United Studios of Self Defense (USSD)

[albertsmith]

Anyone Here ever heard of United Studios before? If so please Relate your good or bad experiences with this organization. I have both which I will relate in later post. I just want to hear if others have had similar issues with this Villari's spin off. Please reply soon!

signed,

Al

 

[DavidCC]

I was sent to a town in Colorado for a week last year, and wanted to do some training. I went to USSD's web site and downloaded a "free week of class" coupon. I study Shaolin Kempo but different from USSD.

I went to the school and the instructor (an attractive woman BTW) was very polite, letting me watch a kids class (as that was the activity at the moment I was there) but once she realized I was never going to be a revenue stream, she had no more time for me. If she had asked me I woud have paid per class that week, but her attention to me ended with "I live in Nebraska and am just here for the week".

It all worked out for the best I just drank with an old friend all week instead. No harm no foul

 

[psi_radar]

I'm curious, what town were you visiting?

 

[Rick Wade]

I was sent to a town in Colorado for a week last year, and wanted to do some training. I went to USSD's web site and downloaded a "free week of class" coupon. I study Shaolin Kempo but different from USSD.

I went to the school and the instructor (an attractive woman BTW) was very polite, letting me watch a kids class (as that was the activity at the moment I was there) but once she realized I was never going to be a revenue stream, she had no more time for me. If she had asked me I woud have paid per class that week, but her attention to me ended with "I live in Nebraska and am just here for the week".

It all worked out for the best I just drank with an old friend all week instead. No harm no foul

I will second that I went in there. I was going to be in town for three weeks I was visiting a city north of San Diego and I told them I would pay except they wanted some outrageous price so I politely declined. I found an EPAK school and worked out there for free I taught a couple of the classes but it was an hour drive but it was worth it.

V/R

Rick

 

[Dark Kenpo Lord]

Anyone Here ever heard of United Studios before? If so please Relate your good or bad experiences with this organization. I have both which I will relate in later post. I just want to hear if others have had similar issues with this Villari's spin off. Please reply soon!

signed,

Al

This is the same advice I've told everyone that inquires about USSD



RUN AWAY.

Dark LorD

 

[John Bishop]

This is the same advice I've told everyone that inquires about USSD



RUN AWAY.

Dark LorD

All I can add is RUN FAST

 

[Lotus Flower]

Come on guys, give'em a chance. They can't all suck. I mean there's got to be one or two good ones out there. In that I mean good teachers with that system. I can't say alot for their business practices however.


M

 

[Rick Wade]

Come on guys, give'em a chance. They can't all suck. I mean there's got to be one or two good ones out there. In that I mean good teachers with that system. I can't say alot for their business practices however.


M

I wouled have to disagree with you for a couple of reasons that fact that they are a chain with the same mission statement. Since they all have the same mission statement they all want to make money. It is all about the bottom line and they have lost focus on what a studio is there for.

V/R

Rick

 

[The Kai]

The USSD is primarily a money maker. From what I've seen of Charles Mattera and Steve Damascas decidely less then impressed. But wait, they bought themselves a monumnet outside the shoalin temple did'nt they??

 

[Thunderbolt]

I have watched their classes and spoke to their instructors. My family member studied with them BEFORE.

besides run fast and run away, i have a few words for you. DON'T BOTHER TO GO THERE.

 

[Bode]

fact that they are a chain with the same mission statement. Since they all have the same mission statement they all want to make money.

Not trying to start a fight, but aren't there Kenpo schools and organizations with the same mission statement (And association fees)? By that logic, there must be a lot Kenpo schools which are all about money.

To me, fee's and mission statements help set the standards for a school and aren't necessarily a bad thing. At least you know what to expect.

I haven't personally had experience with USSD except some exposure through a friend. Running fast is fine, but why? Can someone give some reasons? I would really like to know as well. (I want to stop into one sometime and watch)

 

[Kembudo-Kai Kempoka]

Much of the inept skills associated with this group were discussed in the first couple page of the "Who is Fred Villari?" thread in the kempo/kenpo general forum.

Simply put: Kenpo/Kempo at its worst. Or pretty darned close. Technically, ethically, financially, etc.

Regards,

Dave

 

[octopic]

I have had a total of three different interactions with schools in the USSD organization. I will try and give a fair review of each of those interactions here.


1) In fall of 2001, I spent a week in Provo, Utah. The USSD school was a block away from the hotel I was staying at. I was a 1st degree brown at the time, prepping for my black belt test. I walked into the school, and talked with the instructor there (who was a 1st Dan). He let me work out with them for the whole week I was there without charging me. He could not have been more polite or inviting.

2) In the spring of 2004 I was in Palo Alto, CA for a job interview. I stopped by the USSD school there to see what there program was like. The instructor there was a 3rd Dan. He didn't seem to care very much about my previous training, and seemed to have a negative attitude towards anyone who wasn't from his direct lineage. He spent most of them time I was talking with him trying to push me to take the USSD China trip.

3) In the fall of 2004 I moved to the Northern Virginia area. The only Shaolin Kempo school within a 3-hour drive was a USSD school. I stopped by to talk with the instructor there. The instructor was a 2nd Dan (same as me), and had been in the system for less total time. He wanted me to sign a 1 year contract and pay him $250/month for lessons. This was basically twice what I had been charged at my last school where my instructor had considerably more experience in the system than I had. The school appeared to be well run, and despite their very high prices, had a ton of students. In the end I decided to teach some on my own and get together with Villari masters when I could go down to Florida or up to Connecticut.

In summary... Like any other chain of schools out there, USSD has both good and bad schools, both good and bad instructors. If you're curious about the USSD school in your area, go check it out for yourself.

 

[jfarnsworth]

In summary... Like any other chain of schools out there, USSD has both good and bad schools, both good and bad instructors. If you're curious about the USSD school in your area, go check it out for yourself.

That's about the best advice you can give on the subject. Get on the mat and find out first hand.
:asian:

 

[Danjo]

Do not go there if you are serious about training because they are not. The forms are the same as more quality stuff, but the training is not. They promote for money and the instructors are usually less than quality. The odd instructor that DOES care, is usually not there for long before either quitting in disgust, or being asked to leave. There are FAR better places to train for FAR less money. To what has been said earlier I would say, Run like your a** is on fire!!!

 

[Seabrook]

Do not go there if you are serious about training because they are not. The forms are the same as more quality stuff, but the training is not. They promote for money and the instructors are usually less than quality. The odd instructor that DOES care, is usually not there for long before either quitting in disgust, or being asked to leave. There are FAR better places to train for FAR less money. To what has been said earlier I would say, Run like your a** is on fire!!!

Danjo,

You are flippin hilarious! But from everything I have heard, you are absolutely right in your assessment.


Jamie Seabrook
www.seabrook.gotkenpo.com

 

[Pacificshore]

Just sayin', as much as USSD isn't for most, it is for some and so long as they enjoy their "training" more power to them :asian:

 

[Old Fat Kenpoka]

This discussion came up on the Can Am forum a year ago. Here is what I said then. I'll say it again now.

From my first post there on this subject:

I have to agree with Clyde on this one. USSD = McDojo. A couple years ago, I decided to find a new school. I researched about 75 schools in my area (San Jose/SF Peninsula). I visited over a dozen schools. The most expensive: USSD. The lowest proficiency: USSD. I have some friends who have studied at USSD schools. I worked out at one for a while--because I just needed a place to work out that was really close to my home. You know you don't even have to study there to become an instructor? Just go to their instructor training camp for a few lessons and <poof> you are an instructor. Can't begin to tell you just how bad the schools I visited were...

But I will say this, just because I can't touch the keyboard without taking an opportunity to disagree with Clyde: I have visited/trained at some decent--even a couple great--TKD schools. The four USSD schools I've visited/trained at were as bad as the worst TKD schools--and a lot more expensive.

One more thing...WTF is up with the "Shaolin" lineage nonsense in USSD? The lineage is clearly: Chow, Emperado, Gascon, Pesare, Cerio, Villari, DeMasco, Mattera. None of them ever studied "Shaolin".

And here is my second post:

As far as "everybody goes through training and we don't let outsiders become instructors". Well, then things have changed in the last 7 years.

In 1994, the unaffiliated Kenpo school I trained at in Mt. View closed. Later that year, one of our newest Brown Belts joined a USSD school, attended the instructor's training camp, and a few weeks later was running the Mt. View USSD school as a Black Belt. He quit that school after a couple of years because he disagreed with the USSD's business ethics. He took several years off and started up at a local EPAK school where he now wears either an Orange or Purple belt (I think).

In 1996, I had a job where I traveled about 50% of the time, often overseas and often for 2 or 3 weeks straight. I was looking for a place to workout near my house in Sunnyvale. There was a USSD school. I made a deal with the instructor so I could workout. Went to a couple of group classes. Went on the road for a month. Came back. The instructor was gone and a new guy was running the school. He was a pretty nice guy, knew what he was doing--but had no Kempo training other than the USSD instructor camp. He didn't even bother to teach Kempo (since he didn't really know any). He taught Tae Kwon Do basics and some Hosinsul. I was traveling a lot and only working out a few times a month. I went on another long trip, came back, and another guy was running the school. I went to a couple of classes. He clearly didn't know what he was doing and the school closed a short time later.

Over the years, and as recently as 2002 and 2003, I visited a few more USSD schools in my area in Palo Alto, Mt. View, Los Gatos/San Jose, and Menlo Park on behalf of friends and relatives looking for a school and for myself. I have also visted several other schools, Kenpo, Kajukenbo, TKD, Ju Jitsu, Jiu Jitsu, Aikido, Karate, Muay Thai, San Shou, etc. I know what I've seen and I know how the USSD schools compare locally. And, the USSD schools up here do NOT compare favorably.

As for the accreditation from the "Head Abbot" of the Shaolin monastery...just what exactly did he give your leaders accreditation for?

Look, you may be at a very fine USSD school. You may be very skilled. You probably worked very hard for your rank. All of my comments are based on real experiences at local USSD schools.

 

[The Kai]

The shoalin money mill? It's quite obvious that the chinese have finally figured out the ameriacans go ga-ga over the chance to take a picture standing next to Chinese person in orange robes. And what they will pay sweeet money


The shoalin temple was bisbanded and unused for the last 20 some years. There was a thing Called communist government in effect

 

[clfsean]

Actually it was put back together during the last 20 something years & stood empty from 1928-ish during the Civil War preceeding WWII until after Jet Li's "Shaolin Temple" movie came out on the mainland. Shortly after that there was a massive re-emergence of the temple. But most everyday people still didn't know where it was.