Choosing a Martial Art for Self Defense

[tackdriver]

...You roll with enough people better than you and you find yourself in terrible positions, many that induce panic. You will start to learn to think through that panic. THAT is the single largest asset ...

THAT!!!

When you learn to control yourself - your mind, your inner monster, your adrenaline, and your emotions - in the heat of combat, your making real progress. When getting put in really bad spots by a superior opponent becomes 'normal' to you, that puffed up chump is just a warm up exercise.

 

[tackdriver]

We'll, I survived my first BJJ class. I was a little nervous going in, but had a good time.

I really had no idea what to expect as far as structure and instruction. Basically the instructor demonstrated a couple of moves he wanted us to work on and we paired off to work on them. Fortunately a young guy saw my deer in headlights look and volunteered to pair up with me. We worked on breaking the guard and then added a few moves from there.

I essentially told him I would pick up more if he just used me as the test dummy and he practiced on me so I could get a feel for what he was doing. During my turns I just worked on the first couple of motions to get my elbows in his legs, open my hips and try to break his guard. I did start to understand the sequence towards the end.

Overall I enjoyed myself and very likely will try out a six month membership. It was a big class and it seemed like everyone was pretty welcoming and focused on helping each other out.

Congrats on taking the first step! One of the first things my teacher told us was "Martial Arts isn't magic. You don't take a few classes and turn into a movie character." Have realistic expectations and a good attitude. There's a steep curve at the beginning, and your 'learning' a tremendous amount that you cant see or realize - then CLICK it starts coming together. Most new students (at least back in my day) had the wrong expectations, got discouraged, and dropped out after 2-3 months. 6 months is probably about when the awkwardness starts to fade, and you can tell if it's a fit for you. (I'm a little jealous, thinking back on my first year or so.)

It can change your life. I truly wish you a great experience.

 

[tackdriver]

Every week when I leave BJJ I say “I suck at this.” I come back for the next class and still suck at it, but I guess coming back is the important part.

Interesting. Even after years of hard training, under a good instructor, I still thought I sucked. The more I learned what a real fight was all about, the more I knew I sucked, and the more I thought I needed to train. The better I got, the more I understood what the other guy might be able to do to me, and the more I knew I sucked, and needed to train. Every time I trained, my goal was to suck a little less than yesterday, and a lot less than the other guys!

 

[Denny347]

I believe he goes for small circle, but I'm not sure. I'll have to ask him when he gets off work around 11. His words were that BJJ was nowhere near as good as small circle. I'm quoting him, it's not something I think myself as I have no experience with it. I do know that people get very dismissive about their art over other arts and even other schools. When I took TKD back in my teens my instructor was very dismissive of other schools in the area, especially those he called Mom and Pop dojos. I took TKD for years, as well as some Judo and Shorei gojo ryu, but the SCJJ class that I took made me realize how much more powerful it was for self defense in just one class. That's why I'm interested in seeking some form of JJ instruction.

The schools I know of near me are:

https://www.ibjja.com/ Indiana BJJ Academy

Carlson Gracie Indianapolis Brazilian Jiu Jitsu​

Marcello's Indianapolis Jiu Jitsu Coach - Brazilian JIu Jitsu Academy​

The first one is about 10 minutes down the road from me. The last one is about 15 minutes away. The middle one would be more of a time investment at closer to 20 - 25 minutes from me.

I have trained at IBJJA for a little over 5 years now under James Clingerman. He is the founding blackbelt for many of the affiliates around Indianapolis, Fishers BJJ and Boxing, Performex, Naptown BJJ, Endurance BJJ, and Vortex in Bloomington. Alan Stockman over at Carlson Gracie is a great Blackbelt as well. Avoid Marcello.

 

[wtburnette]

I have trained at IBJJA for a little over 5 years now under James Clingerman. He is the founding blackbelt for many of the affiliates around Indianapolis, Fishers BJJ and Boxing, Performex, Naptown BJJ, Endurance BJJ, and Vortex in Bloomington. Alan Stockman over at Carlson Gracie is a great Blackbelt as well. Avoid Marcello.

Thank you, good to know.