Frequently Asked Questions How many classes do I have to take in order to be able to defend myself? The answer to this question is something most "self-defense" instructors don't want you to know and that is.........You have the ability to defend yourself right here and now! One thing it is important to understand is what you mean when you think of self defense. The question you need to ask yourself is "What am I fighting for?" Are you fighting to "win"? Are you fighting to subdue? Are you fighting to look cool? Are you fighting to impress others? All of these are ego based mindsets and NOT what Centerline Gym is about.  The goal at Centerline Gym is to help you understand what your best options are and to provide a training ground for you to test those options against an aggressive opponent in a realistic but safe way. The training at the gym focuses on self-preservation first and foremost. This means fighting to survive. This means creating a window of opportunity for escape. With this mindset, an understanding of awareness, attacker profiles, pre-fight psychology, and a good base of core fighting delivery methods, you will be less likely to have a violent incident and more able to deal with it should the situation arise. There is no "fluff" taught at the gym. Pretty, complicated maneuvers are left out. What we prefer to focus on are skills which take relatively little time to learn in order to have more time to work on developing the ability to apply them. Can women really defend themselves against a bigger, stronger, violent attacker? YES! It is very unfortunate that many women have been conditioned to believe that they are too weak or helpless to be able to defend themselves. It can sometimes be difficult for women to shake this conditioning and believe in their ability to fight back. There are too many people promoting the idea that submission is a woman's only survival option. This is simply NOT the case. By utilizing proper awareness and avoidance skills and effective tools and tactics any woman can defend herself against and aggressor. Will this training help me to get in shape? It can. Self preservation training is an athletic endeavor first and foremost. More important than technique, are the attributes that make those techniques work. Technique without timing, strength, endurance, power, speed, or proper mechanics is like having bullets, but no gun. There must be some way to deliver these techniques or they are useless. Athletes at the gym spend a good deal of time developing these attributes using the heavy bag, pad/mitt work, sport specific endurance training, H.I.I.T, scenario training, "accordion drills" and lots and lots of sparring using progressive resistance. Can I focus all of my training on just one area? That depends. The beauty of private training is you have the opportunity to choose what areas you want to focus on. Many student arrive with a good stand-up game already and want to learn ground fighting. Some have a good ground game, but want to learn weapon defense or do scenario training. This is no problem. Things are not quite as flexible in the group classes for obvious reasons. How long is the course? There is no set course length with the exception of the OC Spray course. Each person develops at their own pace and brings their own unique set of attributes. There is always more to learn and we can all improve on what we already know. Block prices are available for those who are interested in intensive study or who have limited time (ie. people from out of town). What makes training at Centerline Gym different from training at other martial art schools? At Centerline Gym the focus is on training for the reality of violence. We are only concerned with helping students to gain functional ability in self preservation skills. This means having a synergistic approach to incorporating emotional, psychological, and physical tools. There is no ritual. There are no titles. There are no uniforms. All training is personalized to the individual student.