Bestia Martial Arts

**Charles Brown** · Posted On: 6/21/2012 12:14pm

I train at Bestia Martial Arts in New Braunfels, TX. It is primarily a Danazn Ryu school. However, our instructor is also a wrestling coach. He adds a lot of wrestling to our ground game. Also, we do some Escrima training. My overall rating for the school is 6.125. That may seem low, but it isn’t. I have a very high opinion of the school, our instruction, and our instructor. But, when doing as fair and impartial of a rating as I can, that is the number that I come up with. It is broken down as follows:

Aliveness:

5: Light contact continuous sparring (negligible pain/risk).

This was a tough one to rate. The reason why is because we train various types of arts in a cyclical fashion as follows;

Throws: We do a lot of throwing based on Judo. When we are training throws, we usually spend about half of the class practicing in the perfect form. Then we do randori. I must say that the aliveness of the throwing training is excellent.

Ground work: We do some ground work. It looks like sloppy BJJ. BJJ is based on Judo, which was based on JJJ, but the Brazilians perfected the ground game. So, the ground work isn’t as good as BJJ. We do, however roll live at the end of grappling classes. Also, our instructor adds a lot of wrestling into the curriculum. I’d rate the aliveness of this training as very good.

Self-Defense: We do some training called Yawara. It involves lots of wrist locks, standing joint locks, joint lock take-downs, etc. It is pretty much the same as the stuff that I learned in a few different law enforcement academies. The training is not useful to somebody who wants to be a fighter, but it is great for LE or bouncer- type work. It is great for me, and I’ve proven its effectiveness in the field. However, the ability to train these techniques in an alive manner is limited to light resistance. I’d rate the aliveness as poor. That’s no fault of the school; it’s just the way that it is.

Stick and knife work: We do some stick and knife training based on Descuerda Escrima. I don’t like it. Sometimes I skip class when we are doing this training. It’s nothing against the school or the instructor; it’s just that I don’t find it to be useful for much besides developing hand-eye coordination. Anyway, we mostly do rehearsed routines; I.E. you swing like this and I block like that, and we get into a fancy rhythm. I’d rate the aliveness in the aspect as fair.

Equipment:

5: Basic relevant essentials, may be heavily used.

Not much to say here. Other than sticks and knives, all that we need are mats. We have them. They are fine.

Gym Size:

8: Plenty of room to roll/spar without tripping over people

The size of the school is just fine. I’ve never had a problem.

Instructor/Student Ratio:

10: Highly personal attention from top instructors.

I have to rate this as a ten. Our instructor is there, and gives personal attention to everybody during every class. On the odd day that he can’t make class, he has a BJJ purple belt teach us. There’s nothing negative to say about this at all.

Atmosphere/Attitude:

9: Open, supportive but challenging, bizarro hippy ass-beating love fest.

I find that the attitude and environment are excellent. There are no douchebags. Everybody wants to learn. Everybody is willing to help. Nothing negative to say here.

Striking Instruction:

4: Striking for punching/kicking only and/or limited purposes (demonstration, highly restrictive sport).

There’s not much to say about striking instruction. It’s very limited and is mostly demonstrative.

Grappling Instruction:

6: Comprehensive grappling with success in local/regional competition or practical application (LEO, military).

If I am going to rate BJJ grappling as a ten, I must rate our grappling as a 6. It doesn’t suck, but it’s not going to get you to beat a BJJ player at NAGA. I say this because I have about 6 months of BJJ experience and I’ve competed at a NAGA. So, I think that I can give a fair, impartial rating. The training is decent if you aren’t going to Grappler’s Quest, and you just need to know how to handle yourself on the ground.

Weapons:

3: Compliant partner drills and preset encounters

I rate the weapons training (Filipino stick and knife) as a 3; not because I don’t like it, but because it mostly consists of preset attacks and defenses. I don’t see how that will make anybody good at fighting with sticks. But, that’s just my opinion. Other members of the school really like it and I’m glad that they do.

Overall, I must say that Bestia Martial Arts is the perfect place for me to train because it fulfills my needs. If somebody wants to be an MMA fighter, this isn’t the best place for him. But, if somebody wants a general background in various methods of fighting and a decent toolbox for self-defense, I’d highly recommend Bestia Martial Arts to him.