Summer Camp '05 Questions

[beachfront71]

Has anyone ever been?
How many people usually attend?

When training do they split you up based on your current experience or is everyone grouped together?

Any other comments are welcome --

I have been in Krav 2 years with limited gun experience and wondering how much I would get out of it.

N

[Anonymous]

I did not know KM La was using Bulletmen suit...

[Leftie79]

The summer camp will be in August but the dates have not been set. John said they would be posting more info. on the website but not exactly sure when.

[Anonymous]

I just picked up a flyer at the NTC. The dates are August 5 - 7. They'll have beach training, firearms training, training against a guy in a suit (no, not a regular one, a special padded fighting suit) and yes, Leftie, also a PARTY!!!! :D

Looks good but pricey, 749$ for advanced registration, 799$ after July 5th. 50$ discount for Krav students, 699$ if you sign up with a friend.

They also have advanced firearms training for people with previous experience.

[Leftie79]

LOL, Giant! :lol:

With the prices I don't think I will be making it.

[Anonymous]

Giant,

It is a fastdefense suit. I know, I have one. www.fastdefense.com

[Anonymous]

Hey Leftie!

Maybe for 50 bucks or so they'll let you attend the party... Although no entrees, just desserts. :(

[johnwhitman]

Hey guys!
Hope some of you can make it, despite the price. We knew this would be a factor, but it couldn't be helped. Some of our guys have been trained in the suits, but we wanted to bring in very experienced attackers for the summer camp, to give attendees the best possible experience. Also, based on last year's Summer Camp evaluations, we're providing more instructors and two distinct groupings at the Firing Range.

All this costs more money, of course.

In any case, our focus is on providing the best possible experience for those who attend!!

And for any of you who can't, remember that the KMNTC is always open to any Krav Maga students around the country for free to attend any of our regular classes!

[johnwhitman]

Hi everyone.

I want to clear up some confusion I heard through the grapevine. Technically, what we are offering at Summer Camp is not \"fast defense,\" which is a program run by Bill Kipp. You can check the literature to see that the program we're doing is run by another group that has, I believe, worked with (and may still work with) Mr. Kipp. Apparently, this confusion caused some consternation for one of our school owners.

For the record, I've only met Bill Kipp once, and then only briefly, but I've seen a couple of his demonstrations and heard a great deal about his work, all of it good.

[Kurtuan]

How many people usually attend the summer camp? Can we still expect a decent instructor : student ratio?

[Anonymous]

Hey John,

Have you thought about maybe putting together something like a one day seminar at the firing range for us poorer people sometime in the future? That would be really cool!! 8)

[Anonymous]

Hi John,

As I am a bulletman instructor as well, I was suprised to see the suit on the flyer. I was also suprised the system had a different name...I know Mr. Kipp, he is a great man, he was our guest in my country. His product can not replace KM, but can add to the training amazing level of stress, real fight type of feeling. Using it is a great pick, I beleive it is one of the best suit on the market. Just one thing, you can hit the head full force...:)

Anyway, this topic is not about the bulletman, sorry for bringing this up.

[Leftie79]

Here is the information I found on the website:

http://www.kravmaga.com/pdf/KravMagaSummerCamp2005.pdf

Is anyone here planning on attending?

[Anonymous]

I'd love to go, but I just can't afford it. :cry:

[Leftie79]

Me too Giant.

After reading all the information it makes me want to go even more. I could go I would just have to figure out a way to get the money or just take some money out of my savings...

I have some questions for John to answer or anybody else who has participated...

Is there a discount on the hotel if you mention you are a Krav student? What do you do for meals (breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks?) About how much do you think the whole weekend would be? Around $1,000 covering hotel fee/airline tickets etc?

Thankyou for any comments! :)

[Anonymous]

Hey Leftie!

Maybe if we all stick together and hold out a bit, we'll get them to lower the price... :lol:

Last year they mentioned hotel discounts in the flyer, but not this year, so I don't know... Hotels in LA can be pretty expensive, even simple ones (motels) can charge around 60$ a night.

Are you close enough to drive? Or maybe take a bus or the train, that might be cheaper.

If you can't afford the real summer camp, how about making your own for less money? I know they have some suit training seminars on certain weekends. They are about three or four hours long and taught at the NTC. They cost 99$. So, if you went there on a day one of those seminars was held, you could take the seminar for 99$ and then take advantage of John's offer and train for free at the NTC for a few days. John teaches several classes on Mondays, including a fighting class. There are also regular classes on the weekend. Jarret (he's been doing Krav Maga for about twenty years) teaches Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

That wouldn't be at the beach, but you might still get to train with the same instructors that would be teaching the summer camp and only miss the firearms training and, yes, the party. :cry:

You could go to the beach on your own and then, while you're at it, take a plunge into the cold ocean. 8) Then warm back up by doing Krav defenses on your own or so and maybe, if you're lucky (?) you might even get attacked.:(

Could be fun and less expensive, just an idea, think about it.....

[Leftie79]

Giant,

I highly doubt they will lower the price, but that was a nice try anyway! Thankyou for the great tips, and again about the party...I wouldn't be going to the camp just for the party.

Driving would be very long for me, so flying would be better. I guess I could plan on going to L.A for the weekend and taking a seminar class or take advantage of the free training from the training center. No beach training either, which would be a bummer. I will see how everything goes, maybe I will win the lottery and then I could make it down there. (Wishful thinking on my part though!)

[johnwhitman]

Hi!
I believe there is a summer camp discount at the hotel. For food on the shooting day: in past years we've provided lunch. You can call or email the contact info on the flier to double check.

[Anonymous]

Hey Leftie!

I was just messing with you about the party. I know you'd really want to come for the training. :wink:

If you'd want to come for just a seminar at the NTC, maybe check on the website to see if they list the dates for them there. Or if they don't I could check for you at the center.... They also have gun seminars or knife seminars sometimes (they cost less than that suit training). Might still be fun and you wouldn't have to blow your life savings on three days of training.... :lol:

[FFDO]

Will LEOs be allowed to use our duty weapons for the fire arm training or will every one be using the loaner firarms?

JC

[Leftie79]

Thanks again Giant

[Leftie79]

There are two weeks left before summer camp begins? Anyone here going?

[johnwhitman]

Actually, summer camp is almost full! We have over 30 and we usually try to hold it at around 40.

Regarding firearms...it's a good question. There's no prohibition against it, as far as I know. The only issue is that the price includes gun rental and ammo, and you'd have to see if there's a way for them to break the cost out. Try contacting us at 800-KRAV-MAGA and we'll figure it out!

[Anonymous]

Who will be teaching at the Summer Camp?

[johnwhitman]

Darren and I will teach Friday.
Scott Reitz and his crew on Saturday for shooting.
Sunday will be run by several of our KM instructors but will feature the suit training. Beach training will be KM (less emphasis on conditioning) and I think it's Michael.

[LambsMarch]

Well, my order is 'awaiting payment' but other than that, I'll be going.

I second the previous poster who asked about lodgings. I will be bussing in and won't have a car. What I remember of 20 years of Los Angeles is that the Mass Transit sucks.

So, a little HELP PLEASE! :?

[Anonymous]

I think they have transportation to and from the events, so you would just need to get from the bus station to the hotel. We got a Metro now, don't know if that helps. Or you could get a cab.

Hey John,

What d'ya say, after we get the summer camp out of the way, maybe we can make that day at the shooting range happen?

And if it's a really nice, bright, sunny day, we could bring your car and the paint gun.... :D

[LambsMarch]

<<<so you would just need to get from the bus station to the hotel.>>>

I'll rephrase my question, the same one the former poster asked: I need help WITH lodgings, I'm coming from out of state so I don't know the area. And I have to leave next Wednesday morning, so I should think about having a room booked sometime this weekend.

[chguise]

Lamb,

Resident Inn in Beverly Hills. Tell them you're there for Krav Maga, they sometimes give a discount. It's about a $100 a night and usually you'll find other KM people to catch a ride with.


-chris

[chguise]

Here's the link -

http://marriott.com/property/propert...rshaCode=LAXRB


-chris

[FFDO]

paint ball the car and I am there!!!!!

[LambsMarch]

The one that Krav Maga is recommending is $109 per night, maybe that's as good as it gets for a Los Angeles summer wekend. I'll make some calls and see what we get for $100.00.

Thanks for the responses everyone.

[Anonymous]

All right FFDO!! Finally some support!!! I can't help but notice though, John has been surprisingly silent on the paint ball issue... :lol:


LambsMarch,

Yep, around 100$ is probably about as good as it's going to get. If the hotel is in Beverly Hills, that's a nice area, too. You might be able to get something a little cheaper in a different neighborhood, but you probably wouldn't save all that much. Besides, it may be nice to stay at the same hotel as all of the other guys. And I'm not sure about transportation. I think they have a bus or so, going from and to the different events, but maybe that bus will only go from the official hotel? So, if you stayed in a different one, you might need to make it there on your own each day? Not sure, though. I'm not actually attending the summer camp, that's just what I recall reading in the flyer. Better call them to be sure.

[La Revancha]

\"Regarding firearms...it's a good question. There's no prohibition against it, as far as I know. \"

Actually, John, I believe Brett (ITTS Director) was the only one that used her own firearm. All the others were issued/rented from ITTS.

Unless they have recently changed policies, anyone wanting to bring their own firearm should probably check with ITTS.

But I'm speaking only from last year's experience.

[LambsMarch]

Can I respectfully suggest making this a 'sticky' so we don't have to hunt for it every day? At least untill the event has started or is over.

[LambsMarch]

Well, I went, I saw, and I'm back home.

I couldn't find a room for Thursday night (I'm sure tehre were some somewhere but I couldn't find one) so I bussed through the night (meaning i was up all day and all night) went directly to class from the bus station (meaning up another day) and crashed into bed and then slept for ten hours. I would never have beleived I could have done this but it helped not thinking about it too much in advance.

I did wind up staying at the KM-recommeded hotel. I missed the dealine for the KM rate but still got a decent rate for an executive suite. It really was a great room (no frig or microwave though, but yes coffeepot). My only gripe is that it's so isolated from everything (it's the stack-o-pancakes hotel near Sunset and Sawtelle, the freeway onramp somewheres around there) but they did have a free shuttle but he took us to the Whole Foods Market instead of a regular grocery store so dinner was 15.00. But the food was good and lasted me two days. I also didn't have a bathtub so I soaked my aching feet as best I could in the sink while straddling the countertop. Finally I got a shot at the jacuzzi when no one wa sin it, as joined by one of te other KM students for ahile, that was nice.

So, I won't go into too much detail so as to spoil it for you new ones next year, but I will say:

KM took really good care of us; always bottled water, juice, snacks, fruit for us the whole time.

The physical fitness part was arranged in such a way that even slowpokes like me could still participate even though I couldn't keep up; I didn't have to drop out. I thought that was really good. I estimated three fitness levels at least among our group and everybody got to do something, even if a little slower or more resting.

The bus provided was a great help and the driver(s) were nice too. It was one less worry and let us get more sleep. It was a little late once or twice...well, that beats walking on poor tired feet.

Too much down time at the shooting range. More seating would have helped, more shade would have been better. Instruction and instructers were great and I learned a lot--in the basic class--even though I just took a different handgun course three months ago.

My fellow students were terrific; aside from being really good to work with in class everyone was really generous with resources and rides and stuff between classes too. KM draws a good quality bunch of people.

I managed to get out of there and head home without collecting a single email address or phone number. PM me if you know me from the class.

You all here on the forum, thanks for your help it turned out great and your encouragement and support is what in large part, got me to the front door of Krav Maga.

And finally a question; what do we have to show we took this course (and hopefully passed)? Just our canceled check?

[johnwhitman]

What about all the memories? :D

Actually, certificates of completion will go out this week.

[Leftie79]

I'm jealous of all those that went!

How was the beach training? What did you do?

One other question...anybody get pictures they can share? A link of any sorts?

[LambsMarch]

The beach training was awsome. I won't go into too great a detail (spoilers) but it was interesting to train with a big spell-bound jaws-agape audience. I don't think we got around to everything this time, but maybe next time. We had a couple of instructors just for this phase but I wish we had them for other stuff too.

My only concern is the price. It's worth every penny, but hardly anyone I know can afford it. It didn't stop me--but it's my life. I put myself in harm's way all the time and I really needed something and I think this will do jsut fine. I'll let you know the next time I'm up against an enraged mob as I have been several times already with a lot more opportunities in sight.

One other gripe: You really need to have a reasonable degree of physical fitness to get the most out of this class and that wasn't stressed enough on the website. I know, for lack of anything else, I found a website with the physical requirements for a public servant--police or fire or something. It was something like 20 sit-ups in 1 minute, 15 pushups in one minute, and 1.5 miles run in 15 minutes. I was able to do most of that just before I left for the seminar, even being 46 year old female and overweight. It might have been enough if I hadn't had a medical problem with my feet, plus the grueling travel I went through before I even got there which ran me down and I just wasn't able to bounce back before the end of the seminar even skipping the party to sleep.

So some kind of fitness goals for the participants to meet would be helpful. But as it was, I was able to almost keep up and I didn't have to sit anything out; I walked instead of ran for the beach training. So the physical part was very well thought out and I hope they don't change that.

Edited to add: maybe someone can let the students know there is a forum so some of us can stay in touch. I would very much be willing to do this again in a year or help sponsor someone else to go. Of course, the problem you'll have next year is who to turn away, this was a fairly large class in my opinion.

Pictures: I only got two. There was one young man who didn't want his picture taken so I have to make sure he isn't in them or edit him out, then I will put up a link to mine. I would be surprised if KM didn't take pics or video anything...? Oh, and on'es on the beach!

[Anonymous]

I don't think you'd spoil anything by getting into greater detail. On the contrary, you might get some more people interested for next time. So, go right ahead.... :D