Starting next week… Francis Fong or ATL kravmaga&fitness?

[sololegendary]

Hello,

I am FINALLY, starting my combat training, beginning next week, and I have thus far been set on Atlanta Krav Maga and Fitness, in Roswell… BUT THEN… I found a academy within 7 miles of me called the “Francis Fong Academy”. Now this is the “official” Inosanto academy designate for Georgia, and is a direct student of inosanto. Everyone who trains students there, are also inosanto students of kali/bjj and silat.

My question is….

Would I be a fool to pass up the chance to train under Sifu Francis Fong himself for Kali and Bjj to learn just Krav Maga exclusively?

I can learn both Kali and Gracie BJJ together for $140 a month(special rate), and if i wanted to add Silat, it would be $190. Krav maga is $110 a month I think.

I am getting into martial arts only for the self defense, and I know krav maga is great for that. But then again, Kali is ALSO great for that, and theyd be teaching me weapons from the start. I don’t care who you are… a guy with a knife is gonna own you, if he knows how to use it and you’re unarmed.

So just wondering. Francis Fong academy or krav maga?

Thanks.

[stuartf]

Re: Starting next week… Francis Fong or ATL kravmaga&fitness?

I don’t know anything about the Fong Academy other than what you mentioned in your post. I do train at Atlanta Krav Maga and Fitness though, and I love it. Everyone I’ve trained with there is great, and if you’re worried about lineage we’re KMWW so there’s a direct link to Imi, and we have 2 of the 3 black belts in GA. Also, there’s a promotion going on right now that if you sign up for a year by the end of Oct you get a free t-mobile g-slate. As for weapons training, all Nov, Tuesday nights at the Roswell location 8pm there are stick defense classes open to all members.

All that being said, you should try a class at each and see which you like better.

[esquire32]

Re: Starting next week… Francis Fong or ATL kravmaga&fitness?

Hi.. Of course as this is a Krav forum it’s a no brainer that most here are big advocates of Krav as am I. However, I used to train at a facility where they had a full instructor under Inosanto and it was an impressive group of people.

Personal opinion.. if you could only do one.. I’d give the Kali and BJJ a shot and fill in with Krav in the future. Krav is faster and simpler to learn, so go with the complex and supplement it with Krav when time, etc allows.

I think you’d find the concepts ran a lil deeper and there was more to it. Both of those are more martial arts than comative defensive system IMO. Thus, they are designed to be learned over a much broader time frame and thus you explore a greater depth of knowledge. Plus the BJJ add on is great. It fills in alot of holes most defensive systems possess. From my understand, effective as some of the groundwork is in Krav it is still very rudimentary. Effective but basic.

So id say what is it you seek.. quick and effective, or more in depth and long term.

[don]

Re: Starting next week… Francis Fong or ATL kravmaga&fitness?

I started training in JKD/FMA long before I became sworn and added BJJ long before I was fortunate enough to start training in KM. I dabbled in some other stuff too but I consider JKD/FMA to be my “home” art/system.

That being said, IF you are just “starting out” (training in MA/MMA/etc) AND you are scheduled to start a police academy in the very near future (as you wrote in another post), Then I would suggest you look into training KM first and then adding JKD/FMA/BJJ/whatever later.

I say this because, IMO, you’re going to need to get “up to speed” very quickly and it would be good to have something more readily applicable to LE rules of engagement under your belt. Not saying that JKD/FMA/BJJ is NOT applicable to LE work – just that you might have to do more picking and choosing on what you can use or you might have to modify things more to fit your needs.

E.g. our department curriculum is heavily KM based – not only on actual techniques but on training methodologies as well. We don’t have much time with our students; we may not see those students again for sometimes Years; and many of them have no previous experience in fighting/training. Under those conditions, I am very comfortable with teaching KM techniques and principles. If/when I have more time and/or have students who already have training/abilities, I am happy to share my JKD/FMA/BJJ/whatever experience/knowledge as well.

[prestojo]

Re: Starting next week… Francis Fong or ATL kravmaga&fitness?

Dependss on which of the two is more valuable: training with Sifu Fong or superior self defense training? Not judging, but that’s what it boils down to, and there is no shame in choosing to train under ANY respected instructor.

[sololegendary]

Re: Starting next week… Francis Fong or ATL kravmaga&fitness?

I appreciate the responses. They have helped. Thank you.

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