Well I got my first class review done, visiting Ohana Kajukenbo, located at 12567 Natural Bridge Rd, Bridgeton, MO 63044. I am planning on a follow up class, gas permitting. And after Thanksgiving I will be sitting down to interview the head instructor of Ohana Kajukenbo, Sifu Ken Sills.
So, read on, tell me what you think of my review, or if there is anything you think I missed for future reviews.
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I walked into the building where the class was being held, looking for the place to go. I was told it was an old Circuit City building, which it was. I wasn’t told it was now a church, which would have made it easier to find, but I understand that some people might be turned off by going to a church, for a variety of reasons.
A nice older gentleman directed me to the warehouse section of the Church itself, where the Kajukenbo classes were being held. I expected them to be borrowing some space, and not have much of a setup. I was mistaken and pleasantly surprised.
I walked in to find a section of the warehouse fenced off and solely for the use of the class. Two light heavybags hung from the ceiling, on opposite corners of the room. A Mook Jong (Wooden dummy) was in another corner, still shiny and the rope where the face would be still white.
The mats on the floor were thick and soft, and the class doing jiu-jitsu was putting them to good use. On the walls was a large banner of Ohana Kajukenbo, a Bruce Lee poster on another, and a couple of scrolls with Chinese writing on them. By a desk and a small refrigerator was pictures of Sifu Sills and various people and some certificates. Sifu Ken Sills came up and introduced himself to me, and his senior student, a Brown Belt whose name escapes me at the moment, did so as well.
As the Jiu-jitsu class wrapped up, I signed a waiver, and warmed up while other students arrived. We lined up, in order from highest belt rank to lowest, (myself and a young lady who was attending class for her first time as well). We were shown the correct way to bow, which was more to do with hand posture than anything. As Sifu Sills and his senior student stood facing us, they performed their long bow and towards the end, commanded us to bow.
Then they moved each of us to a station, being one of the two heavy bags, the Mook Jong, the senior instructor holding pads for combination work, and some light Kettlebell exercises.
I started working on one of the heavy bags, with punches and elbows. One punch, and wow that bag is a lot lighter than I thought, given how much it swung away from me. A little repositioning so it bounced into the wall and back to me, and being reminded to tuck my thumb in tight to my hand when throwing my punches, and I was doing ok. The alarm sounds on the laptop telling us that two minutes has passed, and to move to the next station. One minute of rest, then Kettle bell work. I should have grabbed a heavier kettle bell.
Next up was the Mook Jong. Work on wing blocks with a simultaneous strike to the face. Easy enough.. if I was doing it right. In Kajukenbo they want you to strike with the knuckles first... this was going to hurt. So I did as instructed, from a Horse stance. After two minutes and some bruised knuckles, I got to move on. The redness would heal, and nothing felt broken. (Still a little sore after a week, need to get some Jow on it, and next time wear wraps or gloves)
Finally we all worked through the various stations and rested for a few minutes. Then we were paired with someone to work on kicking. Fairly standard throwing round kicks to an opponent. Then switch shield to your partner.
Switching partners, we worked on knee kicks. Grab your partners pads and pull them down into the knee while bringing it up. Same routine as before.
Switching again, we moved to defense against someone either trying to shove you, or charging at you. Which was a simple rising deflection and stepping out of the way.
Finally we worked on lapel grab defense, and if you could do them without hurting your partner, joint locks on the wrist.
As class wrapped up, we formed our line again and bowed out, same as the bow in.
Sifu Ken Sills is a gentleman. Very nice and very friendly. Everyone in his school was very sociable and introduced themselves with a smile. They offer the Jiu-jitsu classes, as well as Tai Chi and Kettlebell exercise classes, and others which I have not had a chance to try out. In my following interview with Sifu Sills, I will endevor to find out about his training, his certifications, and more.
The rate structure, as on their website, has it so that 4 nights a week of training would run you $100, for Jeet Kun Do and Kajukenbo classes. The price is about average for martial arts training in the St. Louis area.
The classroom is good. The bags need someone holding them, or more weight added if you are a strong striker.
The Instruction is good. I didn’t need much one on one time or have many questions my first night, but the class was small and I could have had more one on one time with one of the instructors if I needed it.
The class is very friendly and welcoming, regardless of your age or sex. Everyone came up and introduced themselves.
The only real issue I could see is that some extremely religious (or anti-religious) could have issue with it’s location, and for the $100 a month you could find a school with its own building. But we all have to start somewhere, and I am not going there for worship or to be converted, I am there to train in a martial art.
For more information about this school, you can visit their website located at:
http://ohana.kajukenbo.org/index.html
Or read a great story about some of the community work Sifu Ken Sills does here:
http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=224087
For more information regarding Kajukenbo, please visit:
http://www.kajukenbo.org/
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