martial arts

vanilla · September 2005

does anyone take martial arts and/or can someone recommend something close to/in the neighborhood? must by lady friendly without being TOO friendly.

carnivore · September 2005

Ask daveb.

Alternatively...

I also think pensodyssey (or rather his alter ego "Miss Vickers") is a 2nd level fighter by now.

daveb · September 2005

I'm affiliated with one specific organization that has it's dojo in Manhattan, so I never really bother to look at what else is around, but my overall feeling is a bit jaded if not negative. Dojos having to pay NYC rent change a lot of the dynamics. Plus, I'm not very keen on the attitude and vibe you get with NYC places. It tends to be much more competitive and aggro...unnecessarily so and I think it's bullshit. A guy i used to study under referred to it specifically as "That goddamn Brooklyn bullshit". Then you have the places that cater to the losers that walk in wanting to be some kind of mysterious, ninja-slaying samurai in addition to their careers as accountants, those are everywhere and make me want to vomit. Not to say there's not good places...

If you want my advice, fuck martial arts classes.

Whip out a phone book or check the local YMCA or Women's crisis center for classes caled "Model Mugging". No, it's not about beating down Kate Moss for being too skinny... Usually it's a short course for just women, but very intensive and very practical due to the fact that you learn hands on with a guy in full body gear that really tries to attack you and you have to physically beat him down as hard as you can. For about two years, I helped teach these classes out of a Woman's Rape Crisis Center, volunteering to be the guy in the body armor and i can't say enough good things about it. I'd tackle 5' tall chicks and the next thing you know, I'm getting my head kicked in and my ear drums shattered from screaming (I had to wear this serious bubble helmet). That's my recommendation.

anonymous · September 2005

There's a couple of really good places in Park Slope that aren't jerks about women, or out to rip you off (which IS frankly an issue with some martial arts schools)

CAE on Fifth Ave at 8th St - it's a women's only goju karate dojo and it's pretty cool. Good work out, strong technical skills, and self-defense integrated into the classes. AND a sliding scale based on income. You can start at the beginning of any month, and it's a non-profit so they aren't all about getting you to sign a long-term contract or buy stuff. 718 788-1775

Tessa Gordon's Pure Energy http://www.pureenergymartialarts.com/
It's a Tae Kwan Do studio with a fitness focus. She went to the Olympics in TKD...class are for men and women, and lots of kids classes.

And for Akido . . . Robert and Neilu's school
http://www.brooklynaikikai.com/instructors.html
408 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, 11215 - (718) 643-6044
Traditional teaching atmosphere, lovely martial arts style that's quite different from punching/kicking . . .

pitu · September 2005

Guest with encyclopedic knowledge of local martial arts for women was me...

daveb · September 2005

Anonymous wrote: There's a couple of really good places in Park Slope that aren't jerks about women, or out to rip you off (which IS frankly an issue with some martial arts schools)

CAE on Fifth Ave at 8th St - it's a women's only goju karate dojo and it's pretty cool. Good work out, strong technical skills, and self-defense integrated into the classes. AND a sliding scale based on income. You can start at the beginning of any month, and it's a non-profit so they aren't all about getting you to sign a long-term contract or buy stuff. 718 788-1775

Tessa Gordon's Pure Energy http://www.pureenergymartialarts.com/
It's a Tae Kwan Do studio with a fitness focus. She went to the Olympics in TKD...class are for men and women, and lots of kids classes.

And for Akido . . . Robert and Neilu's school
http://www.brooklynaikikai.com/instructors.html
408 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, 11215 - (718) 643-6044
Traditional teaching atmosphere, lovely martial arts style that's quite different from punching/kicking . . .

Sheesh BK Aikikai is pricey. I'm not affiliated with USAF...I actually had a bad experience with Chiba, one of the heads of the organization. Suganuma and Yamada we're kind of fun. I've never really agreed with USAF's methods and approaches in regards to my experience and ideals, however, that's not to knock the fact that there's a dearth of really good people out there running their own places and teaching.

stacey · September 2005

I know absolutely nothing about martial arts but I notice that the martial arts school on Dean bet. Flatbush and 5th seems to have a nice number of people working out there. Looks small and informal.

anonymous · September 2005

The new place on Dean is karate -- run by a nice fellow that was at Tessa's Pure Energy until a couple of months ago. It's very *manly* tho . . . don't know any women who have trained there. Not to say that they couldn't -- vanilla seemed to be looking for a place that's already female friendly.

As for Bk Akido -- I was recommending it because there's a female instructor (Neilu) who I know. I don't actually know their fee schedule. My girlfriend trained with them for awhile (it was a b'day present . . . she's 2nd don TKD so it was a little crosstraining thing. She and her master instructor TKD guy really liked working with Robert et al.)
But I don't know much about the rest of akido-land!
The city is certainly full of places with weird ideas and greedy owners no longer interested in their martial arts practice, but I don't think any of the three (or four, the guy on Dean) I'd recommend are anything like that.

CAE is a great entry drug for martial arts women as far as I can tell -- I know a couple women that started there, and have now found their way back as very advanced students loving the approach of the place. It's a beltless school btw, that grew out a Black Panther karate class in Central Park !

vanilla · September 2005

btw, i am not looking for a place to get in shape or fight muggers. i used to train jujitsu on the west coast and was about to take my orange belt when i moved back to nyc.... still not a high belt, and i am open to other forms... but the point being that i am looking to train martial arts for it's own sake.

i guess i will have to stick with my manhattan discount, but i REALLY wanted to try to stay as brooklyn based as possible...

pitu · September 2005

there is a ginormous difference between training in a martial art and taking a quick seminar that gives you the confidence to jab someone in the eyes.

completely different subjects, really

daveb · September 2005

Yes and PLEASE GOD...let's not explore it in this thread. In fact, let's kill this thread before it gets any wonkier.

pitu · September 2005

nah, let's stay and pick on why daveB suggests women go to model mugging while he gets to do boy stuff in a real martial arts discipline :evil:

vanilla · September 2005

maybe i should just go to modeling school instead, sorry.

pitu · September 2005

Maybe CAE has a runway class, being the women's school and all -- I know they wear cool black gees...
[really, it is an excellent dojo.]

BTW at Tessa's Pure Energy TKD you can go to a class for free to check it out -- that's probably the case in all the schools I mentioned. And maybe I overstated the workout thing there - what I should have said is that it's not focused on tournament competition. She's a traditional style martial artist, and the classes are very mixed with men and women.

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