Home Study Courses

[survivalist]

Hello,


I'm curious if there are any home study courses that are not completely ridiculous. Ideally something with graded levels.


Before you burst into laughter...

• I'm in my 40s and am mainly interested in doing this for fun.
• I have a busy life and a number of physical activities I can't swap out for martial arts (i.e., we do stuff as a family and no one else has any MA interest). My free time tends to be at times when no MA studio is open - e.g., 5am.
• I have studied several martial arts but never particularly deeply because I've moved a bit. Six months each in two different styles of kung fu, purple belt in Kenpo.
• It's not vital to me how "effective" what I learn is. In fact, I wouldn't mind something that included a kata portion.
• I would like something with a belt system, as having goals to strive for keeps me motivated.

After a bit of googling, I've seen:


- Stephen K Hayes
- Richard van Donk
- Shintai Ryu
- Shorin Ryu ("Kobukan Karate")
- American Kenpo Legacy ("Arnis") - not sure if they are still in business


I'm curious if


(a) all home study courses are a joke


(b) there is something good I've missed


(c) anyone has opinions on the above

 

[MJS]

Hello,


I'm curious if there are any home study courses that are not completely ridiculous. Ideally something with graded levels.


Before you burst into laughter...

• I'm in my 40s and am mainly interested in doing this for fun.
• I have a busy life and a number of physical activities I can't swap out for martial arts (i.e., we do stuff as a family and no one else has any MA interest). My free time tends to be at times when no MA studio is open - e.g., 5am.
• I have studied several martial arts but never particularly deeply because I've moved a bit. Six months each in two different styles of kung fu, purple belt in Kenpo.
• It's not vital to me how "effective" what I learn is. In fact, I wouldn't mind something that included a kata portion.
• I would like something with a belt system, as having goals to strive for keeps me motivated.

After a bit of googling, I've seen:


- Stephen K Hayes
- Richard van Donk
- Shintai Ryu
- Shorin Ryu ("Kobukan Karate")
- American Kenpo Legacy ("Arnis") - not sure if they are still in business


I'm curious if


(a) all home study courses are a joke


(b) there is something good I've missed


(c) anyone has opinions on the above

Welcome to the forum!

To answer your questions: Please keep in mind, that the question you ask, has been asked many, many times before. Each time I've given an answer, its been along the same lines....no, IMHO, you can't learn much from a dvd/home study course. People will try to tell you differently. However, fact remains, unless you have a live teacher, someone who can show you things, make corrections, etc, then your learning will be limited only to whats being shown on the dvd, and how well you can grasp it.

I do feel that dvds are a good reference tool. I have some. However, I also have teachers that I can go to. I'm not learning from the dvd. I've seen BJJ inst. tapes, saw things that caught my eye, and have worked on them with the guys that I've done grappling with. IMO, you need a live body to work with, and a live teacher to teach.

Regarding what you googled....I've heard things only about the SKH and RVD dvds, and none of it has been good. I personally have never seen them, so I'm only going on what I've read by others.

You mention that you have a purple in Kenpo. What style of Kenpo? If its Parker Kenpo, then perhaps you may want to look into Larry Tatums dvd sets that he has. Another option that you may want to consider, if you havent already, is private lessons. Perhaps you could find a school you're interested in, talk to the inst., explain your situation, and see if you could do private lessons, a few times a month. It'll probably cost more in the long run, but at least you're learning from someone.

I hope that was of some help.

Mike

 

[Instructor]

Welcome to the forum survivalist.

Any distance learning system is going to be considerably more challenging and less effective than actual live training. Not impossible though. The best systems do not rely entirely on videos but instead offer interaction and in person training occasionally.

If you go this route expect to work harder for everything.

Jon

 

[Flying Crane]

Don't do it. It's a waste of your time and money, and what you learn will be questionable at best, and could be downright dangerous to yourself. Don't do it.

 

[Cirdan]

"a"

There is no replacing a live instructor. I`d take half an hour with a good teacher every six months over all the home study material in the world.

 

[Flying Crane]

"a"

There is no replacing a live instructor. I`d take half an hour with a good teacher every six months over all the home study material in the world.

I'll go one further on this: I'd just run, swim, ride my bike, do some strength training, follow a fitness program, instead of taking any home study/video course. If my only option was home-study/video, without time training directly with an instructor, then I would simply do something else altogether.

 

[Instructor]

I created such a system out of necessity for my military students but even I admit Flying crane and others here are not wrong.

We have had measurable success and I am happy to say that to-date, no injuries. But my system has considerable time with real live people involved. It is definitely not easier or better than an instructor.

Some instructors might be willing to meet with you at 5:30, I would.

 

[Omar B]

This "home study" topic should be aggregated with all the threads that ask the same question and stickied somewhere all the newbs can see it.

No home study does not work. But with a name like Survivalist and wanting a home study course I think you're plenty busy in your unibomber style shack when not hunting chipmunk meat ... which eventually drives you crazy.

 

[survivalist]

But with a name like Survivalist and wanting a home study course I think you're plenty busy in your unibomber style shack when not hunting chipmunk meat ... which eventually drives you crazy.

Dude, you have to pick some name for a forum. I wouldn't make too many assumptions.

 

[Omar B]

Dude, you have to pick some name for a forum. I wouldn't make too many assumptions.

Badger meat?

 

[survivalist]

Badger meat?

I can only imagine the unfair assumptions people leap to with your name (Omar).

 

[Omar B]

But I am spot on right? Guy who cannot use the forum search function does live in a Survivalist cabin eating Chipmunk. LOL

 

[survivalist]

But I am spot on right? Guy who cannot use the forum search function does live in a Survivalist cabin eating Chipmunk. LOL

I'm sorry you're either very angry at life or very bored with it, but I really can't help you with that.

 

[stone_dragone]

I'm sure that we can do without the uninformed person attacks, especially from senior members.

That being said, this topic has been discussed in depth in many other locations.

Another suggestion, if your looking for a martial art outlet and exercise program, is to purchase an XBox kinect (sp?) and the UFC trainer game. You admit to not being interested in effectiveness and are looking for something you can do at home. Seems a custom fit.

Again, if you aren't looking for rank or effectiveness, then any of the video systems listed will do it for you... The question I would ask is why would you want to study martial arts and NOT be effective?

 

[Omar B]

Dumb topic gets dumb answer. Use the search function. Your first thread isn't even an introduction but a rerun.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Dumb topic gets dumb answer. Use the search function. Your first thread isn't even an introduction but a rerun.

And personal attacks on members are a violation of the forum's rules.

 

[Instructor]

Survivalist in spite of conventional wisdom I do believe it is possible to learn this way, it's just not the best way. I have contributed my own time, effort, and money to prove that it can be done. But I am certainly in the minority. I also am very honest that what I am trying is experimental.

I can tell you that you are not alone. I believe a lot of people out there want to learn but just don't have an ideal situation in which to do so.

I don't think I am a pariah here because of my experiment, not yet anyway.

 

[Gentle Fist]

No one who takes the art seriously would solely base all their learning from a video collection...

Find a school and enjoy the ride...

 

[Instructor]

A good distance learning program has to be much more than video's.

 

[bluewaveschool]

Grandmaster Pellegrini has his learn at home Combat Hapkido series. Doing his program does allow you to attend the Combat Hapkido seminars around the country, so you could get a small bit of time with real instructors if you could make any of them. However, I don't know the first thing about his stuff, if it's good or not.