Why do people hate on USSD? I knew an instructor in Nevada, and he taught me a lot about USSD. They seem like a legitimate company, a business, and very well grounded in what they teach. I just wondering if some people were disatisfied, because they wanted to spar too early and left. I'm just really confused, because Friday I'm signing up with them for 3 months. So......answers appreciated. Apologies if this is in the wrong forum.
Here is my beef with USSD. 1. Overpriced -You should never pay more than $150 a month on lessons...and only that much if you're training with world class instructors. 2. Under-Qualified Instructors -Instructors are frequently 1st degree black belts with 4 years or less in the system. 3. Over Hyped -They claim to be the best...but they really only have the best MARKETING. Most will agree that the system is really quite poor. --- Go to USSD, and you'll learn enough to give you a false sense of confidence...which will be shattered INSTANTLY the minute you compare your years of training to a few months of REAL training. Don't sign up. If you need to do Kenpo, look for a Kara Ho, Kajukenbo, Hawaiin Kempo, Kenpo 5.0, or one of the old school Parker students.
You hit the nail right on the mark Satori81. USSD is a McDojo and I wouldn't recommend a USSD school to anybody. They also claim they teach shaolin kungfu. I have yet to see one shaolin form in their system. If a company lies to you about a product they sell would you buy it? Heres some schools in vegas that you should check out. http://www.lvshaolin.com/about_our_school.php http://www.lomankamwingchun.com/ http://www.yelp.com/biz/NVRiJkvbE7J7ddGYKPx56A http://www.lvlohans.com/index.php?scr=SINF http://www.kungfuchan.com/ http://www.nevadawingchun.com/nvwckfc.html http://www.eastwestkenpokarate.com/ http://www.windedfisttemple.com/ http://www.ckijkd.com/ http://www.leejkd.com/inslist.htm
I agree here. To even go further on the instructor, you're going to be paying approximately $250 a month, to most likely never even learn from the chief instructor. You're more than likely going to learn from a red belt instructor cadet that will be anywhere between ORANGE belt and BROWN. Personally, I pay $100 a lesson when I go to my instructor, but, he's also a GrandMaster. He gives me my money's worth. Another thing...most people on here are not complaining about sparring before they are ready. That's just silly. A lot of people have good reason for not liking USSD. Don't just think that it's all about sparring...
Couture, have you had any previous martial arts experience? What did you like? What didn't you like? I'd like to answer your questions, but I'd like to have some basis of reference.
Well, here's the reasons, as a student, while I'd never go back to USSD, even if they have changed what I'm listing. 1. They claimed that Shaolin Kempo is the father art of other systems which is a complete fabrication and play on words, I have documentation to back this up. 2. To appear more closer to the source, they leave out big chunks of their history. I know this changed recently, but it is still an altered list at best. 3. The syllabus constantly contradicts itself. "Always move forward on an attacker" but in this technique you step back to block. 4. Didn't they add on "animal testing?" I remember some kid on MA Planet talking about that.
I have no previous martial arts experiences. I've been going to different dojos and this one seems to really fit me in what I really wanted. I'm just really confused now. I was going to sign up for like.....3 months to see if I liked it enough to continue. There aren't much martial arts around here. For everyone's reference, I live in Tempe, ARIZONA. Not NEVADA. Sorry if that was confusing. I only know an instructor in Nevada and he doesn't get paid....so I don't see the money hungry aspect in them.
I want the exercise, the mental aspect of it all, and I NEED to be able to defend myself. I've been to different places around my city, looking for styles that I liked/ was interested in. None of them seem to offer what I really needed, or they looked at me like a dollar sign. I don't think all USSD places have to be bad. My instructor is really nice, he always asks if its okay to adjust my fist or correct my stance. He actually helped me set a legitimate goal for myself. At 17, I've just been through a lot. Had a lot happen and all the dojos I went to were, meh. Or they sent me screaming and clawing for the door. I just felt that this USSD dojo, close by, close-knit, and it didn't seem like a 'black belt factory' at all. Everyone was really nice and greeted me. I got nothing like that at other dojos. Just stares like "OMG It's ANOTHER woman. GREAT" from all the males there. I'm not going to mention these places, because you know....I don't like to rag on a certain dojo. USSD seems really female friendly. Mind you, all the places I seemed to go were more geared towards males and not females. So I have just been feeling like USSD is a really good place for me. I just don't understand why people hate it. I don't want to be hated because I go to USSD. I think that dojo wars or hating another person's dojo just because the way they do their business is just....well.....mean. What makes a dojo is the instructor. Everyone seemed to love mine. He's just really intune to what I need as a person. I'm not singling anyone out and saying you are all haters, I'm just having a hard time understanding why USSD is so bad or wrong to go to. I want to learn and live the martial arts lifestyle. Does it really even matter where you learn? Maybe it's not USSD, maybe its the instructor that some of you didn't like? I don't know. I'm just confused. @.@
I have a question. Will you be more able to defend yourself after going to a school where you will have to show everybody how tough you are and force yourself to stick it out or go to a school where an instructor is catering to your sensitivity?
Trust me he was USSD. He wasn't wearing any patches cuz he was told not to by his instructor when going to a non-USSD tourney. He looked at us and asked, "What's Kajukenbo?" He said he had never been to a non-USSD tourney. You know, the kind where they're always shouting, "WATCH YOUR CONTACT!!!" when you tap someone.
I don't know how far away you are from Gilbert, Gustine, and Mesa. But if you haven't checked them out yet, here's a few suggestions: http://www.gotthenak.com/ This one has a branch in Tempe http://www.limkenpo.net/LKK_Schoolsfr.htm
