JKD Bullshido?

shadowboxer21

JKD Skerries?

I Took classes here and to be honest, I left after 15 months as did a lot of others over the previous months. I found it was very unprofessionally run, and very boring most of the time because of a serious lack of any advancement or communication. The instructor was a bit clumsy, uncoordinated, and often kept forgetting his own basic drills and had to constantly start again. We managed to get only one grading done in 15 months because he's not allowed to sign his own grading certs and it needs to be done by his own instructor in Belfast. Grading dates were constantly being changed, venues were constantly being changed and it gives the impression that communication between Belfast and Dublin is very laid back and uncoordinated. It's almost like nobody gives a crap.

I even witnessed people a year ago who hadn't come training in months get handed grading certificates who didn't even know the material.

The teacher is supposed to be a level 2 instructor, but honestly his level of skill compared to several others I have seen in action was like that of a guy who has only been training a very short time and was still not out of the full basic levels himself. After almost a year and a half, doing the same very basic trapping and jab, cross, hook drills week in week out with literally and absolutely no new material being taught at all, with a very loose, laid back and very erratic grading system, myself and a couple of others felt it was a path to handing over money for nothing and packed it in. Honestly, I don't see the place lasting much longer.

I found the whole experience made me feel very negative and disappointed, and after doing a bit of looking into it, I found that the lineage to this school although it does genuinely lead back to Bruce Lee it appears it is NOT ACTUALLY JEET KUNE DO but in fact VERY EARLY JUN FAN GUNG FU.

Although I don't doubt that this guy holds a level 2 instructor certificate, I do have genuine doubts as to whether or not he gained this through years of dedicated training or just from turning up for private lessons, as he does not appear to be nearly as knowledgeable as one would expect nor is he as effortless in motion as many others I have seen at seminars, online and in other martial arts schools.

I have found another Jeet Kune Do school, and have taken a single class there, and already I have seen big major differences in the quality of instruction and material being taught, the level of understanding that the instructor here holds would seem extremely advanced. I took my first Kali / Silat class there last night and again, the differences in the quality of what is being taught is a major improvement compared to what I had been doing in Skerries.

I suppose to an absolute beginner, it would seem quite impressive at first glance, hence why I was there for 15 months, but when you get to realize that maybe the instructor isn't teaching you anything new is probably because he doesn't have anything else to teach, well, that's the point when people leave and don't come back.

To me at least, and I can only speak for myself, the school in Skerries was terrible, and I felt that all I had really achieved in 15 months was a few basics, and the total separation of my money from my wallet. Aside from a very basic understanding and two decent seminars by a guy from the UK, I felt it was not exactly money well spent.

30rock

Dear Sean,

Thanks for the feedback it is genuinely appreciated and I can assure I will take all of it on board and do my best to improve the student experience going forward. I wish you all the very best with your future training.

Kind Regards,
James Devine
Level 3 Apprentice JKD Ireland
Level 1 Trainee Instructor Jason Boh School of Martial Arts.

cletus

Anybody got any popcorn?

Dyr

Ah... the unmistakable sound of an axe being ground