Fighting/Self Defense In Oklahoma City?

Question

Im interested in fighting/self defense in oklahoma city area..

Something that is geared towards real life situation like street attacks than a fancy "martial art"

Answer 1

What the h**l is a 'fancy' martial art?

You sound like those brutal boxing thugs.

Answer 2

Hi.

I live a few states away from you so I can't give you the name of a school to go to but I can give you a few pointers for finding one for yourself.

I would first start by looking online, typing in your area code (and surrounding area codes if you need more options) with the key words "martial arts" and/or "karate".  Also the yellow pages will likely have all (if not most) of the martial arts schools in your area cataloged.

Some of them may advertise themselves as self defense schools; these would obviously be a great place to start.  Call them up or visit these schools and ask questions about what they teach and exactly what emphasis they place on self defense.

Ask to sit in on a class to see what is taught and how it is taught.  You can also ask to participate in a class, some schools will allow you to do this for free but others may charge a relatively small amount of money for the introductory or trial class(es).  This is usually fine so long as it isn't too much; it's worth it if it means finding a good school to train at.

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Cautions:

Ask if they have contracts, if they do this may be a sign of a "belt factory" or "McDojo" in where they will try to get you locked into paying for several months or even a year or more of classes even if after only a few you realize the training falls short of your expectations.  I have seen this many times and people are sometimes out as much as a couple grand.  This is a legitimate business practice though so don't disregard a school completely if they have contracts, just make sure that it's a good school and that it's what you want to do, in other words just be careful.

Ask how long it will take to get a black belt, even if getting one isn't important to you.  People have different opinions on this topic but I personally believe that it should take no less than a few years, on average perhaps four to five.  If the answer is only a couple years or if you will contractually get a black belt within a set period of time then you have probably stumbled onto a "belt factory", a studio that gives out belts as an incentive to continue to train rather then awarding them based on any real accomplishment.

Also be weary if there are large fees for belt testing or for any other extras for that matter.  Schools will sometimes get people to stay by forcing them to invest large amounts of money with them, if you want to quit you face the prospect of having spent thousands of dollars for essentially nothing.  However just because there are fees it doesn't mean they are trying to rip you off, they could just be trying to cover their expenses (cost of belt, cost of uniform, cost of sparring gear, etc...).  You'll need to judge for yourself what you think is reasonable.  If you really have no idea then just continue to look around and compare to other schools.

Large fees for getting a black belt are usually ok as you've had plenty of time to decide whether or not the school/style works for you and is filling your needs.  Schools may need to officiate your black belt with their parent organization (among other expenses) and this can cost some money.  I have heard of some ridiculous black belt fees, up to several grand!  So again, you'll have to judge for yourself what you feel is reasonable.  I personally don't think a couple hundred is terribly unreasonable so long as the school still has plenty to offer you.  (For comparison, my school charges fifty dollars for black belt testing, a very good deal compared to many schools.)

If you find any of these situations it probably means that the quality of training is simply not there and is therefore not a good school, much less a good self defense school.

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Any style of martial arts will have movements and techniques that are applicable to self defense but what matters is how much emphasis is placed on this aspect.  

Just because a school doesn't advertise themselves as a self defense school doesn't mean they don't emphasize self defense, so take the time to look around to find which school is right for you.  This along with which style is right for you will probably have a lot to do with the instructors and atmosphere of the school.  If the instructors are ineffective then it doesn't matter what style is taught, you will likely learn very little.  

Also if the atmosphere of the school isn't conducive to learning self defense but is rather geared toward competition or something else, then again it won't matter what style it is that you are learning, you may learn very little practical application for it at that school.

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If you want somewhere a little more specific to start looking try searching for Kenpo Karate in your area, these styles tend to be geared toward self defense.

I hope this helps and good luck finding a school :)