StephenBaker

Greetings, Just wanted to add my two cents here. I used to train with one of Taika Oyata's students during my college years. This very nice gentleman could not have weighed more than 134 lbs. At 250 lbs, and with some Muay Thai experience, I was not visually intimidated. I learned quickly. When demonstrating a technique we were told to really throw at him. He could send bolts of lighting up and down my body. From a practical perspective, one or two strikes on my arms would send them hanging to my side useless before I could retract them. I agree with the prior statement that if its in your training then they are useful. The techniques are not mastered overnight. As for street effectiveness, I am a believer. Regards

My personal experience has been that many boxers with whom I have trained are well conditioned to getting hit. To me, that counted for quite a bit. I remember being shocked the first time I took a real shot to both the body and head. Being able to focus after taking a shot and still keep going strikes me as particulary useful. Just my two cents. Regards

Thank you for the web link. Right now I would like to gain an understanding of what is in the area and proceed from there. I would love to train in Daito Ryu but to the best of my knowledge there is no school in Jacksonville. Using the striking arts as an example, I would like to find a school with plain gi's. A place where people train to train. Regards

Greetings, Can anyone provide some information on the martial arts schools in Jacksonville, Florida. I am relocating there and would use the opportunity to train. I am NOT looking for tournament focused schools. I would appreciate any information that anybody would share on a combative training school or very traditional school. I have prior training in Muay Thai and Ryu-Te Thank you in advance for your help.