New to MA - deciding between two places

[dramaboy]

I looked at the webpage. They don't seem to teach BJJ/MT, but state that their system is a "gateway" to these and other systems.
Looks like it's mostly pencak silat and indonesian arts.
You should go and see. Pencak silat can be anywhere from very good to a sarong costume party. Watch their class, see how much free sparring they do etc.

And if you are interested in BJJ, you'll probably enjoy also judo, look for judo around you.

http://www.ohiojudo.org/
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Loge/7561/

As for the Meng dude, this is the red flag from their website: "One System to counter all styles."
And then you look at their competition record and it says among other things "2nd place in advanced siu nim tao" which is obviously a form competition and moreover a very silly form competition. VERY silly indeed...:)

Good luck

TOMAS

[TehDeadlyDimMak]

Is there a reason why you've narrowed it down to these two schools? I'm sure there must be a school better than both of them somewhere in your area...

[UrbanOutlaw86]

What do you mean exactly by "resistance"?

Oh, and I just choose those two because they're in my neighborhood and would be close drives. I've heard Meng's as won a lot of reknown. Also, what is a "progressive" school? Developing new mixes of styles or something?

[rexkwon]

mixed, so you need to see what they do. Can be real good or real bad.

[Tom Kagan]

... I've heard Meng's as won a lot of reknown. ..

Could you elaborate?

[UrbanOutlaw86]

Well, he was in several MA magazines, and his school has won many trophies (though of which kind I'm not sure)

I had also heard that he was training under some student of Bruce Lee (but a lot of this could be exaggerated info). So from what I've heard, he's a pretty good Sifu.

I'm really interested in any style, as long as it's not some McDojo and they are known for excellence. If anyone knows any places in Ohio, preferably near Dayton, that would be awesome. =)

[dramaboy]

What do you mean exactly by "resistance"?

Oh, and I just choose those two because they're in my neighborhood and would be close drives. I've heard Meng's as won a lot of reknown. Also, what is a "progressive" school? Developing new mixes of styles or something?

Resistance as in resisting the attackers techniques.

Resistance: two people hitting each other
Non-resistance: The attacker throws a punch and freezes and the defender delivers a 15 tech combo.

"Progressive" is a buzzword, it could mean "non-traditional" but it is really not an indication of the quality of instruction there.

Tomas

[UrbanOutlaw86]

Well an effective 15 punch combo seems like a pretty effective way to end a fight, at least to me!

[dramaboy]

Well an effective 15 punch combo seems like a pretty effective way to end a fight, at least to me!

That is a misconception.
See, striking is not that complicated. Jab, cross, straight, hook, uppercut. Everything else is fluff. Most effective combos have 2, 3 punches. Beyond that the reactions of your opponent are unpredictable and it is silly to train a 15 punch sequence.

But that's beside your point.
Do some research, google some articles about "aliveness". Even search this site, there's some good stuff that will enlighten you about this.
Don't get sucked into "one system defeats them all" because it is nonsense. It's about training methods.

Good luck

Tomas

[PointyShinyBurn]

Well an effective 15 punch combo seems like a pretty effective way to end a fight, at least to me!

It won't be effective unless you train it against people who are fighting back.