Let me start by saying I have already posted about RDS. I am doing a formal review to let others know that RDS might not be their best option and to try other gyms before leaping into it.(Like I oh so foolishly did.) I will be doing pros and cons then Ratings following guidelines. It also contains some info on me, in order to help explain some of the scores.
Pros: Like a family, albeit dysfunctional, with some exceptions for the Krav hardliners (don't like anyone because they are "the next Imi")
Tactical Black (added sparring/ tactics aka main selling point) was nice, introduced me to VERY basic jiu-jitsu and decent boxing
Weapons defense are very good, and one of the few things I am taking away from this system.
Head instructors sometimes use guys who have done TKD or in my case wrestling, to prove points about what to do and what not to do.
Fitness classes were amazing and helped me drop the last two pounds of water before making weight for wrestling.
Cons:
Possible McDojo
Insanely high prices for minimal training.
No sparring in Krav Maga, you have to pay extra, upwards of 100 dollars...but its for advanced training.
Focused on adult self defense as opposed to everyone self defense, e.g. If you are in a bar, do this. If you are in a high school, I dont know what to tell ya, hit em with a math book?
Discouraged ''habits" from other martial arts, such as any type of grappling or MT/ kickboxing.
One of the instructors told me I was useless and that wrestling was " a stupid style, not a sport, and would never be successful for fighting." I asked him to explain...I would submit you in so many ways if you shot on me."
RATING:
Aliveness: 2-3 in Krav Maga classes. Reasons are, no sparring, repeated demos of the same techniques (I swear to God, one more time doing that same Goddamn choke from the front.)
6 in Tactical Black. Even with excessive gear, and limiting strength to like 20% it was pretty good. Better suited for people who don't like to get hit. (Why train striking if you fear being hit?)
Equipment: 7-8. We used worn old standing heavy bags until they bought two BOBs. We also used some SIRT pistols a few times in Tactical Black but not Krav Maga, and there was a seminar with tactical SIRT gun training that was incredible. The mats were ok, but too hard for people not used to being slammed onto mats.
Gym Size: 6. two dance studio sized rooms, with bags crowding corners and 2 bathrooms. (Convenient) Running into other students is only sometimes a problem during drilling, but usually, people have enough space.
Instructors: 5-7. Usually our head instructor opened class and the Instructors in training taught. No set curriculum was and is a factor. However, the reason I went to 7, is on certain days, the head of Krav Maga for all of Arizona came in and taught advanced stuff, e.g. Rifle disarm, and grenade disarm. Then in Tactical Black, we'd continue it.
Atmosphere and attitude: Can vary 1-8. Some assholes and hazing of new guys took place, but mostly it was a big happy Krav family.
Striking Instruction: Varies between Krav Maga and Tactical Black
Krav Maga: 4-6. We learn and then train Hammer fists, heel palm strikes, groin kicks, and knees from a sort of modified Muay Thai clinch. Only these four. Maybe varied, sometimes side and round kicks thrown in, sometimes elbows, but rarely. And we train them on pads. Pads were held to a chest, except for kicks and knees.
Tactical Black: 6-8 Very generous is Clinchfighter. Basically kick boxing at 20% with an emphasis sparring exactly the way you are told. (For me out boxing, because I'm a slightly above average guy in height, not super tall, but tall.) I called myself CLINCHFIGHTER for a reason. Its where I prefer to scrap, ever since I learned clinch boxing from a family friend at age 5. (Elderly black war vet/boxer "Uppa-cut son. Colla tie, and pull the sumbitch into an uppa-cut.) Getting scolded for fighting this was a little disappointing, but other than that, not bad. Since we actually hit each other, I gave it a few more points than the Krav Class.
Grappling: Again, varies from KM to Tactical Black.
Krav Maga: 5-6 we learned some basic grappling, such as mount escape and sprawling (both of which I knew from wrestling). We also learned that if caught in a Rear Naked Choke, you're fucked, so you want to hit them in the nuts. (Not bad, except for when new guys actually rack you in the nuts cause they panic when it gets locked in.)
Tactical Black: 6-8. We were shown situational takedowns, such as an ankle pick from muay Thai clinch, and a wrestling style redrop from MT clinch as well. On the mat, we learned basic sweeps such as the scissor sweep, and sweep from Mount to Half guard. We learned some basic submissions that were for "tactical ground fighting only, such as guy in your guard reaches for a knife, you use a triangle choke. Also we practiced arm bars once every while, and leg locks rarely. The only submission I took away was an omoplata we learned from the previously mentioned head of Krav Maga for Arizona, Jay Ackerman.
Weapons: Krav Maga 2-3. Compliant partner, no contact. Could be unrealistic sometimes.
Tactical Black: 5-7 Good weapons training, medium contact with gear, and the aforementioned SIRT pistols, in addition to rubber knives and foam sticks.
Krav Maga Average score: 4.45
Tactical Black Average score: 5.61
TOTAL AVERAGED SCORE OF REACT DEFENSE SYSTEMS:
5.03= Mediocre to Average
Conclusion: As you can see, this gym is not a total waste of time, if you want to supplement your training (Avoid the contracts, pay the 3 month, not the cheaper year, it will bite you in the ass. Avoid Tactical Black, if you aren't looking for a long term deal, because that contract is as restrictive as a blood choke) but if you want to train to seriously fight, avoid this place. You are better off learning MMA and then adding eye gouges and groin kicks to your styles. Any questions don't be afraid to ask. This was my first review ever, and I'm still kind of new to Bullshido, so be kind.
-Clinchfighter
Pros: Like a family, albeit dysfunctional, with some exceptions for the Krav hardliners (don't like anyone because they are "the next Imi")
Tactical Black (added sparring/ tactics aka main selling point) was nice, introduced me to VERY basic jiu-jitsu and decent boxing
Weapons defense are very good, and one of the few things I am taking away from this system.
Head instructors sometimes use guys who have done TKD or in my case wrestling, to prove points about what to do and what not to do.
Fitness classes were amazing and helped me drop the last two pounds of water before making weight for wrestling.
Cons:
Possible McDojo
Insanely high prices for minimal training.
No sparring in Krav Maga, you have to pay extra, upwards of 100 dollars...but its for advanced training.
Focused on adult self defense as opposed to everyone self defense, e.g. If you are in a bar, do this. If you are in a high school, I dont know what to tell ya, hit em with a math book?
Discouraged ''habits" from other martial arts, such as any type of grappling or MT/ kickboxing.
One of the instructors told me I was useless and that wrestling was " a stupid style, not a sport, and would never be successful for fighting." I asked him to explain...I would submit you in so many ways if you shot on me."
RATING:
Aliveness: 2-3 in Krav Maga classes. Reasons are, no sparring, repeated demos of the same techniques (I swear to God, one more time doing that same Goddamn choke from the front.)
6 in Tactical Black. Even with excessive gear, and limiting strength to like 20% it was pretty good. Better suited for people who don't like to get hit. (Why train striking if you fear being hit?)
Equipment: 7-8. We used worn old standing heavy bags until they bought two BOBs. We also used some SIRT pistols a few times in Tactical Black but not Krav Maga, and there was a seminar with tactical SIRT gun training that was incredible. The mats were ok, but too hard for people not used to being slammed onto mats.
Gym Size: 6. two dance studio sized rooms, with bags crowding corners and 2 bathrooms. (Convenient) Running into other students is only sometimes a problem during drilling, but usually, people have enough space.
Instructors: 5-7. Usually our head instructor opened class and the Instructors in training taught. No set curriculum was and is a factor. However, the reason I went to 7, is on certain days, the head of Krav Maga for all of Arizona came in and taught advanced stuff, e.g. Rifle disarm, and grenade disarm. Then in Tactical Black, we'd continue it.
Atmosphere and attitude: Can vary 1-8. Some assholes and hazing of new guys took place, but mostly it was a big happy Krav family.
Striking Instruction: Varies between Krav Maga and Tactical Black
Krav Maga: 4-6. We learn and then train Hammer fists, heel palm strikes, groin kicks, and knees from a sort of modified Muay Thai clinch. Only these four. Maybe varied, sometimes side and round kicks thrown in, sometimes elbows, but rarely. And we train them on pads. Pads were held to a chest, except for kicks and knees.
Tactical Black: 6-8 Very generous is Clinchfighter. Basically kick boxing at 20% with an emphasis sparring exactly the way you are told. (For me out boxing, because I'm a slightly above average guy in height, not super tall, but tall.) I called myself CLINCHFIGHTER for a reason. Its where I prefer to scrap, ever since I learned clinch boxing from a family friend at age 5. (Elderly black war vet/boxer "Uppa-cut son. Colla tie, and pull the sumbitch into an uppa-cut.) Getting scolded for fighting this was a little disappointing, but other than that, not bad. Since we actually hit each other, I gave it a few more points than the Krav Class.
Grappling: Again, varies from KM to Tactical Black.
Krav Maga: 5-6 we learned some basic grappling, such as mount escape and sprawling (both of which I knew from wrestling). We also learned that if caught in a Rear Naked Choke, you're fucked, so you want to hit them in the nuts. (Not bad, except for when new guys actually rack you in the nuts cause they panic when it gets locked in.)
Tactical Black: 6-8. We were shown situational takedowns, such as an ankle pick from muay Thai clinch, and a wrestling style redrop from MT clinch as well. On the mat, we learned basic sweeps such as the scissor sweep, and sweep from Mount to Half guard. We learned some basic submissions that were for "tactical ground fighting only, such as guy in your guard reaches for a knife, you use a triangle choke. Also we practiced arm bars once every while, and leg locks rarely. The only submission I took away was an omoplata we learned from the previously mentioned head of Krav Maga for Arizona, Jay Ackerman.
Weapons: Krav Maga 2-3. Compliant partner, no contact. Could be unrealistic sometimes.
Tactical Black: 5-7 Good weapons training, medium contact with gear, and the aforementioned SIRT pistols, in addition to rubber knives and foam sticks.
Krav Maga Average score: 4.45
Tactical Black Average score: 5.61
TOTAL AVERAGED SCORE OF REACT DEFENSE SYSTEMS:
5.03= Mediocre to Average
Conclusion: As you can see, this gym is not a total waste of time, if you want to supplement your training (Avoid the contracts, pay the 3 month, not the cheaper year, it will bite you in the ass. Avoid Tactical Black, if you aren't looking for a long term deal, because that contract is as restrictive as a blood choke) but if you want to train to seriously fight, avoid this place. You are better off learning MMA and then adding eye gouges and groin kicks to your styles. Any questions don't be afraid to ask. This was my first review ever, and I'm still kind of new to Bullshido, so be kind.
-Clinchfighter