Second question,.... After looking at the instructor training page, I wanted to throw up. first impression is they are more interested in signing up people in their instructors training program than they are in teaching good self-defense. The requirements basically boil down to if you are stupid enough to sign up, pay the money they ask for, and then pay them $285 a month from then on you can be an instructor for them, and own your own school. The training program is a joke. Anyone that signs up with them is either extremely ignorant of what a qualified instructor is, or they don't care and just want to open a martial arts school. In either case I fee sorry for their students. Since when is anyone that is not a legitimate Sensei (holding both a reasonable instructors rank (3rd degree black belt or higher) and a legitimate Sensei title (issued by a legitimate organization)).
Something I did not see in the site was Who issues rank certificates to the students of the schools? I'll be they make you pay them to issue crap paper to award to the students. If they issue the rank then it is worthless. If the instructor issue it it is just as worthless.
I guess I should start a similar program. I'd like to receive $285 a month to sponsor a branch school. In fact the first 10 that join up will have to pay only $150 a month.
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Well I don't have to go any further than the first page to tell it is just a take off of Krav Maga and the Premier Martial Arts program and schools. Two thirds of the video is movie clips and I also wonder if they took the time to get permission to use those; I bet not and I thought I heard recently about Tom Cruise having a law suit going for someone using his face and likeness without permission. Maybe it was this but the article was not really specific.
Some of what else I read afterwards only confirms some of what I stated above in the first paragraph and places and set-ups like this are money grabbing businesses for the most part. They give traditional martial arts and those schools and instructors with high standards a bad rap. I would never do business this way nor have I ever in the past done business this way and I have had offers from such groups to instead do so because then they could just add my name and the reputation that I had built up to their list of "qualified instructors". I even had Chuck Norris's brother Aaron Norris come in one day and make me an offer similar to what these guys are doing and if I took it I could put Chuck Norris's name above my door. My answer was that if I needed his brothers name over my door to make it after doing martial arts for twenty-five years then I should not be teaching or have my own school. That's not to mention the $5,000 they wanted for that privilege of using Norris's name and that did not include all the other sundry fees associated with all this either.
Its been said before; "there's a sucker born every minute" and companies that take this approach play and rely on that to line their pockets with your money or the fact that there are people out there that are not qualified enough and good enough to make it on their own knowledge, skill, and ability and instead need something like this to make it.
Classy!
These things are fraternal organizations. They are like flying buttresses on old churches, except rather than support important walls, they support each other. They survive on the few memberships they collect from gullible people, post important-looking materials on websites and send out spam. As they network out, they meet other people of other organizations that do the same. They network together, use each other's experiences to boost the other's clout, give each other awards and recognition, have a dinner or two during the year (which only board members - not individuals) can participate in.
I guarantee you, if you give up your email, pitchmen with the TV personalities and charisma of Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan will invade your inbox.
Seriously?? $1000 to start out, then $285 per month?
No. I would not sign up.
Thats shocking!!! ,the impression i got was pyramid scheme crossed with early morning TV infomercial, "give us the cash well make your life better but no guarantee" Franchise type pitch.
So to answer:
No experience tells me this is a gloss covered turd, you know its going stink if you scrape away the outer layer.
Sadly one of my own peer's left our school to follow a marketing plan all in the name of greed as far as i was concerned , Talented Martial Artist, told his instructor's he was going for a holiday in the states, came back told them here is your new Gi, were going this way, threw a pricing plan at them which was double the old fee.
And just like Possum mention, he net worked and pulled in other's who were in the same style of doing business.
But I feel Defense Lab wasnt aimed at oldhands, more the young, i want it now
generation of 5year veteran 3rd degree Blackbelts !!! that need a springboard for a small initial start up cost of $4420 to buy into contract.
Bet there is a clause that says you have to buy all equipment through them, but if you direct debit to them your guaranteed a 15% discount.
No. This looks like something that would appeal to some young people that don't know better. It is a good opening for a action film.
2
No I wouldn't look for a local school. I probably would look at the other links unless I just wanted something to do. After looking at the instructor's training link I still feel the same way. I'm not impressed. The young might be impressed.
I have never looked into or even thought about what it would take to become an instructor. I was always too focused on where I was than becoming an instructor. I just wanted to learn. Being an instructor was never I thought. After years of training with my 1st instructor is when I 1s thought I could become an instructor. I only thought that because my instructor pulled me aside and told me that he was going to begin teaching me how to be an instructor. He was going to teach me how to resuscitate someone that ha been choked out as all instructors should know that. That stood out to me over the other things he said. Probably because when he said that it brought me back to the day when one of my friends had gotten choked out in a tournament. He didn't tap out. The judge let it go much too long. Then when he finally stopped it, he was out cold. Then he had to resuscitate him. He used to lose every fight before then. But he never lost another fight after that.
Years later I was going to train with this aikido school. I explained to the instructor I wasn't concerned about rank. I have enough rank. I don't care about testing, I just want to learn. I told him I could remain a white belt. I just want the knowledge. He then introduces me to his class. He tells them about me having rank in other styles and that I'll progress faster because of my experience. He started talking about me becoming a black belt under him. I told him again right then I'm not interested in becoming a black belt. I don't need another belt. He replied something to the nature that everyone wants to get to be a black belt so that they could then teach. I wasn't interested in teaching aikido. Nothing wrong with teach it, but I already belong to a school. I'm already teaching. I'm committed to teach in my dojo. These things he knew because I told him. I made sure there wasn't going to be a conflict of me training there. I finished the class that day and spoke to him privately afterwards and told him I wasn't coming back. I probably would have continued if not for that. I joined a different aikido dojo the next week.
As a traditional school I do not wish to market our dojo like this. It might be profitable, but our dojo is a nonprofit. So that doesn't appeal to me. I like having small classes where student are focused on training and not on rank.
No. I don't think that would interest me. At first I thought I was watching a movie trailer. The video is too Hollywood, If they have a budget big enough to make that, well they are a bit to commercially focused for me.
Ok, went back and looked at the second link and a couple other pages. My first answer is an understatement. Money grubbing dangerous swindlers. That is horrible.
Man, I wish I could become a qualified martial art instructor in 1 year for the small price of $1000!
Ya, but no. I watched a couple of their vids and it seemed pretty unreasonable especially for multiple attackers. It just seemed so cliche
Ridiculous.
I only pay 130
