Posted by Kirkland on October 30, 2003 at 08:02:33:
In Reply to: Re: Kirkland,Real info requested posted by Stunik2000 on October 29, 2003 at 19:46:00:
Didn't think it was you who commented. Makes you want to go down and sign up with them doesn't it?
I don't know much about local Tae Kwon Do although I've heard that Jae H. Kim (and thankfully in no related to all the hype here) is pretty good. I've met some of the schoos students and they like the training. Nice people too.
Brian McDonald in Watertown Square has a good reputation. There are several places on Moody Street in Waltham. Up the far end, towards newton, is a mixed hard style (not the moo) where I've seen some pretty cool ground fighting.
There's also the American Jiann Shyong Kung Fu Academy in Cambridge on River Street. It's set up like a universilty where styles are broken out into segments and offered on a weekly basis. I spent some time there and you are taught directly by Kay-Chi Leung & Lin-Lin Harn. They offer both Internal and External styles. They teach some Northen Shaolin and Mantis which you might like. They don't have a belt system so you can walk in learn long form and short sets to the best of your ability.
I recomend you just go an try some free lessons. You say you don't like the internal arts and in thirty years you'll probally be a tai chi master. You never know when you'll stumble across something you like. I've tried several schools and didn't join. Nothing personal to the school. I've read that it takes a serious martial art student three years to find a school to train at.
Sorry I can't be of more help. I don't really know a lot about hard styles in the area.
Good luck.