ArticlesHello Everybody, Jude LedesmaI’ve been involved in martial arts for a long time. I kept running into what Demi Barbito calls the status quo of ritual, hierarchy, and stagnation -- what was essentially a minimization of individual effort in systems that were supposed to celebrate the individual. Somewhere along the line I lost track of why I enjoyed training – the fun and the challenge. It just wasn’t fun anymore. When I did get “back on track”, I didn’t like what I found. But I knew what I had to do. I wrote this letter to my old class, just before Lily, Alan and I founded Modern Combatives. I’m surprised how much of it is still true -- and how relevant… Hello Everybody, Please forgive this "form letter" training update. I received a lot of e-mails after my "resignation". Thanks for the support. I haven’t had the time to respond too all of you individually. And for the folks I have been in touch with – this is more info on the new Gyms. Most of you know that over the last few years I’ve been training myself differently than I taught class. I sensed something lacking in the way I trained. I was inspired by friends (thanks John M. and Tatsu), and various articles by Burton Richardson and Matt Thornton. I decided to train functionally and athletically. I began to share the lessons I learned by incorporating functional training against resisting opponents. I began integrating more and more functional Boxing and Kickboxing skills, as well as rudimentary clinch work within the confines of the old curriculum. Burton Richardson covered clinch work during a seminar the weekend after last year’s San Shou tournament. For me, it was an epiphany. (the broken nose helped me think.). Eventually, I chose to exclusively train those functional aspects. The Wednesday regulars enjoyed themselves immensely. They improved rapidly over a relatively short period of time and continued to improve with each training session – then (the class was cancelled). Personally, I’m training mainly Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, though my overall focus is Mixed Martial Arts from a functional/athletic approach. A few months ago I started training with Alan and Lily Pagle, SBG affiliates out in the East Bay. I haven’t had more productive training in a long time. Beginning in July, we’re going to be running classes together… All of you are welcome… It won't be a JKD class, not in the sense of JFJKD or JKD Concepts. It'll be more like a MMA class with a street emphasis: kickboxing, clinch, ground and putting all together. The class focus is "aliveness". For a more detailed description check out http://www.straightblastgym.com and click on the "curriculum" link. The "tribe" link outlines the training/coaching philosophy. I discovered this was the way I wanted to train and that it was the only way, in good conscience that I could teach. Some of you are already aware of the new format and raised a couple of issues: What about the Kickboxing? -- Don’t worry. I’m very proud of progress many of you have made and I take pride in the fact that my coaching contributed. The "standup" game won’t be ignored. That will be my primary coaching responsibility. The emphasis will just shift to a well-rounded approach: standing "and" clinch "and" ground.
--No politics --No egos (these get smashed fairly quickly when you train alive) --No hard sell --The gym members are individuals, not resources, and are treated as such (thanks Demi) Even if you choose not to check out the Gyms, I encourage you check out the SBG site. And, if you get a chance, incorporate aliveness into your training. Don’t take Matt’s, Burton’s, Alan’s, Lily’s, or even my word for it. Test it yourself. That’s what I did. You don’t need an academy to see what works. Anyway, if you have any further questions, please drop me an e-line. Thanks again, Jude
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