The instructor is a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Kyokushin Karate. He competed but was never a champion and never claimed to be. So far noone has graduated from the school and so he hasn't produced any champions yet. He believes that He can produce champions because he knows where his failings were and he believes as most instructors do that he can teach his students to be much better than he is.
I personally doubt that there will be many to graduate from the program. As mentioned here, the PR isn't all that great. He would joke about people who would write asking if it was a cult... His problem is that he doesn't have much money to make a better website or have better advertisement. He keeps all of the information as quiet as possible because it ensures that only the most serious people apply... but I think he's also losing a lot of attention for that same reason. The BudoKarateHouse is registered as a non-profit organization and has a board that works to get donations so that he can eventually stop having his students get jobs... One of the members of the board is a congresswoman.
Spiritual stuff... You bow as you would in a regular martial arts class and that is pretty much it. I had difficulty with him because I have specific religious beliefs that require that I remain covered and he didn't like the idea of my wearing a Tee-shirt under my gi... which is insisted on because the gi could fly open in training. We fixed that by sewing the gi shut with a grommet. It really isn't my place to say, but He's an atheist. It is my point of view that he has a problem with organized religion... so I don't think that anyone would have a problem with him being too spiritual.
As someone wrote before, the major problem at first is that you work for 10 hours a day only for an hour of training. But Mr. Ligo is extremely careful and want to work his students into the training rather than thrusting them into a 7 hour training program that only the most athletic can survive. As I said, I started the program at 260 and I couldn't run more than two miles without serious struggling. He worked me up until i was running 5 miles every day (took an hour), spent an hour lifting weights, and an hour training Kyokushin basics and forms. So in two months I was already up to three hours of training per day.
Over all I thought that he was fair and the idea was a great one. I really wish that I had stayed. I think that he could do a whole lot better of a job, but with experience and a few successful graduations I think that people will come around.
The head student, Mr. Schwartz, was quite the guy. He had no previous martial arts training but after a year in the program he was kicking my butt even though I had 15 years of training. The difference between full contact fighting and what I had been doing was astounding. I thought I could hold my own, but they tore me apart... And I loved every second of it. It was good to realize that I had quite a ways to go. I thrive in a disciplined environment like the military and that program and I really believe that I never should have left... but I am more into the MMA type of fighting and He has a serious disdain for MMA. Kyokushin is a very Traditional form of Karate.. and he was only really interested in producing stand-up, kickboxing champions.. Well, I can say kickboxing or the kickboxers will scream at me.. Whatever those kyokushin guys do... the type of fighting that Mas Oyama started up. I think one of the type of competition he supported was the Sabaki Challenge.
I personally doubt that there will be many to graduate from the program. As mentioned here, the PR isn't all that great. He would joke about people who would write asking if it was a cult... His problem is that he doesn't have much money to make a better website or have better advertisement. He keeps all of the information as quiet as possible because it ensures that only the most serious people apply... but I think he's also losing a lot of attention for that same reason. The BudoKarateHouse is registered as a non-profit organization and has a board that works to get donations so that he can eventually stop having his students get jobs... One of the members of the board is a congresswoman.
Spiritual stuff... You bow as you would in a regular martial arts class and that is pretty much it. I had difficulty with him because I have specific religious beliefs that require that I remain covered and he didn't like the idea of my wearing a Tee-shirt under my gi... which is insisted on because the gi could fly open in training. We fixed that by sewing the gi shut with a grommet. It really isn't my place to say, but He's an atheist. It is my point of view that he has a problem with organized religion... so I don't think that anyone would have a problem with him being too spiritual.
As someone wrote before, the major problem at first is that you work for 10 hours a day only for an hour of training. But Mr. Ligo is extremely careful and want to work his students into the training rather than thrusting them into a 7 hour training program that only the most athletic can survive. As I said, I started the program at 260 and I couldn't run more than two miles without serious struggling. He worked me up until i was running 5 miles every day (took an hour), spent an hour lifting weights, and an hour training Kyokushin basics and forms. So in two months I was already up to three hours of training per day.
Over all I thought that he was fair and the idea was a great one. I really wish that I had stayed. I think that he could do a whole lot better of a job, but with experience and a few successful graduations I think that people will come around.
The head student, Mr. Schwartz, was quite the guy. He had no previous martial arts training but after a year in the program he was kicking my butt even though I had 15 years of training. The difference between full contact fighting and what I had been doing was astounding. I thought I could hold my own, but they tore me apart... And I loved every second of it. It was good to realize that I had quite a ways to go. I thrive in a disciplined environment like the military and that program and I really believe that I never should have left... but I am more into the MMA type of fighting and He has a serious disdain for MMA. Kyokushin is a very Traditional form of Karate.. and he was only really interested in producing stand-up, kickboxing champions.. Well, I can say kickboxing or the kickboxers will scream at me.. Whatever those kyokushin guys do... the type of fighting that Mas Oyama started up. I think one of the type of competition he supported was the Sabaki Challenge.
