I highly recommend GMAT to anyone interested in learning self-defense but intimidated by what they see on TV (UFC, MMA, etc.). The instructors are highly professional, know their stuff, and can explain each move with a level of detail that is highly beneficial for any beginner of the art or practitioners trying to improve their skills. All instructors make you feel welcome and encourage an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual learning that is hard to find in many schools. GMAT is certified by the Gracie family and follows their curriculum, which is easy to follow and allows you to build on each lesson, teaching moves that can be used in a street fight and not moves that can only be used in competitions. You get access to videos of each lesson so you can practice on your own and go over each move before and after class.
I am a Law Enforcement Officer; I trained in a different school for 6 months and was discouraged by the lack of a true curriculum I could follow, the fact that you start rolling with any belt after three classes, never having enough time with the basic moves to do anything other than get beat on every roll for six months and get injured often, and the total emphasis on competition versus real-life applications left me wondering why I was spending so much time and money doing this. This is how many schools operate, and there is nothing wrong with that; it is just not what I was looking for or needed. I drive 45 min each way to GMAT, I have already used many of the things I learned here in real life in law enforcement with real people, and I can tell you that this program works! Give it a shot. You won't regret it.
