Finding a place to train in martial arts (the type of ones that are useful in everyday life for self-defense and potentially for mixed martial arts, aka MMA) can be tough because most of the top places are corporate-run and don't offer a lot of personal instruction.
They are usually also pricey to say the least with high monthly fees. They can overwhelm the novice martial artist or grappler (jiu jitsu practicioner) at times.
One good alternative to these massive MMA and jiu jitsu places in the Detroit area is Extreme Fitness. Extreme Fitness is run by certified trainer and nationally recognized (by NAGA, the North American Grapplers Association) grappler Cory Craft. Craft has a all the equipment you'll need to get some good MMA or jiu jitsu lessons in his basement, with state-of-the-art mats for rolling around and a big assortment of weights and punching mitts to work on your MMA/muy thai game.
Men, women, and children are eligible to be trained by Craft and he will tailor his programs to whatever type of instruction you would like.
Craft has his eye on opening up his own place in the future after quitting his job as a personal trainer at Powerhouse Gym in Westland, Michigan and taking up the training business on his own.
Grappling/jiu jitsu is definitely Craft's specialty, however. He just finished 4th in a NAGA tournament in Madison Heights, Michigan despite a bad ankle injury suffered in the middle of his first match and he has won tournaments before.
One of his students also took second place in a Great Lakes Jiu Jitsu Tournament recently that was held in Canton, Michigan. The video can be seen here: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=34003952.
The above video is a good demonstration of what a jiu jitsu tournament looks like and also features some good companion videos that show what training is like with a gi on in jiu jitsu.
Jiu jitsu is a good sport to learn because it is a great self-defense tool for winning a fight on the ground. If your opponent doesn't know how to "roll" as jiu jitsu competitors call it, chances are you will be able to beat them even if there is a weight disadvantage. Plus, as has been repeated ad nauseum, about 90% of fights end up on the ground in real life.
The Detroit area has some good gyms for jiu jitsu and other MMA/martial arts training but to get personal instruction, consider Extreme Fitness.
Other services offered by Craft are weightlifting and other cardio-based instruction programs that will get you into the best shape of your life. Craft usually accepts payment by the session for his martial arts and fitness lessons but prices are usually negotiable.
For more information call 734-394-6968 or go to www.extremefitnesspro.com or http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=260679167 to view Extreme Fitness' web pages.
Craft also has one professional MMA fight to his name which was a win via submission, using his impressive jiu jitsu skills, but he gave up cage fighting to focus on raising a family with his wife Janna.
