Best Academy of Martial Arts

[jaymac]

Ranked themselves...? Hmmm?

[b8rtm8nn]

Ranked themselves...? Hmmm?

According to the local lore - three young master ranked individuals in the Champaign area ran their own schools and trained together - forming the Christian Martial Arts Association. Through this association, they promoted themselves. That is what people have told me, so take it for what it is worth.

[jaymac]

I have great respect for the Martial Arts ranking system. In fact, if you think about it, people deal daily in lives at the work place with ranks. In a factory, you have the foreman, the plant manager, the CEO... in the police force, fire dept. and military, all have a ranking system. People are promoted by those of higher ranking and not by self promotion. I do not hold much respect for a style that self promotes or allows the student to promote the instructor. It makes me wonder where that individuals head instructor fits into the realm of things. Did they break away from their instructor on bad terms or are they developing a style made up of a hodge podge of moves taken from other styles after minimal years of training.

[ps1]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'll definitely have to go check out their classes. Unfortunately for me, Champaign is a very small town, so that's the only place which teaches jiu-jitsu. Since I'm not very interested in Budo or Kung Fu, I think I'll be having a different teacher than that Dr. Brownridge, this Tim Morrrissey character. I too feel that Dr. Brownridge's credentials are quite ridiculous.

You may want to note that their Jujitsu instructor does not hold a black belt in jujitsu. Quite odd. That wouldn't be uncommon if it were BJJ, but the systems he's studying are Japanese. Not that it's easy to earn a BB in JJJ, but usually no one under BB teaches JJJ.

Did anyone else catch on that he's being called Dr. Brownridge, but he has a Bachelor of Science in education? Why is he called Dr?

Another funny but unrelated note: I had originally abbreviated Bachelor of Science, but it was censored

[ps1]

1. Brownridge and some others ranked themselves in the 70's since they started their own style - apparently this was common among martial artists who were going into business and probably a root to the demise of traditional systems. He is over 60 and does have some high ranks that are legitimate; according to some websites you can track, he was a freak of nature in his youth and his passion and ability got him ranked quickly, especially in styles where you could challenge higher ranks for their rank through sparring (usually until knockout, submission or injury).

What makes him a Dr.? It says he has a Bachelor of Science. Which websites please?

2. I suggested using Budo, not as a style, but as a state of mind to reach when training and changing through your training. It's James Hawn's accumulation of knowledge over the years and he doesn't call his style anything, he'll tell you to train with him and call it what you will (but that is pretty hard to print on fliers). I'm sorry that it isn't an actual fit as a style, but you should try it out, we teach a lot of Jiu Jitsu within the class and you get to throw/kick/punch me.

You could always call it American Martial arts, rather than relating it to a way (budo) you clearly aren't extremely familiar with. Don't mean that to be overly offensive, just a suggestion.

3. Tim runs a good class and it is popular. There was the comment about the message delivery and reception, I believe he is trying to communicate that regardless of how good an instructor can be, an open mind and dedication is even more important.

Why does a brownbelt teach the Jujitsu program? Afterall, everyone else seems to have a black belt. Not that this never happens, but it just seems odd, considering the apparent knowledge base in your school.

I look forward to your responses,

Bill

[b8rtm8nn]

To jaymac:

He broke away from his American instructor, that instructor believed that ranks above 4th degree black required acceptance of certain philosophical/religious ideas and not on ability past that point. That was the point of the style break and USA Shutokan is escentially that same as the style they broke from in regards to the physical aspects, but the philosophies differ. The rest I can ask about when I see him again.

For ps1:

He uses Dr. instead of Master since he is African American and the use of the term "master" can be offensive, so to address someone in English we use Professor so & so instead of Master so & so. It was also a way of legitimizing the art back in the 70's since American martial artists were not as accepted as Asian ones (even more difficult for dark skinned individuals in the Midwest). So the idea of studying self defense scientifically instead of using terms from foreign languages was adopted and people who wanted more "tradition" also learned the terms in Japanese or Chinese, depending upon the style.

Regarding Budo, see Budo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budo)

and Gendai Budo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gendai_budo). I agree that I am not familiar with the terms from the Japanese language, but it passes since the intent is two fold:

1. To generate interest from people unfamiliar with martial arts and Budo generates more interest than American Martial Arts from my experience marketing the school.

2. To keep the practitioner's mind away from having a style on their mind when they train. People tend to learn to think in terms of particular stylized techniques so we try not to get them to lock onto a particular style. If they want stylized training, they can study a particular style.

Tim likes Jiu Jitsu and thats why he teaches it, I'm not certain why his ranks tally up as they do. I can ask if you wish.

Sorry I can't answer all the questions with more detail, but I'll ask if it interests you.

[cathal]

For ps1:

He uses Dr. instead of Master since he is African American and the use of the term "master" can be offensive, so to address someone in English we use Professor so & so instead of Master so & so. It was also a way of legitimizing the art back in the 70's since American martial artists were not as accepted as Asian ones (even more difficult for dark skinned individuals in the Midwest). So the idea of studying self defense scientifically instead of using terms from foreign languages was adopted and people who wanted more "tradition" also learned the terms in Japanese or Chinese, depending upon the style.

That's all fine and good, however it is still misleading. You should explain this on the website.

[Sohan]

A "Doctor" in the US usually refers to someone with an advanced collegiate degree, while a "Professor" can be simply someone who is a valued educator. I, too, find the use of "Dr." misleading in this case, particularly in lieu of holding such an advanced degree. Perhaps the term "Full Professor" or something similar would be a more appropriate choice.

With respect,

Sohan

[The Almighty Ram]

hi everyone,

I never expected to get this much information, thanks for all of the replies. I suppose I'll just have to go to check out the class. If they had a TKD course, it'd be much easier for me to judge, but my studio's course was very rigorous and demanding, and wholly satisfying, I only hope that this studio is just as disciplined. Also, for Bart, how long does it take a student to advance to black belt in Jiu-jitsu in your studio?

Thanks.

[alsey]

To jaymac:

He uses Dr. instead of Master since he is African American and the use of the term "master" can be offensive, so to address someone in English we use Professor so & so instead of Master so & so. It was also a way of legitimizing the art back in the 70's since American martial artists were not as accepted as Asian ones (even more difficult for dark skinned individuals in the Midwest). So the idea of studying self defense scientifically instead of using terms from foreign languages was adopted and people who wanted more "tradition" also learned the terms in Japanese or Chinese, depending upon the style.

dude that's just misleading and unethical. you can't just call yourself a doctor just because you feel like it. becoming a doctor of anything takes years of study and work which is then peer reviewed to the finest detail; its insulting to those who have such qualifications and those who are training for them to just publicly announce yourself as a doctor. this IMO is the nail in the coffin for a school that seemed very dodgy in the first place.