Briones Kajukenbo Karate

Anonymous Q makes invalid statements. We've been students of Briones Kajukenbo for about four years. We've always observed Sifu Briones as open to answering any questions or concerns raised by his...
Published 7 months ago by R G. More

Anonymous Q makes invalid statements. We've been students of Briones Kajukenbo for about four years. We've always observed Sifu Briones as open to answering any questions or concerns raised by his students. Sometimes, people find it easier to complain in an anonymous forum as this instead of asking for the answers directly. Sometimes students get angry and blame their teacher, coach, etc. if they don't progress as quickly as they would like. In any case, here are counters to every one of Anonymous Q's claims. *The insurance company requires a contract to prove that the student understands the risks involved in martial arts. *All retail stores charge markups. Consumers are free to shop wherever they choose. *We've received certificates after every successful test, just not on the same day. *Have you been to a recent test, or an advanced self-defense or sparring class? Students at lower levels are not expected to take falls until they have reached a certain skill and control level. *Again, students at a lower level have to start somewhere. The advanced students incorporate all kinds of strikes in their groundwork, though not with full force on another student because their level of strength would seriously injure one another. *Uniforms and patches are a tradition of Kajukenbo and many other martial arts. It would be a disgrace to our tradition to wear sweats or shorts to class. *You've obviously just been to a children's class. Our underbelts are not advanced enough for hand-to-hand combat. If you had observed a test, tournament, or advanced class before supposedly reviewing us you'd have seen a much greater increase in power and technique. *Sifu doesn't like to see his students get injured and stresses the importance of safety while fighting, which is why we've had so few serious injuries. On the other hand, Sifu stresses that in a real situation on the street he wants his students to be able to take a hit without falling apart ... unlike many other schools, we actually practice taking punches. *We do work on memorizing pinans, because they are just as important as self-defense and sparring. Self-defense and sparring teaches us the hard, sudden movements of fighting, and pinans require memorization and concentration because of their complexity and length. They also emphasize the techniques that make Kajukenbo an art form. *As far as your designation of our martial arts being "simple" and "watered down", we focus more on straight up street fighting than impressive kicks, jumps, etc that, while very impressive, do nothing in a real fight but provide openings for attacks. As for your comparison of our style to the "original version", we are proud to be descendants of Adriano Emperado's exact style--nothing but the smallest details have changed over six generations of Kajukenbo. *We're not sure what Q's ideas of "certified" are, but Q might want to re-research the qualifications necessary for a certification. Sifu's instructor, Sigung Tony Kattengell, re-certifies Sifu regularly through vigorous testing and our school remains approved by Sigung because Sifu exceeds his high expectations. *Sifu has the students who are going for higher belts spar against five attackers at once during their tests. And we do focus on pinan memorization in our tests as well, it makes up a sizable aspect of each one. It takes years of studying any martial art form to completely understand all aspects of it. As students of Sifu, we still have a lot to learn. Since you've obviously been to only a couple of Sifu's classes, you can't say that you know all about our school or art. Finally, anyone who posts slanderous, uneducated statements as "anonymous" shouldn't be taken seriously. Rhya & Zack Gilliam
Published 7 months ago by R G. Less

Are you kidding me? Have you seen his kids in action? Have you attended any of his Brown Belt classes! Which belt test have you attended? I have a son who is a Brown Belt of "Sifu" Briones, and let...
Published 7 months ago by Kevin C. More

Are you kidding me? Have you seen his kids in action? Have you attended any of his Brown Belt classes! Which belt test have you attended? I have a son who is a Brown Belt of "Sifu" Briones, and let me tell you, he does get hit. His ground work is devastating! He was the Grand Champion in his division for self defense at the 2007 Shark City Nationals in San Jose. He was able to achieve this because of the training he receives from “Sifu” Briones. And let me tell you, there is no “jumping into a horse stance and punching the ground” as you put it. It is hard old school Karate. I can say this as my background is also in Martial Arts; I studied the Japanese art of Goju Kai. And out side of that I have also studied Kenpo and White Crane Gung Fu. So I feel that I am a qualified reviewer of this Dojo. I do not agree that Pinans are only used to fine tune contact sparring. Although sparring is a big part of it, the Pinans help students in there discipline and stamina, something that I doubt you really understand. If you were a true martial artist you would not use this forum to bash a quality school such as Briones Kajukenbo. As far as your comment about “Sifu” Briones, you are off the mark again. Sifu has under gone rigorous training from Sigung Tony Kattengal. And trust me, If Sigung Kattengal did not think “Sifu” was a qualified instructor, he would have never allowed the doors of Briones Kajukenbo to open. In closing I think that you are doing all who train in the martial art a real disservice. And if you are a Kajukenbo practitioner, you are doing yourself and your school an even bigger disservice.
Published 7 months ago by Kevin C. Less

Sifu George is fantastic with kids and teaches them discipline, respect, and how to defend themselves. His kids do great at tournaments and love him.
Published by Marian B.

Sifu George is fantastic with kids and teaches them discipline, respect, and how to defend themselves. His kids do great at tournaments and love him.
Published by Marian B. Less

I am sorry to say this is a McDojo. *They require contracts (6 months-1 year) at $100+ a month. *Requires to buy sparring gear that can only be bought from the dojo at $130 (you can buy the...
Published by anonymous q. More

I am sorry to say this is a McDojo. *They require contracts (6 months-1 year) at $100+ a month. *Requires to buy sparring gear that can only be bought from the dojo at $130 (you can buy the exact same brand and equipment at $80 or less) *testing fees are $40 (belts only cost $5) there are no certificates either, so no need for printing costs. *Instructor raves of how this art is the best and talks about candy karate at other schools. (when you barely get hit at this school.) *There is no real groundwork. (They think groundwork is jumping into a horse stance and air punching at the ground.) *Uniforms costs $40 and patches are $40. (which adds up to $80 just for a uniform). Uniforms are also required. *Despite what is said on their website, there is no real fighting going on. They do a technique and barely tap the other person. Then they go into a horse stance and air punch, while the other person is just laying there. *Teacher exaggerates a lot of stuff, saying there are rib fractures and broken bones at testing to convince what he is teaching is real kajukenbo. (There has never been one and you could see if you went to one of the testing, that it would be impossible.) *Kajukenbo emphasizes more contact sparring than pinans/katas. That pinans/katas are only used to help fine tune contact sparring. Here, it is totally different. Everybody emphasizes memorizing pinans/katas and other series of moves instead of applying them. *This should not even be called kajukenbo because it is water down so much. If you compare the pinans/katas they are much much simpler than the original versions. *The instructor is not even a certified sifu of kajukenbo. *there is no sparring at testing, whereas, kajukenbo is primarily a contact art. It is not a pinan memorizing art like some others cont. Yes I am the same person that wrote the google review one, if you want to read the rest then see briones kajukenbo on google maps. Then press reviews.
Published by anonymous q. Less