I don't know if anyone will read this, and I’m still new, and there’s a chance I might disappear into thin air if I get kidnapped or die in a plane crash, but I am glad that even though I contacted various schools in Rochester and Troy, the only school that contacted me was here at DAMA by Prof. Joe himself. It was meant to be. It was destiny. AGHHH!!!!
I always did Taekwondo & Hapkido classes cause my father was a martial artist in Korea and Hawaii, and I was forced to take classes so I hated it. I always disappointed the family legacy whom many of the males in our family made it to at least a black belt in TKD as it was an expected tradition, but I hated being pushed to do TKD, even though I was always open to learning other styles. So I moved around a lot of schools but always gave up and never went past a yellow in TKD, and orange in HKD. Don't get me wrong, I love my dad, but now that I'm a grown-a** man, I finally wanted to commit to doing BJJ after being a fan of UFC and being fascinated by ground work.
The moment I walked in, I was nervous, and felt like vomiting. Everyone seemed very good! But after watching for ten minutes, I didn't feel the need to check out other places and immediately signed up on the first day of 2019; they even had a deal going on! I still get torn coming here; I'm overcoming the beginner's hurdle (hate coming here because I know I'll be bad at something), and by the end of a session, I'm so glad I showed up. It’s been a month and a half, and I think I can start to see myself grow in this for the long haul. If you’re tired of just running on the treadmill (and getting beat even at that by the soccer mom running next to you), and want something fun and effective, this is it. You don’t just shed weight, but feel your body actually getting sculpted unlike those “body-sculpting machines” in the commercials that promise you getting chiseled.
I love how everyone who trains here are from all different walks of life. And this art really shows that anyone of any age can do this if they commit to learning and staying teachable. As a pastor of a church body, I was tired of getting choked out by my own members when they get upset with me, so I really needed to learn how to defend myself... Now, none of them have the slightest thought to mess with me...Now I can be like,” And where were you Sunday?” And my favorite, “So why no tithe!” All while they’re in a headlock.
All the instructors are respectful and humble, mats are and stay clean (huge important matter if you’re a germophobe like me), they teach street and sport based styles, everyone helps each other train and teach especially new rookies like me, and they have classes for beginners and advanced grapplers. I still get nervous when Joe, Evan, and that Asian instructor circle around us like vultures getting ready to swoop on fresh meat to see how we're doing, but they only want the best for each student and walk us through the steps themselves often, and care about our safety. There are afternoon and Saturday classes as well. I always see kids and youth classes too, and they play dodgeball at the end, which make me wish I was a kid again, so I could play that too. It’s illegal for adults to play dodgeball in my home country.
I am an amateur ping pong player (my coaches were once coaches for the S. Korean Olympic national team), but I wish I had started this awhile ago and put in just as much time into this like I did with table tennis! Never late to learn. They have Muay Thai too for you MMA folks! Don't hesitate checking this place out, especially as it’s a Renzo Gracie affiliated school. It’s a gem in this area of MI. And always remember to tap; because people don’t let go here if you don’t. And you’ll feel it for three days, even with the best of store brand ice and a hot shower after.
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Posted 7 years ago
