing abit from the WWII combat art, sounds pretty good to me, since it is out of the ring and it is no holds barred pertaining to rules.

But don't rely on it completely to give yourself the edge in combat fitness and general toughness. The other arts discussed will definitely provide that.

[SevenStar]

Out of the choices you listed, I'd do C.

[PHILBERT]

I trained with the WT guys you mentioned for close to a year and a half. Don't train there. Spend your time somewhere else, BJJ or Thai Boxing if you only got a year.

[IronFist]

Originally posted by SevenStar
Out of the choices you listed, I'd do C.

[SanSoo Student]

Box and Muay Thai, learning to fight with a knife might help

[cerebus]

Boxing has saved my butt a few times. ALL of your training is either conditioning or full contact sparring in the medium/ close range.

If you only have a year, it's your best bet. Plus the footwork, timing, distancing, reading of your opponent's movement, and ability to stay cool under fire and keep fighting even if you take a hard combo will help you regardless of which martial art you get into later.

[Water Dragon]

Boxing and BJJ are good choices. Also, Victor Ke is out of Dallas. You can find his contact info here.

If you can find a school that produces MMA fighters, that's always a good bet.

[David Jamieson]

if a group of men approach you armed with knives or with a pistol, are you gonna box them? You gonna wrestle them?

don't make presuppositions about encounters that haven't or may not occur. You can't forsee the future anymore tahn anyone else can.

I would suggest that if you are concerned that you will be working in a high crime area with a good possibility of an encounter as you say, that perhaps you should talk to your employer about this first of all and see if they have any experience with this from the past and how they are or have dealt with it.

1 and 1/2 years of training in anything will only prepare you for what you have trained for. IN Martial arts, or martial sports you are generally not preparing for multiple attackers with no rules simply put.

So, what can you train that will bring you a better state of awareness to the culture and surroundings that you will find yourself in?

What language is spoken there? How about what is the layout of the area and where are the real problem areas you should avoid entirely.

I guess what I'm saying is, that you need to look at your situation holistically and not draw scenarios in your head where you find yourself using a particular methodology in a situation that clearly has no rhyme or reason.

Awareness training, educate yourself on teh culture you are about to enter. Learn as much as you possibly can about where you will be and what teh people there are like. What is the crime there like? Statistically, what are the crime rates and M.O's commonly used on someone like yourself.

Be aware of these things and you will have fought half of any battle you can expect there.

As for handling yourself, any sort of reality scenario training is suitable and you will need to learn about fully resisting and fully attacking combatants coming at you with ill intent.

If someone is offering LEO type training that gives you the opportunity to understand the above, then take that, but don't expect that any of it is gonna save your @ss when it comes to the moment of truth. Your best weapon is always knowledge and common sense.

cheers

[YinYangDagger]

go with American Combatives - most guys on the board do not know John Kary, but it'll teach you what you need in a short amount of time...

[Tak]

Why not buy a handgun and go to the firing range every day? Or is safety not the only issue?

BTW, if going with the gun, I'd also try to get in some training regarding being aware of your surroundings, potential warning flags, effective distance, drawing from concealment, etc. Stuff you could learn from a law enforcement officer, possibly a military guy, ...