J John10 days agoFrom
UC Berkeley doesn't allow anything functional. It is "dangerous." It is "toxic masculinity."
What is really dangerous is presenting arts like Yangmudo as self-defense courses. If you use the techniques presented there you will get hurt. The only art they have here that is at all functional is Judo, but it is practiced with gi's only. They have Karate but is 90% kata and shadow boxing.
The only reason to join any of these programs is if you want to compete in a specific sport such as TKD. Besides that it is worthless. They are scared to even let you do techniques with a partner most of the time. It's a ridiculous place. There is much more demand in the student population for arts such as Jiu Jitsu, wrestling, Muay Thai, etc., but they won't allow it.
Han F10 days agoFrom
I have been a member of the Yongmudo Club for several years. The club is run as a non-profit by volunteers, so it is much affordable than commercial gyms. The instructors are incredibly knowledgeable, many of them are Cal alumni trained under the founder of the UC martial arts program. Yongmudo used to be called Hapkido --- the name change and the unfortunate letter Y drop us to the bottom of the alphabet. Compared with other clubs, Yongmudo is more self-defense oriented, and has a diverse instructor body. You can learn punches, kicks, throws, submissions, and weapon forms from various schools. People can argue what is the right way to punch or kick; I like the view taken by our instructors --- the right technique should be based on the knowledge of the human body, an evaluation of your surroundings and of your partner. I miss the pre-COVID years, when we have lots of partner exercises, throws, groundwork, and simply more interesting people coming to the gym willing to do stupid moves. Hope things get back to normal soon.
D McPherson10 days agoFrom
The Self-defense Yongmudo club here is fantastic! The curious instructors create an atmosphere of friendly learning, mutual respect and listening. They each bring a different perspective from their unique backgrounds in the martial arts, and the mix of methods helps find the right technique that will suit your size, reach, weight, etc as well as how you like to approach sparring. We learn how to safely use grab escapes, armlocks, throws, grappling, punches, kicks, rolls, and falls! An excellent way to get exercise and push yourself to get stronger without the mind-numbing repetitiveness of treadmills or weight-lifting. The Yongmudo club empowers you to think and your feet and fight for yourself against people bigger than you. Highly recommend checking out their classes. The first few lessons are free drop-in, so no excuse not to drop by!
