Larry Sanders Black Belt Academy

[JingMerchant!]

This is hilarious!!

It's like everyting that's bad with MA, all rolled up into one foul tasting package.

[086189]

Can someone with military experience enlighten me whether it's SOP to have a medic walking 100m away from the rest of the patrol? You'd have to have the legs of Usain Bolt to get to any immediate casualties.

I don't know how they did things in Vietnam, but I don't know of any Special Forces combat medics. Either way, I'm not sure.

As for the patrol thing, I'll impart what I know from being a Marine. I'd imagine it couldn't be too different from how we operate now. On patrol, you have to maintain distance between yourself and your other patrol members, which is called dispersion. It's to prevent half your squad from dying in the event of a grenade/ambush/etc. The amount of dispersion is dictated by such things as terrain and weather. You have to be far enough away to prevent your squad from being instantly mowed down by any sort of explosive or automatic weapon, but close enough that you can still see each others hand and arm signals. If it were my squad, doc would be in the middle. It makes no sense to put him on point; he has to be alive to take care of the wounded. He wouldn't be in the rear for the same reason. I call bs.

On one last note, the only thing I've been coming up for Air Force Special Forces are Special Operations Squadrons which do nothing like what he's describing.

[bazzn]

Thanks for the review, it's quite objective considering the "Sijo".

[Rene "Zendokan" Gysenbergs]

From what I know only Special Forces - Security Detachment get a full medic training and they are used to protect Ambassadors in high-risk countries (primarely Africa and Middle-East).
This is offcourse the (Belgian) Special Forces, but they use the same tactics as American and South Korean Special Forces.

For the source of my information: My ex-brother-in-law is a SFG-DAS (Special Forces Group - Détachement d'Agents de Sécurité).


0.02$

[Cy Q. Faunce]

The results of the Larry Sanders investigation are published:

http://www.bullshido.org/Larry_Sanders

[Bookish guy]

Please understand that I am replying to this in the capacity as a student of Sander's Black Belt Academy. I am not defending the school or the owner against any allegations of the investigation posted elsewhere on this site.With that said, I am responding to this post because of it's half-thruths and insulting tone that the author has used. I worked with jitchix the night that she came to the school. I talked with her before class and asked her about her previous martial arts experience. She stated that she has learned some self-defense as well as small circle jiu jitsu. She also stated that she forgot alot of what she learned since it was a time ago. I asked this question to anyone that comes in for a lesson since it allows me to gauge how to work with them during their lesson. I am usually the person that is chosen for this task. If someone comes in and speaks truthfully about their skill level I will be a more challenging training partner. As the night progressed I came to realize that jitchix was more skilled that she let on. As a good training partner it is my job to make sure that the other person is doing the technique correctly and also to yield when they use that technique. We were doing Chin na (chinese grappling) off of different types of grabs. Jitchix used the techniques correctly. Should I have been a macho guy and not yielded? No, this causes confusion to the training partner and they do not think they are doing the technique right and then try again and again. When I attempted the techniques on jitchix she would resist and fight me. I didn't want to be rude and force the technique on her. After all she had been out of martial arts for a long time and forgot much of her training (her own words). My main purpose of posting here is to give my view of what transpired with the training between jitchix and I. I would like to come across as objective and civil in this posting seeing how jitchix's post is full of colorful adjectives that she used to describe me, the school and my teacher. I would suggest that if she is to participate in any further investigations that she would conduct herself in the manner that jnp and 7thsamurai have. Please see this post on how to be bjective: http://www.bullshido.net/forums/show...=70487&page=11. Jnp and 7thsamurai behaved in a fair and objective manner in these posts.Thanks for letting me post my side, as a student. It is not my intention to flame jitchix. I just think that if she is going to assist in the rooting out deception then she shouldn't be deceptive in the process. I am not pleased at what I read concerning the investigation of my teacher, but am a fair, rational person and now I have some thinking to do. Thanks again-Bookish guy

EDIT: My message got compressed into one paragraph.

[jitschix]

Bookish..

It was definitely not my intent to hurt your feelings either by my tone, my description of you, or my participation as your training partner.

I did not deceive you or your instructor. When I first came to class, I was asked about my prior history. I didn't write down my BJJ background on the form, I don't think. I usually leave my BJJ experience for last, as I have discovered that it's flavor-of-the-month at many schools, and mentioning my BJJ background before people become familiar with me ends up with me being targeted or used to teach, neither of which is appropriate or pleasant for me.

When I was asked, I began with my (TRUE) description of the beginning of my training years ago, and truthfully said I had forgotten much of that. I would have gone into the BJJ part, but Mr. Sanders launched into his new-student spiel. Again, if you feel I was deceitful, I'm sorry. As a small female, I am hesitant to expose myself to the risks of training with guys who think "I'll show her BJJ ain't much!" or to the awkwardness of "Hey, everyone, here's a BJJ blue belt, let's let her show us how to do this." I've had both happen and neither is good.

You were pleasant and professional to train with and the flaws in your skills are not your fault. You and the other people there who apparently take it seriously should get the heck out and find a real dojo for future training. You all would be WELCOME at my school any time and I think you'd enjoy it. I know I would enjoy having you around.

Edited to add: My writing style is my own. I came in with an open mind and formed opinions and perceptions as the experiences (of two classes plus several phone conversations with Martin) unfolded. I wrote my review intending very specifically to express my *opinions* as well as the objective data I collected. I was objective about the facts-- what I was told, what I saw, what I did. I do not pretend to be robotic or lacking in amusement/sarcasm/astonishment or the rest of the panoply of human emotion. I think a review is intended to share one's personal perspective on a school. I'm sorry again to have hurt your feelings, that was not my intent.

Edited again:

Yes, my friend, you should have resisted me. You owed me that much-- as a woman (or heck, as a guy) learning "self defense techniques" I need to KNOW that the techniques I am learning will WORK against a resisting attacker, not just a compliant uke.

That's why I resisted you-- that's why you struggled to make them work with me. Because you aren't used to training with "aliveness"-- which is why that characteristic is so essential in training. And that's why I made so much fun. Not to be hurtful or rude-- but because it's IMPORTANT to get this stuff right when a school is holding itself out as "helping make people safer."

[Cy Q. Faunce]

As a good training partner it is my job to make sure that the other person is doing the technique correctly and also to yield when they use that technique.

Really? Aren't you worried that this will lead to false confidence in bad techniques?

I just think that if she is going to assist in the rooting out deception then she shouldn't be deceptive in the process.

While she has adequately addressed this point, I have something to add: It would not have been unreasonable for her to understate her experience, and if she had, such an understatement would have been nothing compared to the many, many lies Larry Sanders has told.

As it turns out, she didn't get a chance to state her full background, but a deliberate omission would have been far less serious than exaggerating one's background and accomplishments.

I am not pleased at what I read concerning the investigation of my teacher, but am a fair, rational person and now I have some thinking to do.

I respect this. It can't be easy to read such things.

I'd like to know one thing: Did Sanders make any claims about his military past to you?

[eaglebird]

sounds like Bullsido to me