We tune individual curricula to suit the client: whether you are in great shape or not, beginner or advanced, competition focused or simply learning to defend yourself.
To get you started, we'll discuss in detail your personal goals, concerns, and physical training history. Using this information, we'll build a roadmap of training tailored for your needs.
Every person has different levels of ability that either add or detract from their capacity to defend themselves. Speed, strength, size, flexibility, endurance, aggression and fitness level vary from person to person. Past injuries or disabilities may also be an obstacle. Our self-defense program consists of the coach and individual student setting and tracking short and long term goals. The short term goal is assess the strengths and weaknesses of the individual and slowly build basics widely applicable in numerous defense scenarios. Examples of these basics are fundamentals of:
The long term goal for the individual and coach is to find the best blend of tactics suited for the individual. No single sport or martial art will satisfy all the requirements of every self-defense scenario. Any comprehensive self-defense program will blend multiple systems together and must constantly adapt as efficiencies, moves and counter-moves are discovered. A blend of approaches is known as mixed martial arts.
From self and family-defense consulting programs to intense private competition training, we can cover all your needs.
The curriculum can be tailored for the individual or group, but is typically a mixture of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for ground grappling skills, Thai Boxing for punching and kicking skills, Aikido for falling, combined training that pulls it all together, and role playing for realistic simulation.
Children's training
Do you have a child that is:
Out of shape?
Too passive and victimized by bullies?
Simply unprepared to deal with the kinds of random acts of violence that unfortunately find their way into our lives?
Too aggressive and needing a productive, safe outlet?After teaching children various forms of martial arts over the years, we decided to create a combined program that provides equal time to a number of important facets of training for children. It all starts with fight avoidance. Conflict resolution through words and calming actions are always the first route. Only when this fails and there is imminent harm to the child or a loved one is the child allowed to use the defensive tactics we will teach them. They will be drilled to make sound decisions quickly and rewarded for smart decisions! Our children need to know that their decisions define who they are as people and that violence is always a last resort. Given this situation, they will know how to win.
Is there a sibling involved? Do your children know how to work together to protect each other, avoid the fight, and get away? If cornered or unavoidable, have they trained in a plan to defeat the opponent and make it clear they were right to defend themselves?
Read more here on the advice for parents seeking instruction for their children written by coach David Thomas.
Women's training
Women have different training needs than men. One of the keys to successful training for women is understanding that a unique approach is necessary. Self defense training involves situations which women often find unappealing or intimidating. Many women were raised in environments where contact sports were discouraged. Martial art are contact sports and require getting accustomed to contact. In order to survive attack, women must get comfortable with this so in a panic situation, they don't freeze. Training to deal with these situations will unfreeze your reflexes so you can fight to survive. Women are also typically not as large or strong as men. This is where our program excels. Austin Jiu-Jitsu specializes in giving smaller people advantage over larger, stronger attackers.
Men's training
Interestingly, men, who are naturally more violent, larger, and stronger have inefficient, flawed, and nearly universally predictable fighting instincts. Studying these patterns allows us to better leverage advantage in attack situations. There are a number of "opening moves" that many attackers employ, whether it be a bar-room tackle/headlock or a sucker punch/knockdown situation in mugging. Training for these situations will prepare you for the appropriate response. Moreover, with enough training, you will be able to predict your opponent's moves by spotting patterns in their behavior and controlling the fight by planning several moves in advance. Get beyond simple reaction in a conflict: command the fight.
Competition preparation
Training for a competition is not like regular training. Over the course of 8 weeks, you need to reach a new level of intensity and pressure that regular training does not attain. Our program for competitive preparation for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu will get you ready. Read an article on this topic by coach David Thomas.
General self defense consultation
We are eager to train with you privately or in our class setting, but if what is right for you is offered elsewhere, we can help you find the right school. Once we understand your needs, we'll help you find the right program of instruction. Martial arts schools are many and varied. It is easy to be confused or mislead into a system that isn't appropriate for your needs, or isn't all it appears from the outside. We can sort through the hype, noise, mumbo-jumbo, and hocus-pocus with honest assessments of your current skills and needs matched with direction on appropriate schools in the area. We've been deeply involved in the martial arts for over 21 years and know what Central Texas has to offer. We promise to provide you with consultation that is principled on reliability. We have worked closely with numerous instructors in the area and know where to go for the good stuff!