[Kyoshi71]

Originally Posted by OC 335i

No, it just means having common sense on not taking a fight to the ground when there are others around. Even in a bar fight a guy will grapple you. In the event he grapples you, having grappling experience gives you the opportunity to dictate where the fight will go.

Spoken like a truly inexperienced kid. As if you can just control everything and everyone around you at any time. Maybe in the OC.

Originally Posted by OC 335i

No gloves really? So full contact to the face in sparring all the time? Bare knuckles? I don't believe it. I don't believe you can do live full contact sparring all the time. That's just BS.

We partially limit the contact to the face but full everywere else. Bullshit?? Why because you could never do it? Like I said, I've been doing it for over 20 years. When you're in NY PM me.

Originally Posted by OC 335i

There's plenty of marketing shown on the website.

It's not marketing. The guy in the pics died in '96 so some people out there put some photos together as a tribute.

Originally Posted by OC 335i

I train in BJJ and have done Wrestling and dabble in MT.

BJJ, Wrestling, MT is a very good combo provided you stuck around long enough to get anything out of any of them.

[OC Guy]

Originally Posted by Kyoshi71

It's not marketing. The guy in the pics died in '96 so some people out there put some photos together as a tribute.

BJJ, Wrestling, MT. Good Combo. How long?

BJJ, 3-4 years. Wrestling 4 years and on/off. MT on/off two years. Focusing mainly on BJJ (due to my Wrestling roots, I find it more "fun") so I do not have time for much else.

I always disagree when people do not find BJJ practical for Self-Defense as long as the school/dojo you go to trains self-defense. I believe most fights can be avoided and are not worth it these days. If there are multiple attackers, it's not like a BJJ practitioner will just flop to the ground and pull guard. Using a judo or wrestling throw against an opponent on to a hard floor will often hurt them pretty bad or disable them. From there, if at a bar both sides will probably have friends and the guy on the ground will be at a disadvantageous position.

Knowing how to grapple allows you to dictate where the fight is going to go.

[Kyoshi71]

Originally Posted by OC 335i

I believe most fights can be avoided and are not worth it these days.

This is something we ALL can agree on.

Sounds like you did get a lot out of your training>

[Tortfeasor 335xi]

Some points on here that I think are worth repeating:

1) Focusing on a particular style is a bad way to pick a school. It could well be Krav Maga is the best fit for you style-wise, but if the local school sucks, you are better off somewhere else.
2) The quality of the instructor and the focus of the instruction are better criterion. You want to learn to defend yourself and stay in shape. If the focus of the instructor is not self defense and fitness, you are in the wrong place. Also, you will run into a lot of schools that focus on fitness to the exclusion of all else (cardio karate and the like). So you want to be careful that emphasis is also put on practical applications of techniques.
3) The quality of the students is also incredibly important. If you ever have sparring drills you are relying on their skills to help you hone your own. Also, before sparring with anyone you have to be able to trust them. If you don't trust your fellow students why would you put yourself in a position where they can attack you?

My advice is that you should go to a number of the local schools, watch a couple of classes and see what each is all about. You should be able to narrow it down to a couple fairly quickly. See if you can audit a class or two, and you should be able to pick a school at that point.

[MikeVictor]

Find a good, strong lineage of Wing Chun if there are any Sifu's in your area.

Good place to start is www.everythingwingchun.com