So, I spent a few minutes on the phone with a guy from my old college, yesterday. He wanted to restart the old MMA/BJJ club that I started while I was there.
Great. Our coach still opperates in the area and may even still remember us fondly. (For all the paperwork bullshit he had to deal with, I was always under the impression that he liked us, personally.) So, I gave him the coaches contact information. I went over with him how, at the end, I was working on a rule set for striking the university could agree with But it was still in the works, so it would have to start as pure submission grappling.
Here's where the red flags started to pop up. Well, his background popped up some red flags, but training in kempo doesn't immediately make you a problematic individual. Nor does getting contact information from a blog in which you appear to be doing chi-sao in a picture on the front page. Some people just like goofy drills. But I digress.
He asks me, after I gave him the information for a great bjj instructor and information for a potentially interested kickboxing instructor, should he ever get the striking thing working for them, if he "Could just show them some stuff. And then if some other guy does another style he could show them some stuff." I did my best to discourage him, saying someone without credentials teaching would be a major liability and unnecessary, given the qualified instructors he could contact.
His response was the second big red flag. "Well, how much credentials do you need to teach at Penn State Berks." I of course told him lots and tried to politely discourage him, restating that the university would have trouble with it, and that I would personally be concerned with safety, as there was little equipment when I left and having beginners do striking techniques in the air, where they can throw too hard and hurt themselves, is probably more dangerous than having them spar. I would note that my confidence ni the guy was shaken, somewhat, as any novice MAist I know would certainly prefer compitant instruction for free to just fucking around with friends.
His hesitation to agree with me on the problems of doing striking techniques without heavy bag or other targets also gave me a weird sense about where he trained. Though, I might be reading too much into it, as I just called him up when I was told he wanted to speak with me and the guy might just be a little shy talking to new people.
He then discussed the possibility of bringing his Kempo instructor in, who also cross-trained in Systema. Again, not necessarily bad, but they are two systems known for having... well, if you're posting on this site you've certainly seen some of the sillier videos.
I might just be over-nervous. However, I did spend a lot of time setting up a club with real, competitive martial arts when I was a student, so I do have some emotional investment. But I can't be packing up my life and looking over his shoulder to make sure it's done right. So, I was wondering if anyone who is a student at Penn State Berks or another Reading college on here might be able to take a look and make sure it doesn't turn in to the local LARP club.
Great. Our coach still opperates in the area and may even still remember us fondly. (For all the paperwork bullshit he had to deal with, I was always under the impression that he liked us, personally.) So, I gave him the coaches contact information. I went over with him how, at the end, I was working on a rule set for striking the university could agree with But it was still in the works, so it would have to start as pure submission grappling.
Here's where the red flags started to pop up. Well, his background popped up some red flags, but training in kempo doesn't immediately make you a problematic individual. Nor does getting contact information from a blog in which you appear to be doing chi-sao in a picture on the front page. Some people just like goofy drills. But I digress.
He asks me, after I gave him the information for a great bjj instructor and information for a potentially interested kickboxing instructor, should he ever get the striking thing working for them, if he "Could just show them some stuff. And then if some other guy does another style he could show them some stuff." I did my best to discourage him, saying someone without credentials teaching would be a major liability and unnecessary, given the qualified instructors he could contact.
His response was the second big red flag. "Well, how much credentials do you need to teach at Penn State Berks." I of course told him lots and tried to politely discourage him, restating that the university would have trouble with it, and that I would personally be concerned with safety, as there was little equipment when I left and having beginners do striking techniques in the air, where they can throw too hard and hurt themselves, is probably more dangerous than having them spar. I would note that my confidence ni the guy was shaken, somewhat, as any novice MAist I know would certainly prefer compitant instruction for free to just fucking around with friends.
His hesitation to agree with me on the problems of doing striking techniques without heavy bag or other targets also gave me a weird sense about where he trained. Though, I might be reading too much into it, as I just called him up when I was told he wanted to speak with me and the guy might just be a little shy talking to new people.
He then discussed the possibility of bringing his Kempo instructor in, who also cross-trained in Systema. Again, not necessarily bad, but they are two systems known for having... well, if you're posting on this site you've certainly seen some of the sillier videos.
I might just be over-nervous. However, I did spend a lot of time setting up a club with real, competitive martial arts when I was a student, so I do have some emotional investment. But I can't be packing up my life and looking over his shoulder to make sure it's done right. So, I was wondering if anyone who is a student at Penn State Berks or another Reading college on here might be able to take a look and make sure it doesn't turn in to the local LARP club.
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