Columbus Ohio Martial Arts Instruction

Oh yeah. I mentioned Dr. Wu's Kung Fu in my original post. Their website is now back up. It is: http://drwumartialarts.com/index.html

 

Andrew could do this better than I, but Dr. Ron Chapel is a first generation Black Belt under Ed Parker. He posts on here frequently. There are a few American Kenpo people in town who do teach. Most of them are pretty reasonable. I would call Peter Galupo in Westerville, he knows most of the marital artists in Columbus personally and will help you. PM me if you need a phone number for him. I am glad you are thinking about checking out HMAC. I train there and you won't find a better group to train with. All good people, very welcoming.

Brian Jones

 

Thank you. From what I can tell, though I'm not certain from their website, I believe they teach out of a rec center that isn't too far from me. I can't really tell from their site where they teach. Maybe I'm missing it.

 

It's located on the west side of Columbus. They specifically do not put the address on the site to help cut down on people who just randomly wander in. You can email or phone to speak with them about their gym and set up an appointment to come talk with them in person and watch a class.

If you do, tell them Andrea (which is me ) told you about the place. Because I'm sure they'll ask you how you heard about them.

Also, if you are still looking around for schools, Dojo Locator is a great website for that.

 

Thanks Tarot. I actually downloaded and watched the video on their site from where they were on a local news show. Their address was on the video, so I could see how far they are from me. I'll call them if I want to visit. It was a pretty good demo.

 

Well, since they just moved to a bigger space, the address in the video will be out of date.

 

That's ok. As long as it's still in the same general area, I'll have an idea of the commute time involved.

 

I would suggest this school

Imperial School Of Martial Arts
4273 Westland Mall
Columbus, OH 43228
Sensei Chad Bentz & Hanshi Mike Hixson

They teach Shorin Ryu and are very nice people and competent instructors.

 

Jack,
Sorry I didn't see your post earlier. Haven't posted on Martial Talk for awhile. I see that a number of people have mentioned looking up Peter Galupo in Westerville. I would also encourage you to speak to him if you can. He can give you 1st hand info on both Contemporary Kenpo Karate and the Jay T Will Karate studio on 5th. He is also, as previously mentioned, a genuinely nice guy as well as a gifted instructor and martial artist in his own right.

Just to throw my own 2 cents worth in, I would highly recommend trying out the Jay T Will studio. The head instructor there, Herb Lambprecht, was my own teacher's primary instructor. Mr. Lambprecht has over 30+ years FULL TIME experience teaching kenpo. He is one of the most knowlegible and talented instructors and martial artists I've ever met.

If my own instructor hadn't had to close his studio, I'd invite you down to Lancaster (I've been teaching 15 years and love kenpo - though I've also studied tae kwon do, european fencing, collegiate freestyle wrestling and judo). I don't pretend that kenpo is the best art for everyone; but I do encourage anyone who is interested in martial arts to at least give kenpo a try. Anyway, good luck in whatever school/art you choose and welcome to MartialTalk.

Steve Howard
Sandan
kenporaw@yahoo.com

 

Thanks. I've never heard of this school. I will try to find some information.

 

Steve,

Thanks for all the helpful info. It's good to hear more about Mr. Lamprecht. Quite an endorsement.

 

Lots of great resources and recommendations here. If you are really looking for the right martial art program for you, I would recommend visiting every recommendation on here and sitting in on, or, if they allow, trying a class.

My two cents: any class worth attending isn't going to be a high pressure situation like a health club, and often, the harder to get a hold of the better...

but I'm biased. I have always trained in back yard, garage, and rec. center dojos that functioned with little to no advertisement. If you found us it was usually because you were brought or you were sent... Maybe you saw us in the park and inquired.

Oh, I have trained for limited times in commercial schools, but I found I often learned and enjoyed more in small groups with an instructor who wanted to share his art, not market it to make a living at it. It also has always been cheaper, often with only a token fee to cover rec center costs.

 

Thanks SenseiBear. And thanks all for the help.

Here's the latest update:
A few people here mentioned rec centers. I've found a Muay Thai class at a local rec center which I visited and will attend when the new session begins - in about 2 weeks. I really think I'll like it.

I also found what is basically a Silat practice group. I cannot seem to find an actual Silat instructor in Columbus, but I've found someone who has studied for a couple years who was recommended by a Guru who I found via the Bukti Negara website.

I really appreciate that so many of you have taken the time to help in my search. I'll see how this goes and work from there. I still may visit more of the schools as well. If I find something I really, really like I may have to do it. I'm especially interested in the Modern Arnis school in Hilliard. I guess we will see in time, as this is a work in progress.

Thanks again to all. I'll stick around (I kind of like it here) and I'll keep you posted.

Wayne -- Jack Meower is my cat's (see avatar) nickname when 24 is on

 

You might also like to check out the Asian festival which is held in
Franklin Park every Memorial Day weekend. They have a stage dedicated to martial arts, with demos just about all day Saturday and Sunday. Several of the Columbus schools demo there.

By the way, the Kenpo taught at the Jay T. Will school is closer to the Tracy's variety than to EPAK. That's why Jay referred to it as "Chinese Kenpo".

Good luck in your training!

 

Thanks for the info. I do plan to attend the Asian festival if I'm not working that weekend.

I didn't know that about the Jay T. Will school either. Actually, I've read some things comparing Tracy's to EPAK, but I still don't understand the differences. If you feel like explaining them to me, feel free to send me a message.

Thanks!

 

Nice Who's the Kru?

 

His first name is John, but I've forgotten his last name. It really looks like fun and a cheap way to get started. Maybe this will help me figure out what I am really looking for, and get in better shape.

 

BlackDragon JKD Acadamey- Instructor Will Figgins

Teaches JKD and BJJ

 

I hadn't heard of this place and none of the many searches I've done turned it up. Is it new? I did find the website once you gave the name. The website looks ok.

 

Al, Jim, and Will Tracy were early students of Ed Parker, starting back in the late 1950s. Later, Mr. Parker began to make changes to the art, taking it in a different direction. The Tracys didn't agree with many of these changes, so they eventually split from Mr. Parker, and established their own lineage of kenpo. They feel that they have kept their kenpo closer to how Mr. Parker first learned it from his own teacher in Hawaii.

Currently, Al Tracy heads the organization, his brothers are no longer formally involved.

The Tracys have also incorporated some elements from other arts, both Japanese and Chinese, into their method, so yes, there have been changes of their own made.

Jay T. Will was a student under the Tracys. I believe he may have also had some training under Mr. Parker, or some of Mr. Parker's other students, so I imagine there would be some of those influences in how his lineage practices their method.

Any of the kenpo methods can be a very good path to follow, if well taught and if the art speaks to you and is a good match for you.123