I think I might just try it for a little bit, then dojo hop, then pick. Make my own descions about stuff. I was just wondering why people hated/disliked USSD so much. Thankyou all SO much for all your input. This really helped me make my own descions and look into the Hawaiin Kempo. I'm going to def check that out too.
I'd definitely check out that one hawaiian kempo school in mesa before I commit to handing over my money, but I'm the type of guy to check out all my options before committing. Good luck.
First off, I'm very surprised that you got such a bad reaction from the people in other schools because you are female. We like having women in our class. It breaks up the monotony. That being said, Martial arts is primarily a masculine discipline. It may be that in order to get into a high quality school, you are going to have to "break the ice," as it were. So let's look at the deal here. What you want: solid self defense. What you like about the USSD class: a female friendly atmosphere, and a sensitive instructor who is in tune with your needs. Does what your getting REALLY match up with your goals? The things you need to think about when you are in class regarding self defense follow. CONTACT: You need to be trying to hit/take down/apply joint locks on people who are trying to appropriately defend themselves from what you are doing, not going through the motions on a person who acts like you are doing it right just to validate what they do. REALISM: The "moves" you do need to be realistic, and not dependent on someone just standing there while you do your thing. In fact, if you, at any point, find yourself standing there while some person hits you multiple times, or applies a throw, you can pretty much bet the farm that what you are learning isn't going to be effective. There should be appropriate defenses for whatever you are doing, unless you are doing a set drill, the purpose of which is obvious, and a specific reaction is required. ATTRIBUTE DEVELOPMENT: You can do all kinds of stuff in a martial arts class that will get you toss all in terms of applicable skill. You need to have both of the above, and you need to develop stuff like: timing, footwork, concept of distance, commitment, power generation, pain tolerance, endurance, balance and root. If you go to a class, and your instructor doesn't mention a few of those attributes, you are in the wrong place. Finally, no one in here is "hating" on USSD. Quite the opposite. We all have perceptions of what the USSD is like. Some people have it from attending classes. Some people have it from crossing hands with their students. Some people have it from reading countless negative reports of their students and instructors. I'm one of the latter. I have no intrinsic problem with the USSD. However, believe it or not, I care about you as a person, and want to do my best to help you to find the highest quality instruction you can, that will help you achieve your goals to the best of your ability, and the other people on this forum probably feel the same way. No one is "hating" on USSD. We just want to help you out.
It does matter what style you study but if you want unrealistic martial arts that will get you killed on the street and steal your wallet please sign up with them. It's only $200 a month and $60 for that yellow belt test. Most of their instructor quit after a year so because they never make any money with them cause they can't own their own dojo with ussd. If you stick around for a year the brown or green belt in your class will be your new instructor more then likely. Good luck don't say we didn't warn you
One more thing, check out these 2 videos. The first one is 2 grown men competing at a USSD tournament. The second is two adolescent boys having a friendly sparring match. http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...l=8&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1 [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8H8PIhKr4c"]YouTube[/ame] The clips are probably somewhat representative of the training you'll get at the three styles shown in the clip: USSD kempo, TKD, and Muay Thai, though the little TKD kid is probably above average. Which one looks better, and more realistic, and why? You don't have to answer that.
Here check these guys out before you sign up with USSD. Martial arts are a lot like cars. If you don't do a back ground on them how do you know your getting a Yogo or a lamborghini? Desert Valley Martial Arts 4716 S Los Feliz Dr Tempe, AZ 85282 (480) 838-4361 http://www.mengsofaz.com/
hmmm.... Howdy Couture! Welcome to MAP and I wish you the best of luck with whatever art you choose....Here is the but- I trained with USSD from white to brown in the very early 90's---They are the ultimate McDojo, and yes they had "animal tests" back then, you would pay $40 to stand on a pole in the back parking lot and get a crane patch. LOL When I read that you wanted a sensitive instructor who was in tune with your needs and you liked it that he asked to correct your punches well.....It pretty much made me nauseous...Sorry, REAL martial arts are not touchy-feely, customer service oriented businesses. If you want to get in shape, learn a tad of self-defense and have a pretty patch go USSD. If you want to learn to defend yourself, find a real system, and a real school. my .02
Save your money and go to the store and buy a stick of butter. Your chances of defending yourself by hitting someone with the stick of butter will be about the same as if you learn from a USSD program. If you want to get in shape, BoFlex. Want spiritual enlightenment...join a Mosque or something.
USSD fills a gap in the market, which is why it continues to exist. It caters to people who want to get a bit of a work out, have social hour in a karate gi, and be told the're great for doing it. The system has more to do with ego stroking than fighting, but that's what some people need. A friend of mine trains there, and I just don't have the heart to tell him what crap it is. The fact is it gets him off the couch and makes him exercise a bit two or three times a week and that's more than he would be doing otherwise, so why burst the bubble. I just hope he doesn't ever have to try to actually defend himself with what they teach. Every time we spar I'm dismayed how bad he is. All the same, he's not the type so who would ever last long in a serious fighting gym, so again, I suppose USSD serves it's purpouse. Coture, you're going to have to be honest with what you REALLY want; it sounds to me like you feel vulnerable at this point in time and the fact that USSD is non-threatening appeals to you. That's fine enough if that's what you want, but you should go in with the understanding that USSD will help you get into a bit better shape, but regardless of what they will tell you (and boy will they tell you) you're going to get creamed in a real fight. The methods they teach and thier training methodology are some of the worst out there. In reality that's the reason for the perception of the USSD hating; serious martial artists take offense to how they misrepresent what they're teaching. Good luck to you.
Ok...let me break this down for you. I am a former female instructor. I was Danjo's instructor from USSD so he'll vouch for me if needed with this. As much as you don't want to believe this, when you walk in that door, you are a money sign. Plain and simple. Your instructor does this thing called "building raport." ALL INSTRUCTOR CADETS DO THIS IN THE ACADEMY. That whole "goal list" that you're instructor is doing is to make your parents go "wow, this is great. When it's time to renew our contract, we'll do it for longer." It's a ploy! It's a money making ploy. I tried to do it with my students but just couldn't bring myself to do it. I didn't like ripping off my students. I hate to break it to you, but martial arts is normally a guy thing. Once you get in a class and put everyone's mind at ease, it's fine. You just have to do that. USSD makes you feel welcome because you are a dollar sign to them. Honestly, you're 17. You don't understand what a dojo war is and you don't really know what you're talking about when it comes to business practice and not liking them is "mean." I got screwed over royally. First off, at tournaments, my students got treated like crap because they were my students. I know at least 2 of them always got disqualified for too much contact. They never had a chance to win anything, but I still encouraged them to go and use the skills they learned in class. I let my students go hard at each other not because they were "bullies" like the company said, but because I knew they could handle it. I only had one injury in the studio, and it was because a former assistant of mine didn't know when to tap. That's they only injury I had in 10 years of teaching. Not bad. However, back to the school. I didn't get paid to be a head instructor for 6 months. No one was paying the bills. I had to get another job in addition to teaching full time in order to pay the utility bills. You know what that's like? I was made to feel as if I were worthless and in reality, when I left that school, it shut down. Yeah, I was the worthless one. Somehow, someway, I was also accused of stealing my own things. Things that I bought when I was 14 and brought to the school...but yet, the dojo randomly bought them? Thank God my mom had the receipts. There's so much more to this but I'll stop here. So, friendly environment for a female? Sure... Wait till you try to leave...that will be fun. Get ready for D-R-A-M-A. Trust me on this...it's USSD I don't like. I had no problem with my instructor. He's a great person and I still talk to him. I even go in for lessons once in a while...but, they are lessons from him. I don't wear any USSD stuff and I'm not even learning Shaolin Kempo from him. I'm learning escrima. I hope this helps you understand more.
Dating yourself? Well, at least you know your date will take you somewhere you actually want to go... You ripe old 25 year old you. Sheesh, you've got another ten years or so before you can be afraid of dating yourself!
Hey Couture, How much is USSD 3 month program? When I left it was almost $700 !!!! I know they charge $200 a month for lessons for a year contract so I was just curious how much they charge now for a 3 month program?
