Blackrock area

Ugly Dead Boy

Anyone know of any good karate classes out this way? (Blackrock)Specifically kenpo but I'm open to other suggestions.
Thanks for any help offered.

kenpo_dave

This is the only Kenpo club I know of in the Blackrock area:

http://www.kenpo.ie/contactus.htm

If you dont mind travelling out to Dundrum, I train in www.rathdownkenpo.com

Hope this helps.

vasch_ro

theres wado ruy karate in blackrock

http://homepage.eircom.net/~nmalone/home_b.htm

kenpo_dave

vasch_ro wrote:

theres wado ruy karate in blackrock

http://homepage.eircom.net/~nmalone/home_b.htm

Ye. They are very close to Paul Morans place on Newtownpark Avenue - http://www.ymaa.ie/ - Another club in the area that is very worthwhile checking out. I trained there for a while and that training really started my love for Martial Arts, and at the same time really improved my Kenpo. I incorporated alot of the joint manipulation into my Kenpo techniques.
The Wado Ryu dojo is right beside The Wishing Well pub on Newtown park, just off Newtownpark Avenue, on the 114 bus route.

Ugly Dead Boy

Cheers lads

nij

Don't bother with YMAA in blackrock - I trained there for a few years as a kid, and it wasn't until I started training elsewhere that I realised they are full of ****. They teach basic kicks incorrectly, and have no understanding of biomechanics. Could be dangerous. Also, like other McDojos they charge WAY too much. Their kung fu skills aren't very good, and the teaching method is all over the place, with very little structure (it's pretty much a case of, "Do this, then this.....then go like this...NO you're doing it wrong!") Ugh.

paul moran

nij wrote:

Don't bother with YMAA in blackrock - I trained there for a few years as a kid, and it wasn't until I started training elsewhere that I realised they are full of ****. They teach basic kicks incorrectly, and have no understanding of biomechanics. Could be dangerous. Also, like other McDojos they charge WAY too much. Their kung fu skills aren't very good, and the teaching method is all over the place, with very little structure (it's pretty much a case of, "Do this, then this.....then go like this...NO you're doing it wrong!") Ugh.

Hello njb,

Care to name yourself? I run YMAA Ireland and as I've had over 200 kids train with me for the past 6 years (with a constant waiting list of over 100, the reputation of the club is pretty good and a comment like yours is a rariety, actually it's the first of it's kind;-), since I took over from the previous instructors I am sure I know you and could judge whether your level of training with us "as a kid" is worthy of an opinion of this sort.

Considering you only trained in the junior program, where our motto is "play is the way" and geared towards teaching martial arts over a 10 year period to kids in a fun filled environment!, And also the fact that you never completed the first stage of training (of 3), I know this because anybody who passed the first stage of training would have experienced the full YMAA International program in the evening classes.

In regards to price we are approximately €10 per month cheaper than other clubs on the Dublin area.

By the way I take great offense to the term McDojo and would hope that you have the guts to reply and come out of hiding behind your boards ID!

Regards,

Paul Moran
President of YMAA Ireland

cowzerp

Paul Moran versus nij who will win? you decide, we could call it the battle between ying and yang.

paul moran

No disclosures of who you are yet nij??????

No answer to my pm either?

I'll take it you were affected by the same problems I had logging onto boards today and would expect a reply when I get in from training later tonight.

Have a good evening;) ,

dlofnep

Ah anonymity!

nij

Hello Paul,

Got your PM, so maybe the best thing is to try and reply to both at the same time here.

paul moran wrote:

Did you ever train under me?

Did you turn up to class when your mammy paid for you to attend the classes at YMAA?

When did you begin and when did you quit the classes? Remember classes for kids are only run Sept - June so if your lasted 1 full year you only attended around 24 1.5 hr classes, if your attendance was perfect!

You expect me to remember? I'm not too great with names sometimes, though I do remember the names of the main instructors there.

Yes, my mammy paid for me... who else would have? I suppose you financed your own first martial arts lesson as a child, right?

I took classes for about 3 years initially, and left for about 5 years. When I came back, things were no better.

paul moran wrote:

Would you like to try our free trail week to see if your opinion of our school is a bit blinkered by immaturity?

No thanks.

paul moran wrote:

Do you really believe that your level of training with us justifies a comment like the one you left here on a public forum?

I'm speaking from my experience, as the customer, with YMAA in Blackrock.

paul moran wrote:

Your comment on no structure to the lessons! We have a 10 sash system which has only been completed by 5 students in the 23 years of the school, it is very indepth and would put it in the pepsi challenge against any other school in the world!

As part of YMAA International and taught directly by the Dr. Yang, Jwing Ming (I assume you have heard about him????). Our Kung Fu system is world renowned with over 60 schools in 18 different countries around the world! It has a great reputation across the globe and Master Yang is a Blackbelt hall of Famer amongst many other credits to his name!

Of course I know who he is. I remember they were trying to make us all cough up for his air-fare so he could come and give us a seminar. I also don't give a rat's ass what hall of fame he's in. The martial arts industry is made primarily of BS anyway.

paul moran wrote:

Care to name yourself? I run YMAA Ireland and as I've had over 200 kids train with me for the past 6 years (with a constant waiting list of over 100, the reputation of the club is pretty good and a comment like yours is a rariety, actually it's the first of it's kind;-), since I took over from the previous instructors I am sure I know you and could judge whether your level of training with us "as a kid" is worthy of an opinion of this sort.

Considering you only trained in the junior program, where our motto is "play is the way" and geared towards teaching martial arts over a 10 year period to kids in a fun filled environment!, And also the fact that you never completed the first stage of training (of 3), I know this because anybody who passed the first stage of training would have experienced the full YMAA International program in the evening classes.

In regards to price we are approximately €10 per month cheaper than other clubs on the Dublin area.

By the way I take great offense to the term McDojo and would hope that you have the guts to reply and come out of hiding behind your boards ID!

Regards,

Paul Moran
President of YMAA Ireland

Now, why should I reveal my name? This is the internet FFS, and what I say is my opinion from personal experience. Surely I, the customer, am allowed to express it. Perhaps I should have offered my advise to the OP in a PM, but hey, what's done is done. It's possible that I met you, but I started about 16 years ago, so I don't know if you were there at the time.

I don't doubt that you teach 200 kids a year - martial arts is a great business! Of course the kids wouldn't have a complaint... how the hell would they know any better? You forget, I'm an EX-kid.

Yeah I passed about 4 grades the first time I was there, and still had no clue what I was doing. My voice was sore though from all the shouting and screaming. Once again, there was no structure to learning. It was just a case of "copy me"......"No not that - THIS". I was also quite tired of not actually learning how to fight.

Now, in your PM, you asked me where I was training now, so you could check it out and see if it was any better. This, to me, looks like thinly veiled internet-toughguyism. What...you want to fight me, is that it? Sorry, but this isn't a Bruce Lee film!

I did Tae Kwon Do for about 7 years, and I trained in Exchequer Street TKD club (don't worry, we're not ALL a-holes), and I learned more in the first 2 weeks there than I did during my entire time at Blackrock. Exchequer Street is a great club - no bowing religiously to photographs, just proper, structured learning at a reasonable price (plus unlimited use of the floor and gym), but most of all, it's clear from the moment you see 7th dan Brendan (main guy) in action, that he KNOWS his stuff. I made quick progress there, and enjoyed going back. That's another thing - in Blackrock, they attitude wasn't great. They'd get frustrated at you for not doing something correctly, and expected you to mimic what they were doing. How is that different from freeze-framing a Jackie Chan film?

Also, if you are going to teach stretching and kicking, at least look at a diagram of how the hip joint works, because people could end up with injuries. Kids slightly less so, but still.

To be fair, it's been a long time since I was there, but when I went back there after about a 5 year break, it still hadn't improved (although they'd changed to a different Kung Fu system).

If you say that it is top notch today, fair enough.

Khannie

400 Quatloos on the newcomer!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vji_7vYiLMI

edit: I uploaded that video especially! You'd better lol at it! *shakes fist*

dunkamania

lol


I remember when the simpsons was funny,does that make me old?


Guys,there is no point in arguing over nothing.You both look foolish and are lowering peoples opinions of your respective clubs....

paul moran

Thanks for your reply nij

Got your PM, so maybe the best thing is to try and reply to both at the same time here.

Cool!

You expect me to remember? I'm not too great with names sometimes, though I do remember the names of the main instructors there.

If you remember the main instructors then I know who you are referring to. They were my first Kung Fu instructors and I have alot of respect for what they have done for Martial Arts in this country. But they were not YMAA
Ireland Instructors. As you said they have changed system! In fact the club you trained in no longer exists and hasn't for the past 12 years. You trained under the Pai Lum system in the Wei Chi Kung Fu club from which the current club stems from but in fact has nothing to do with what we teach now! The instructors have all retired and we have fully joined the YMAA International program.

The Pai Lum system (White Dragon Kung Fu) was a hybrid style of many martial arts, some could say it was the first MMA club in Ireland:) The Chief Instructor brought over Master Toddy from Thailand who introduced Muay Thai Kicking boxing to Ireland and from which Bridgestone Muay Thai club in Dublin and Dave Joyces clubs in Galway evolved. The system was more of a self defense program with some very effective fighting. Of course the Kids system is a watered down version of the program. Again this has nothing to do with what we train nowadays.

Yes, my mammy paid for me... who else would have? I suppose you financed your own first martial arts lesson as a child, right?

This was not meant as a dig! What I was inferring is that many of the kids who trained on Saturdays during that time would miss allot of classes due to parties, holiday, etc, etc and would not have honestly trained a huge amount in a short period of 3 years between the months of September and June. Training kids is not the same as training teenagers or adults, there are concentration issues, coordination that need to be built, confidence instilled, it is not all about fighting until the 5 or 6th sash in my new junior program.

I took classes for about 3 years initially

Kung Fu means time and effort. 60 classes of training in a kids environment is not going to give you even a small glimpse of a descent Kung Fu style.

and left for about 5 years. When I came back, things were no better.

If it was so bad why did you come back? How long did you stick around at that time? I get the feeling you returned when the Wei Chi Kung Fu school was developing it's relationship with YMAA International, which may go a long way to explaining your feelings towards the club in Blackrock to which you refer. But again this is not YMAA Ireland:rolleyes:

Would you like to try our free trail week to see if your opinion of our school is a bit blinkered by immaturity?

No thanks.

This invite would at the very least warrant an opinion from you, even if you only trained in with us for one week! After all you did make a derogatory comment about a club and Kung Fu system of which you have no experience with???

I'm speaking from my experience, as the customer, with YMAA in Blackrock.

Again you were never a customer of YMAA Ireland!

Of course I know who he is. I remember they were trying to make us all cough up for his air-fare so he could come and give us a seminar. I also don't give a rat's ass what hall of fame he's in. The martial arts industry is made primarily of BS anyway.

Did you take the time train with him? It was probably one of the first times he was over. It is pretty standard practice that students support the trip and seminars of visiting instructors, otherwise our shores would never be graced with some of the best in the world like Matt Thornton, Royce Gracie etc etc.
Funny enough I don't give a rat's ass what hall of fame Dr Yang is in either (nor does he:) ) But my point was to show that YMAA International has a fairly good reputation. Of course I was making that point before I knew that you had little or no experience of YMAA Ireland!!

Now, why should I reveal my name? This is the internet FFS, and what I say is my opinion from personal experience. Surely I, the customer, am allowed to express it. Perhaps I should have offered my advise to the OP in a PM, but hey, what's done is done. It's possible that I met you, but I started about 16 years ago, so I don't know if you were there at the time.

I thought you might have been a student of mine and if that was the case would have been very surprised at the attitude. I am not sure what FSS means:D

I don't doubt that you teach 200 kids a year - martial arts is a great business! Of course the kids wouldn't have a complaint... how the hell would they know any better? You forget, I'm an EX-kid.

All I care about when I am teaching the kids is that they are safe, are having lots of fun and that I know there is no BS in my school. If a kids sticks it for the long hall great, they'll earn something to treasure and if they don't, at least they'd have enjoyed the experience.

Now, in your PM, you asked me where I was training now, so you could check it out and see if it was any better. This, to me, looks like thinly veiled internet-toughguyism. What...you want to fight me, is that it? Sorry, but this isn't a Bruce Lee film!

If I wanted to fight you, it would not be thinly veiled. I was curious what martial art could be so much better than what I do and love to warrant the comment you made! But again you don't have the correct school to compare your Tae Kwon Do training to. So there would be no need to make my visit:)

I did Tae Kwon Do for about 7 years, and I trained in Exchequer Street TKD club (don't worry, we're not ALL a-holes), and I learned more in the first 2 weeks there than I did during my entire time at Blackrock. Exchequer Street is a great club - no bowing religiously to photographs, just proper, structured learning at a reasonable price (plus unlimited use of the floor and gym), but most of all, it's clear from the moment you see 7th dan Brendan (main guy) in action, that he KNOWS his stuff. I made quick progress there, and enjoyed going back. That's another thing - in Blackrock, they attitude wasn't great. They'd get frustrated at you for not doing something correctly, and expected you to mimic what they were doing. How is that different from freeze-framing a Jackie Chan film?

Also, if you are going to teach stretching and kicking, at least look at a diagram of how the hip joint works, because people could end up with injuries. Kids slightly less so, but still.

I am glad you enjoyed your martial arts, I enjoyed mine so much I gave up a much more successful career, to try my hand at teaching it full time. This is when YMAA Ireland came into existence. About 6 years ago, 10 years after you began your training in Blackrock and around 2 or 3 years after you returned to try out the Kung Fu club again. My math may be wrong but I think this proves my point that your opinion expressed was not about my school at all and should be withdrawn as a case of mistaken identity:D

Kind Regards,

paul moran

Ugly Dead Boy,

Sorry your thread was hijacked! The Asko guys Kenpo Dave referred to are pretty sound and are located just by the wishing well, eh.. as already said. Look up asko or Niall Malone on the web or golden pages and you should track them other wise pm or email me and I'll forward his email addy.

Good luck with the hunt,

cletus

LOL (for khannie);)

dlofnep

paul moran wrote:

Kung Fu means time and effort. 60 classes of training in a kids environment is not going to give you even a small glimpse of a descent Kung Fu style.

I should hope that after 60 classes if I had a son he'd have learned something!

Nothingcompares

nij, very bad form replying to a perfectly legitimate private message in a public forum. firstly because it betrays someone elses privacy and secondly you flood this thread with off-topic nonsense that we don't really care about.

nij, don't want to reveal your own name? than don't call individuals out by their real name.

Khannie

Nothingcompares wrote:

nij, very bad form replying to a perfectly legitimate private message in a public forum.

I actually think that the PM was the wrong way to go. If Paul wanted to take it to PM, he shouldn't have posted a bunch of questions (and an open challenge) in the forum too. Anyway, it looks like it's all calmed down now. I'm just waiting to see if I've won my feckin' quatloos.

paul moran

Private message or public response it doesn't make a difference how I got a reply as long as I did!

Where was the open challenge Khannie??? Don't be reading between the lines 'cause there ain't anything there:)

I simply wanted to clear my school of any misrepresentation by someone who made a comment about it without having any experience of it. The dude never even met me and was sullying my club (and yes businesses) name! I wasn't going to stand for it!

StrateBlastJim

paul moran wrote:

I wasn't going to stand for it!

Good for you.

Khannie

paul moran wrote:

Where was the open challenge Khannie??? Don't be reading between the lines 'cause there ain't anything there:)

Nah, I didn't mean you were looking for a row with him or anything, just that these were, well, slightly provocative let's say.

paul moran wrote:

Care to name yourself?

paul moran wrote:

No disclosures of who you are yet nij??????

I mean...he was never just gonna leave it at PM's with questions like that on the public forum.

paul moran wrote:

I simply wanted to clear my school of any misrepresentation by someone who made a comment about it without having any experience of it. The dude never even met me and was sullying my club (and yes businesses) name! I wasn't going to stand for it!

I totally understand your perspective and response, but from his perspective he had gone to a YMAA club in blackrock twice and he's giving his experience there. That's fair enough too. You're saying it's totally different now and nobody's disputing it so everyone seems happy enough. I think that's where we should leave it.

I still want my quatloos.

Michael O Leary

Hi all,:)

Just to add my two cents.

I know very little about YMAA however I did receive two books one Christmas which were written by Dr. Yang Jwing Ming on the subject of chi-kung. One thing which impressed me about him was that he recognised chi-kung is an imperfect discipline and at the end of the book wrote a load questions on chi-kung that he was unsure about and he invited any other practitioners to put forward their views. This to me indicated that he was open minded and modest with a basic honesty rather than presenting himself as an expert who is never wrong.

Regards,

Michael
www.iewto.org

nij

I was unsure whether or not to reply to the PM publicly, but I decided that it would be best to keep all replies in the same place. Had there been anything truly private, I wouldn't have 'gone public'.

Nothingcompares, I don't know if you've noticed, but the man's screen name is 'paul moran', so what SHOULD I call him?

Now, I've no personal stake in any of this - Somebody asked about places in Blackrock, and I stepped in with my experience.

Funny, I do remember the letters YMAA being thrown around a lot during my time there (must have been the second time round). Perhaps I got my own calculations mixed up. They were teaching Shaolin Long Fist at the time. One other thing - there were both adults and teens in the class second time round.

Paul, I'd never heard of you before yesterday, and it wasn't my intention to 'sully' anyone's name.

I checked out the website, and you're right, things HAVE changed. The site looks pretty flashy now. The logo is the same though. I guess business is booming. We all know that clubs change hands and different instructors step in. Again, if you say things are way better now, then fair enough. All anyone can do is check it out for themselves.

As for Doctor Yang Jwing Ming, all I remember about him is that we all had to bow to 3 photographs of him at the top of the class. He was always spoken of in a semi-religious manner too. I LOL'd when I saw that your website refers to him as, "our master, Dr Yang Jwing Ming". But hey, I'm going OT a bit here - I guess many martial arts clubs are similar!

Take it easy.

Nij

paul moran

Paul, I'd never heard of you before yesterday, and it wasn't my intention to 'sully' anyone's name.

Thank you for your reply Nij,

No photos of Dr Yang at our club, except to show the kids who he is. The other two photos are Grandmaster Cheng (his Whitecrane Master) and Grandmaster Li (his Longfist Master).

Dr. Yang is the closest thing to a father figure outside of family for me and most of the school directors in YMAA who host him and visit him on a regular basis, but there is no holistic/religious slant to our relationship with Dr. Yang in YMAA. But he is "Our Master" and as such is referred to as such!

Goodluck

Ugly Dead Boy

Well cheers for all of that folks, the dramatics too.

AdamIRL343

Hello, i train in ASKO club next to the wishing well off newtownpark avenue. If you want to come train there on wednesday 23rd Jan there will be training. The class there is small but it allows for more personalised training sessions, also there is training in monkstown in Scoil Lorcain on mondays and thursdays at 8. Hope to hear from you


Adam