Is what I teach Practical?
I’ve been involved in the martial arts for over 20 years now. People start the martial arts for all types of reasons. For me, I wanted to learn how to not block punches with my face (a.k.a.: effective self defense). While I think some arts are better for that purpose than others, I’ve been able to learn very valuable self defense from every art that I’ve studied.
So, while learning effective self defense doesn’t have to be a goal of yours if you train at 603 Karate, it will be one of the results of your training. I like to show what I think is the most important self defense technique to know in your first class. That way, if you never come back for another class again, at least you will have that one technique that can apply to so many situations.
It’s important to me that I teach practical techniques for realistic situations. I study what are the most common and likely attacks and how to best defend yourself against them. I have referred to self defense experts about this as well as taken from my own first hand experiences as a police officer. I found that I would encounter similar attacks over and over, so I got really good at defending myself against those attacks.
I would be ashamed if a student studied with me for years and what I taught wasn’t practical. And I don’t think people teach things that they know are not practical, but I just think they have no idea what is and what isn’t practical. If you have never really studied and/or experienced it yourself, how would you know? And if you don’t know, then you really shouldn’t be teaching it (in my opinion).
I don’t claim to be an expert, but I haven’t had any complaints or arguments about what I teach. I’ve learned from a lot of different people who are considered experts. And I’ve tested a lot of this myself in real situations. I’m confident that I teach tools that will really work for anyone.
If you would like to gain some of these skills for yourself then I encourage you to contact me. Group classes or private lessons are a great way to get started! -john g
603-726-6335
Comments