A big "WHAT'S UP?!?!?!" from Atlanta, GA

[netkil]

:wav:Hello everybody. I'm 35 and I just got into the shape of my life using p90x and I want to use my physical fitness for a real practical use such as learning how to defend myself, my family and the people at my church that I happen to be the head usher of at the moment. One of the men at my church has a lot of experience in various martial arts and he introduced Krav Maga to me in the few sessions we've had. I instantly knew then that Krav Maga was the technique for me thumbsup and that I would one day pursue it to become proficient. Well...I'm here and I'm ready so, let me have it!:box:

At the moment I'm looking for a good training center in the Atlanta area so if anyone has any suggestions or reviews they would be greatly appreciated. I'm in Kennesaw if you're familiar with the area.

THANKS!!!

[saruotoko]

Welcome to the forums and howdy from the west coast! There are 6 Krav Maga Worldwide affiliates in the Atlanta area. (www.kravmaga.com)

Looks like they are all north of I-20. I'm not familiar with where Kennesaw is, relative to Atlanta proper, but even if it's a little bit of a drive from the nearest affiliate, I promise you it'll be worth the effort!

Mario

[TheAmBASSaDEER]

Welcome. I go to the one in Powder Springs http://www.droegesata.com/ ...Love it


I think there is one in Kennesaw that is official

[netkil]

Welcome. I go to the one in Powder Springs http://www.droegesata.com/ ...Love it


I think there is one in Kennesaw that is official

Really? I've heard a lot of good things about Droege's. I've also seen not so good reviews about the ATA in Kennesaw. I'll be at Droege's soon to check them out. It's close by and I don't have to drive 30min to the Atlanta KM & Fitness in Buckhead or Roswell. Have you ever been there? I am curious about the comparisons between Droege's and AKMF to see if it's worth checking out. THANKS!

[TheAmBASSaDEER]

Really? I've heard a lot of good things about Droege's. I've also seen not so good reviews about the ATA in Kennesaw. I'll be at Droege's soon to check them out. It's close by and I don't have to drive 30min to the Atlanta KM & Fitness in Buckhead or Roswell. Have you ever been there? I am curious about the comparisons between Droege's and AKMF to see if it's worth checking out. THANKS!
I have have only been to Droeges. When I was looking into getting into Krav I said I would go where ever I needed, but was impressed with Mr Kisner, so I looked no futher. If you stop by for a class be sure to say hello. Any question just ask, I tell ya what I know.

Steve

[netkil]

Thanks and will do...

[SuperGirl]

hey NetKil! I take class at Atlanta Krav Maga and Fitness. AKMF has two locations, one in Roswell and one in Buckhead. They have classes during the day and night. Also, the schools owner recently got his black belt in Krav Maga, so its pretty cool to have the only black belt in Atlanta instructing some of the classes. I have been training since June (after back surgery in Feb) and it has been the best decision I have made. I have never trained at another Atlanta school, but I will tell you that AKMF's main goal is to make sure you train the technique correctly, so you can use it correctly! I would highly recommend calling and scheduling to take a class... I may be biased bc I go there and train 5 days a week and love it.

Let me know if you have any questions!

[netkil]

Wow! You guys are really on it...I'm loving the local feedback and excitement which tells me that you love what you've accomplished with KM and also where you train at as well. I think that is very important so, that's great.

What I'm planning on doing is having an intro class at both Droege's and AKMF to see for my self what is going to be best for me. So basically I want to review both centers from a completely amateur's stand point then "maybe" I'll post the factors in making my decision as soon as I decide. I think it would be cool to see the differences in training, atmosphere, convience and overall spirit between the two since I've heard so many great things about both training centers.

But, I will say I'm biased towards Droege's right now without having even been there simply because of location but, we'll see...Shucks, I thought Favre was going to pull it out at the end which proves you really never know what your going to do until you're faced with an attack...poor Brett...who knew?...:dunno:

[SuperGirl]

It will be interesting to hear what you see are differences. I can totally understand choosing based on location, but remember that you also want to choose where you feel you will learn best. Both schools are KMWW schools, so at least you know the curriculum has been tested and applied. Again I am biased, but the AKMF instructors are awesome :)

Good luck in your classes!

[BradM]

netkil,
I trained at Dreoge's when I lived in Powder Springs. The instruction was awesome. I miss training there. I believe Droege's and Senior Master Archmont's school in Kennesaw were the two first schools to offer Krav in the Atlanta area, The first in GA. I think too. They are pioneers. i've heard good things about AKMF too. Check 'em both and decide from there.

Brad

[netkil]

Great feedback guys...I really appreciate it.

Ok, I'm all set up for a Level 1 class next Monday at Droege's and next Tuesday at AKMF, both at 7pm...I can't wait to check it out. I'm really excited about getting started. I'll follow up next week with my synopsis between the two. Thanks again everybody!

[TheAmBASSaDEER]

See ya Monday!

[netkil]

It's Tuesday morning and I feel great after attending a Level 1 class at Droege's ATA last night.

I won't get into details and spill all the Droege beans before going to Atlanta KM & Fitness tonight. I'll give a complete summary of both centers tomorrow. I will say that Droege's was a good experience and I'm more excited about getting into Krav Maga than I ever was. I will be signing up "somewhere" this week.

I also want to give a BIG shoutout to the TheAmBASSaDEER (http://www.kravmaga.com/forum/member.php?u=7583) for welcoming me in last night. Thanks Steve, good stuff man...

[TheAmBASSaDEER]

It's Tuesday morning and I feel great after attending a Level 1 class at Droege's ATA last night.

I won't get into details and spill all the Droege beans before going to Atlanta KM & Fitness tonight. I'll give a complete summary of both centers tomorrow. I will say that Droege's was a good experience and I'm more excited about getting into Krav Maga than I ever was. I will be signing up "somewhere" this week.

I also want to give a BIG shoutout to the TheAmBASSaDEER (http://www.kravmaga.com/forum/member.php?u=7583) for welcoming me in last night. Thanks Steve, good stuff man...
It was nice to meet you Akil! Good luck today, and I hope you decide to come train with us. Im intrested to see how you think the two schools stack up.

[Safetyal]

Hey there and welcome! I train at AKMF and really enjoy it. Plus I should add, I live in Kennesaw as well. :):

Like you, I did a lot of research before choosing. As was mentioned earlier, the chief instructor is currently one of two black belts in the state of Georgia, and truly knows his Krav.

For me it came down to where I work, since I most likely would go to train after work, the convenience of the schedule, and gut feeling about the facility.

All I can say is I am very happy with AKMF, and not just because some of the instructors read these boards.;):

[TheAmBASSaDEER]

How'd it go?

[SuperGirl]

I'm dying to hear your thoughts too! Yeah, so I may be the instructor's girl friend, but half the time I don't take his class b/c I don't want to give him a big head and tell him how great class was! :)

Regardless...I hope you liked both schools! Can't say I wouldn't LOVE to see you at AKMF though!!!

[netkil]

LoL…Sorry to leave you all hanging. So here’s the scoop.
Both of these Krav Maga training centers (Droege's ATA & Atlanta KM & Fitness) are very comparable and there are a lot of great things to say about both of them. For the record, I would refer either one of these places to anyone…really.
Without having to post a thesis on both of my experiences with each training center I decided to shorten it (a little) and get straight to the point. But I will say, quickly, that the staff, students and instructors at both places were polite and professional. I had no problems with fitting in and getting into the mix at each class. The people were all cordial and were not afraid to shake a hand of a new face. That meant a lot guys. Stuff like that goes a long way.
Ok, so enough of the fluff. Let’s get to the bottom line and to do that I have to start with the instructors. There is no doubt that both of these guys really know their stuff, Jack at Droege’s and Jesse at AKMF.
Jack came off as a no nonsense kind of guy who is accustomed to leading. I like that. Enough with the small talk let’s do this, kind of guy. Basically I could tell he had been around the block a few times and he meant business. His instruction was easy to follow and he focuses on the fundamentals first before he gets to the big picture. I need that. Even with a big class that night he scanned the room well and gave personal and detailed correction when needed.
Jesse at AKMF is also the man. Very intense in his demonstrations and triple checks to make sure you understand what he is asking you to do. He doesn’t assume anything. I like that too. He has a keen eye for technique and his instruction is concise and to the point. Being a computer guy, I can deal with concise and to the point. It makes no room for error or confusion which I think is very important when you’re learning how to fight for your life.
From what I could gather, the classes at Droege’s are never the same. Jack is always mixing it up and keeping it fresh. We warmed up with some running then pushups, squats and lunges. After that we put on gloves and did “a lot” of punches. We then quickly moved to standard kicks then knees with you holding the back of your partners neck with both hands and elbows down and in for control. That was cool. After that I was spent. I was glad he slowed it down with a session of standard front choke hold defenses. This class with Jack was a great workout. He communicates the techniques well and easy to understand. If you’re not doing it right he’ll let you know. One thing that I liked was if someone else wasn’t correct in their technique he would share the solution to everyone in the class. So you’re theoretically learning from everyone. It was a great class and I was dripping sweat coming out of there.
Jesse at AKMF seemed to have a more structured approach. Again, you have to remember that I’ve only been to one class a piece so I’m sharing what I “think”… I got there a couple minutes late (traffic) and jumped in at the end of the warm up. I noticed Jesse threw some yoga stuff in there for good stretching. After that we partnered up and went straight into punches, then hammer punches, then a sideways kind of hammer punch with the attacker standing on your side in your blind spot. Then we did something I thought was kind of interesting but not sure how effective it was for training…Jesse had us straddle the punching mats. Our partners are behind us pulling on a rope that is around my waist for resistance. He says "go" and you beat the mat to death until he tells you to get up and run across the room and back with your partner holding you back with the rope. I as I think about it now I guess it was an exercise to toughen you up and simulate a real situation where you have to fight for every inch. We then went into a rear choke hold defense session which Jesse demonstrated and explained well. Again, Jesse makes absolutely sure you understand what he’s saying. He's good at communicating the techniques and as an instructor that’s a strong point of his, besides his intensity.
To whoever is reading this, there’s no question that both Droege’s ATA Fitness Center and Atlanta Krav Maga & Fitness will meet your training needs. Just after two consecutive sessions I have walked away with way more than I knew going in and more confidence that I can train somewhere and actually “enjoy” learning the art of KM.
So here’s the verdict:
I really don’t have one yet. I’m seriously stumped here. The staffs at both places are cool. There’s no doubt the instructors are VERY knowledgeable. The facilities are basically the same but, Droege’s does have hanging punching bags and a weight room “I think”. I’m afraid it’s simply going to come down to basic logistics. One is way cheaper (special offer only) and the other is more convenient. One has a more flexible schedule and the other is…more convenient. Like I said before, I “will” make my decision this week. I’ll be showing up somewhere Friday or Saturday to sign. Either way it was a pleasure of having the opportunity to sit in on both of these talented instructor’s classes. Considering these are two of the only three certified KM training centers in the Atlanta area, Atlanta can’t go wrong when it comes to KM.
Keep swinging thumbsup,
Netkil

[TheAmBASSaDEER]

Cool, sounds like we have some good schools here in the A. Hope to see you in Saturdays class!

[BradM]

Netkil,
Compliments to you. That was an excellent comparison between the two schools, both their simularities and unsimularities. You have done good research. No doubt you will pick the school that best ssuits your needs. I knew you would be pleased with Droege's because I had trained there for a few years. I'm not familiar with AKMF, but have heard nothing but good things about them. Good luck in making your choice.

[SuperGirl]

Glad to hear you had such a positive experience at both schools! I think it speaks volumes for the Krav Maga Worldwide program, and how they stress the importance of really nailing the technique and teaching it in a way that is applicable to every day life.

Jesse is definitely an intense instructor and very fast paced when it comes to his classes, so kudos to you for not throwing up or collapsing! I think, as you saw, Krav is great and we are so lucky to have options in the Atlanta area!

And not to rain on The Ambassadeer's parade, but I hope I see you in MY Saturday class! rofl2

[SuperGirl]

So where did you end up joining?

[netkil]

I signed with Droege's yesterday after I thought long and hard over the weekend on what I was going to do. I committed to 6 months. Nothing against AKMF but Droege's was way more convenient for me as far as location and all. After taking another class at Droege's last night I felt more comfortable and confident that I made a good choice for me.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement. You all welcomed me in the KM world well and I'm very appreciative of that. I'm sure we'll be in touch soon one way or another.

Netkil

[TheAmBASSaDEER]

Good deal Man!


I missed class last night, my hip has been hurting. Ill be there Wed for sure(pain or no pain)

[BradM]

Good for you netkil. I'm sure you'll enjoy your training there. Whenever I'm in Marietta to visit my kids, I always stop by Dreoge's to say hi and visit one of Jack's classes. Next time I'm in Marietta, I'll try to make qa visit again. I would like to meet you and AmBASSaDEER in person. I might even bring my gear and join in a class. I miss those beat downs - I mean greeat training I got there.

Brad