Karate Classes in Athens Georgia

Many people searching for self-defense classes in Athens Georgia believe they will find them in a Karate Dojo. Please continue reading to learn why you would be doing yourself a disservice joining such a place. The large majority of traditional martial arts academies that teach Karate are failing to teach their students actual self-defense. Self-defense isn’t found standing in lines, memorizing dance routines (called Kata) and two-step sparring (called Ippon), breaking dried out boards, and screaming at imaginary opponents. One of the obstacles many Karate schools put up against learning self-defense is the lack of training against a resisting opponent. This is something we call, Aliveness, at SBG Athens. Without Aliveness you can’t truly learn how to defeat an opponent that is trying to win (whether on the mats or on the streets). One can truly only get better at fighting if they are training against someone who fights back. The idea of training against a resisting opponent can be witnessed during any soccer, baseball, football, or hockey practice as well. It’s something that has long been understood when winning is a priority. And when it comes to your safety against a person trying to do you physical bodily harm, isn’t winning all that truly matters. You may be surprised to learn that Coaches Adam and Rory Singer both trained in a very traditional, very hard style of Karate, known as Kanzen Goju-Ryu. They trained under the founder, Shihan Harry Rosenstein, for approximately two years. Harry Rosenstein could trace his lineage through Peter Urban, the founder of American Goju. Around the time they began Karate classes, Rory was wrestling in high school (1990-1994), Adam had just finished up a couple of years in the Navy (where he continued to wrestle), and UFC 1 just debuted in November 1993. After only two years of training and quickly advancing, they were invited to attend sparring sessions with the high-level students and Black Belts. This is where their disillusionment with Karate began. The Singer brothers started to question all the weird stances, defensive structures, lack of fighting in different ranges (there was a complete lack of fighting on the ground, no clinching, or wrestling), and stringent rules that required fighting in very specific ways which only resembled fighting another person doing karate. Their questions were never answered, and their frustrations grew. The limits of Karate couldn’t be overcome. It became apparent that it didn’t truly represent what a fight looked like nor address many of their concerns about what happens when a fight enters the wrestling or ground range. Soon after, both Adam and Rory discontinued their training in search of truth in combat. Don’t get caught up in all the fancy terminology, far east mysticism, and techniques too deadly for training. Let us show you how boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, and Brazilian jiu jitsu not only provides health, fitness, focus, discipline, confidence, and self-esteem; but it also teaches you how to truly defend yourself when it counts the most. Here at SBG Athens we teach the same styles taught to military, law enforcement, and special operators. We teach you in a safe, friendly, and family oriented environment. Not only will you have fun and get a great workout, but you will leave knowing you are more dangerous than when you came.