ShadowGoomba

aye so there is.

If the guy attacking you has a buddy with him, as soon as you go to the ground you're toast. Plus if you are in an alley, there can be broken glass and stuff on the ground too.

Thanks for the info. I will be checking out the dojo in a couple of days.

You would probally have better luck in Maui. Kauai'i is very rual and small(but pretty).

true, you can easily use keys, chairs, even pepper(for blinding opponets during those all too common restraunt brawls). But those are not MA weapons.

can you say 80's?

gross . wash your belt(but don't over do it or it will fade).

I looked at the KM school's website and they seem to have that supermusclekillerstreetnofluff look to them. I will take a look but in general I prefere a more subtle attitude. In general, do Straight Blast gyms give good training?

I think that there is a Straight Blast Gym in portland, i also know of one in beaverton. Don't know yet if they are any good though.

While I find sword training fun and interesting, I would hardly consider carrying a sword around for self defense. Is there any modern validity of karate weapons(unless you go to the grocery with your trusty Sai by your side)? Or are they just for looks/fun/tradition?

Thanks for the input! I guess I need to get off the computer and actually start going to these places eh?

Hmmm....not a big fan of katas, but I can live with them. How about self defense work?

DM, You have a point. Besides, even regular dojos get in people who are troublemakers. But in Highschool(in general), you would get more people looking for trouble than if you had your own private dojo. There is no shortage of MA joints, and you have to pay(at least here) to participate in school activites anyhow. So if a student wanted to, they could easily start up MA outside of school.

is this a good self defense martial art? I have found a little info online but not to much. Has Anyone seen it before? thanx in advance.

i'll definately try out they karate place, the guy there said he would give me a month free to see if i like it. I don't know if i care to much for the emphasis on karate weapons work, but I shall see.

I will be restarting martial arts soon and here is a list of what seems good so far: Krav Maga Shito-ryu Karate (any good? It is the only karate school nearby) Straight Blast gym BJJ and JKD WC kung fu If you have had any experience with these arts please let me know if you would recommend them. Thanx!

As said before, wrestling requires lots of working out(I am too lazy ), but it does give you a nice basis in grapling . The uniforms are kinda scary though....

Speaking from a high schooler's point of view.... it would be a BAD idea. Not only would liability be a problem(my school wouldn't even let us start up a kendo club), but I wouldn't trust the average high school jock. Our school has a big wrestling team, and although I have never seen any violence against other students by team members(the coach can be very harsh against rule breakers), Many try to be "tough guys", and it is very grating on the nerves. I would hate to see martial arts in their hands. I say, join a gym and go to school for the education, not the sports. Too many high schoolers would abuse martial art training.

give the instructor 50 bucks. Good luck.

I had the same problem. I was in a great group, the instructor was a really nice guy. But he mostly just taught forms and workouts. If you want to take martial arts, you expect to learn self defense(conditioning is important too though). Otherwise you could just join a gym.

I am not short...just "Vertically Challenged" I looked at the wing chun and Taijitsu places... The Taijitsu was fun but I did not care for one of the instructors there(sort of loud and annoying), as for the wing chun, I found it interesting. There is a straight blast gym nearby my house....how does that stack up in general? I probally won't be getting seriously involved in any kind of MA anyhow until late august(going on an exchange program to Japan ) Thanks for the info!

Sumimasen, I got out of TKD because I was in a dojo that sported many of TKD's sterotypes(No self defense work, heavy emphasis on forms and point sparring, no handwork, etc). Also, ALL the TKD places around me (and there are alot) cater to "Families". I could have worked my way up to a black belt, but I realized that this would have been meaningless. So I quit. Basically, I am stocky but not TOO overwight (but could be better lol!) and am about 5' 10" ish. I want a practical martial art that is good for self defense and can work "on the street ." I want aspects of joint locking and striking...so I might take wing chun/Taijitsu along with kickboxing and judo at the other place. I am going to visit the wing chun guy in a couple of days(he teaches at home....which could be a good or bad thing. But he does seem authentic) and later today I will check out the Taijitsu guy.

Some local Wing Chun instuctor in my area claims to have been a student of Jiu Wan..... he definately is from China.

Having run away from TKD, I have not been in martial arts since January. but recently with high school out, I have been looking into potential replacements. Here's the list, Wing Chun Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu MMA: Judo, Kickboxing, and Jujitsu I could perhaps take more than one and I will probally watch a class in each of them, but does anyone think that there might be a best choice?(assuming that the instuctors are somewhat decent)

I went there and t he place doesn't exist anymore. I wonder why? Thanks for the info(I didn't even read the history on the site ) I thought it looked a little strange.......