Is Gokor's school good for beginners?

[ThaiFighter_83]

My friends were telling me it's a good school for experienced grapplers, but a beginner noob like me would just get his ass kicked without learning basics. I'm looking to make a decision soon about a grappling school, and Gokor's is very conveniently located for me. But I don't want to get injured by wrestling with big guys who go too hard. I want to build my skills slowly and safely.

 

[tigerlosangeles]

My friends were telling me it's a good school for experienced grapplers, but a beginner noob like me would just get his ass kicked without learning basics. I'm looking to make a decision soon about a grappling school, and Gokor's is very conveniently located for me. But I don't want to get injured by wrestling with big guys who go too hard. I want to build my skills slowly and safely.

Just jump right in dude youll be fine, very good school.

 

[Delbjj]

How do you think all Gokors guys got so good??

Great place, you are lucky to have such a great school so close to you

 

[HSakurai]

As a former student of both Gokor and Gene Lebell, I'd say you will get very well-conditioned and learn some wicked leglocks and catch-wrestling based submissions, but there's some truth to what your friends are saying. You don't get as strong of a grappling foundation as you might, in say, Jiu Jitsu. Learning to pass the guard? Screw that, there are legocks to be learned! I was there for the summer of 05', so he moved after and he might have changed his curriculum. Just sit in for a class and see if its something you think is right for you.

 

[gogoGomi]

As a former student of both Gokor and Gene Lebell, I'd say you will get very well-conditioned and learn some wicked leglocks and catch-wrestling based submissions, but there's some truth to what your friends are saying. You don't get as strong of a grappling foundation as you might, in say, Jiu Jitsu. Learning to pass the guard? Screw that, there are legocks to be learned! I was there for the summer of 05', so he moved after and he might have changed his curriculum. Just sit in for a class and see if its something you think is right for you.

Youre sig is priceless.

Hayastan is top notch from what I've heard.

 

[Spoonman7]

very good school, high technical level. They do tend to show an incredible amount of moves on any given night and do not always show basic techniques. You have some of the best guys around in there to grapple with, so your best bet is to try it out and see for yourself.

 

[superman3]

Give it a try dude, I trained there for 10 years and we had new comers all the time. One thing I would advise you is to go soon, so you can get some classes from Gokor himself before he leaves on his annual Europe trip. I think he leaves at the end of the month, so you might wanna go check it out soon so you get some instruction from him before he leaves. He should be out of the country for a month maybe, and then he'll be back.

Let us know what you think if you go.

 

[Gordinho]

just skip gokor.

go and train bjj in a legit school. Learn basics!

 

[Zankou]

Gokor is 150% legit, but I have heard beginners say his school is not newb friendly ... it starts at the top.

 

[blanko]

i remember a couple of guys getting excited about joining gokors gym and later they said that their necks were jacked from the neck cranks...

 

[Gordinho]

i remember a couple of guys getting excited about joining gokors gym and later they said that their necks were jacked from the neck cranks...

yes thats the point. Thats why in jiu jitsu you do all the neck and leg stuff in the end of your journal (brown/belt) or just no gi.

I like the "philosophic" of a old school jiu jitsu club most. Work on basic stuff, stay healthy and develop your game

 

[Prokofievian]

Where is Gokor located?

 

[ThaiFighter_83]

If I do go to Gokor and I just jump into the deep waters, what can I do to learn the basics better on my own? I only plan on going to Gokor's twice a week, and I'll be working with my other friends 3 times a week to drill all this stuff. Is there a book or a video or something that lists all the drills I should know before working on Gokor-type stuff?

 

[BJJ in Chicago]

B.J. Penn - My game has hundreds of moves, and I do all kinds of advanced stuff, but I call what I do “advanced basic.” I take the most basic moves and make them as advanced and as strong as possible.


You can know a million moves, but if nobody takes the time to teach you basics, you can be in for a lot of trouble. And F any school that teaches neck cranks as a submission. I'm not paying them to put me out of commission for 2 weeks a month from getting my neck cranked on or my legs / ankles ripped apart.

 

[blanko]

If I do go to Gokor and I just jump into the deep waters, what can I do to learn the basics better on my own? I only plan on going to Gokor's twice a week, and I'll be working with my other friends 3 times a week to drill all this stuff. Is there a book or a video or something that lists all the drills I should know before working on Gokor-type stuff?

because you don't know the "basics" and never will untill you study under a real grappler.

 

[superman3]

Dude I dont know what these guys are talking about. I trained there for 10 years, and I dont remember anyone going in their first day and getting their neck cranked or their legs pulled apart. Maybe someone thought his partner was a little tough on him, and decided to bad mouth on a forum, and this is where the whole "Gokor's place is not good for beginners" started from. This is a contact sport, its supposed to hurt a little, youre not playing chess...But getting hurt badly, I dont remember that ever happening...I even remember when I was partnered up with a new guy, Gokor or one of the sensei's would always warn me to go easy on them. No ones gonna hurt you.

And as for the first couple lessons, I remember Gokor rolled with the new guys and taught them the basics step by step. The guys there are pretty helpful, you shouldnt have a problem.

 

[ThaiFighter_83]

Dude I dont know what these guys are talking about. I trained there for 10 years, and I dont remember anyone going in their first day and getting their neck cranked or their legs pulled apart. Maybe someone thought his partner was a little tough on him, and decided to bad mouth on a forum, and this is where the whole "Gokor's place is not good for beginners" started from. This is a contact sport, its supposed to hurt a little, youre not playing chess...But getting hurt badly, I dont remember that ever happening...I even remember when I was partnered up with a new guy, Gokor or one of the sensei's would always warn me to go easy on them. No ones gonna hurt you.

And as for the first couple lessons, I remember Gokor rolled with the new guys and taught them the basics step by step. The guys there are pretty helpful, you shouldnt have a problem.

Good to know, man. I'm just going to empty my cup and go in there with a humble, respectful attitude. It's a well-renouned school, and I already know a couple guys in there personally who are really cool. If anything, I'll try to work with them mostly. I'll try it out tomorrrow.

 

[superman3]

Good to know, man. I'm just going to empty my cup and go in there with a humble, respectful attitude. It's a well-renouned school, and I already know a couple guys in there personally who are really cool. If anything, I'll try to work with them mostly. I'll try it out tomorrrow.

yeah dude, sounds good. Let us know what happens! Have fun

 

[blanko]

Dude I dont know what these guys are talking about. I trained there for 10 years, and I dont remember anyone going in their first day and getting their neck cranked or their legs pulled apart. Maybe someone thought his partner was a little tough on him, and decided to bad mouth on a forum, and this is where the whole "Gokor's place is not good for beginners" started from. This is a contact sport, its supposed to hurt a little, youre not playing chess...But getting hurt badly, I dont remember that ever happening...I even remember when I was partnered up with a new guy, Gokor or one of the sensei's would always warn me to go easy on them. No ones gonna hurt you.

And as for the first couple lessons, I remember Gokor rolled with the new guys and taught them the basics step by step. The guys there are pretty helpful, you shouldnt have a problem.

Gokor's place is no joke. Tough guy's there. I had a guy snap my elbow durring my first month of training. Never went back after that. But I have been thinking about returning. You will get good pretty quick.

by dboy at page 2 of this thread: http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?t=291307&highlight=Gokor

Wow, my old thread started up again ^________________^. So, here's an update in case anyone was curious. I started at Gokor's, and let me just say that Gokor is a really nice guy that I respect, and knows OOOOODLES about grappling. Having said that, I didn't really like the instruction at his facility, and ended up getting hurt(neck crank) within my first 2 weeks there. After 2 months of recovery I decided to start looking for another gym, and I found JJ Machado's. I've been there ever since, and really love the instruction and the people. I wanted to do only no-gi, but then realized that grappling is grappling, and it would probably be easier to get really quality gi instruction, than no-gi. Also, who better to learn no-gi from than an ADCC champ? Yeah, so there's an update. Almost forgot... Had my first tournament in early December, and had 2 fights(lost them both), but I was so nervous it was like I couldn't think to do anything, and I learned a ton while losing, and had a blast doing it. Interestingly enough, I think my next tournament will be the Gokor No-Gi tournament, which should be REALLY interesting being that I don't really do no-gi at the moment, and I'll probably be fighting people that started at gokor's around when I started(in other words, I'll probably know them).

by hamburgerlegs on page 3 of this thread: http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?t=399938&highlight=gokor+neck&page=3

 

[ThaiFighter_83]

yeah dude, sounds good. Let us know what happens! Have fun

So I went to Gokor's this past Monday, and I liked it! Some of the guys seemed a little rough, but there were still a lot of really cool people who helped me out and went easy. For the most part, everyone seemed really cool and good to work with. One of the instructors even gave me a DVD to teach me the basic, basic stuff, which I'm still gettng familiar with. I also recognized one of the really good guys there from high school, and he said he was going to show me some basic stuff to practice on my own next time, and he said he would wrestle light with me if we ever paired up. Gokor was also a really cool guy too. Very friendly.

Oh, and today I went over to Hollywood to check out 10th Planet at Legends. It actually seemed less beginner-friendly than Gokor's. The class was run the same, but they force you to take 3 private lessons before joining. And honestly, with my schedule, I think I'd only be able to go there once a week. With Gokor, I know I can make it twice, and drill his stuff on the other days of the week with my other workout partners.

I'm pretty certain I'll be joining Gokor later this week. I know I can pick up the basics quick with the DVD that I got, and with some of the stuff my buddy is going to show me. And I'm going to be in the presense of some to the best. I'm really looking forward to becoming a member.