I live near Boston so I'm sure there are occasionally reasonable/good SD seminars given... Here is some background, and then I'll list what my goals are with this. Background: - Training jiu jitsu (modernized style incorporating boxing strikes (as well as other strikes) and emphasizing closing the distance and rapidly overwhelming opponents. So throws/joint locks/limb breaks/strikes/ground work. - The gym I train at doesn't have resisted sparring until you hit brown belt. - Very light coverage of self defense aspects: - No discussion of the law - Some work at middle belt ranks on diffusing situations, but not much. (I am lower belt, so haven't hit this yet, but my impression is it is not very in-depth.) - No discussion of appropriate force levels, though occasionally we learn a less-violent technique alongside more violent ones, and the sensei mentions things like family reunions where somebody had too much to drink, etc, for using the less violent techniques. (E.g., learning standing headlock defenses, most of them involve potentially damaging strikes to the opponent and some involve throws/etc, but then we learn one that isn't going to cause much damage for use in the 'family reunion' type situation.) My goals: - Better understanding of the law. (I have read the laws for my state, but could probably use some expert instruction on some nuances.) - Learn what information I should include when reporting an incident to police, including things I should try hard to remember during an incident. - Practice diffusing situations against different types of aggressors - Learn anything else I need that I currently don't know I don't know. Any way, if you lived near Boston, how would you go about finding out about SD seminars/classes/etc? Once I find some how do I judge whether they are going to help with my goals? Sorry if this seems like a silly question; I can Google for "boston self defense seminars", but that just returns a bunch of martial arts places.
Metrowest academy of Jiu Jitsu (in Boston) host an annual Rory Miller seminar, but I believe you have missed this year's (they're 5th on the trot) by a couple of weeks now... ...Still, plenty of time to get it in your diary for next year! Travess
Not silly at all. Very intelligent questions. It shows that you are questioning what you are being taught and realising that "defending yourself" is much more than just knowing some strikes and locks and training a couple of times a week. Hannibal here does IIRC a seminar on "aftermath". That being the stuff that can happen after a violent encounter. I might be off on that though. Sadly none of that is much help finding answers in the Boston region.
I'll ask the question via our Twitter account, as we have followers across the world. I'll report back of we get a bite. Edit. Done.
I actually train at the Watertown location so I already have membership in Metrowest. Haven't been out there yet though. Its about equidistant from my house as the Watertown location, but I work nearer to Watertown and go after work. Despite training at a sister school, I hadn't heard about the seminar. I'm looking at their website now and don't see any announcement type section where I could find that... The Watertown location has a facebook page they update regularly with scheduled activites/etc, but doesn't include MetroWest stuff as far as I can tell. How do I find out about things like this if it isn't at the specific school I'm training at? EDIT: I can find that particular one (but only because you told me about it) by Googling "Rory Miller metrowest"... maybe if I sign up for the metrowest facebook page it will alert me to things like this?
Quit whining. What kind of martial arts instructor are you if you can't even make the small jog to Boston. ::spits in disgust::
I've been to dozens of seminars around the country and most greatly disappoint....there are some good ones out there but you've got to look hard.
Potentially it should, yes - Providing their notifications work as they should. Their FB page does seem to have a seemingly well maintained (read: updated) events page, so even barring any regular notifications, it shouldn't be an issue for you to check back there, say on a weekly/fortnightly basis, to see what is upcoming. (**Addendum** - They appear to have a Dojo BBQ on this Saturday. Maybe pop along, see who is who, and [if they have one] enquire about getting on their mailing list!) Travess