What Others Say About Target Focus Training
What I’ve learned has definitely escalated my skills to a whole new level.
When I came to Tim Larkin’s training in Dallas…I was doubtful as to whether or not someone could take a weekend training and be able to apply it effectively and especially in a lethal way, which he is talking about in all the advertising. Well, surprise of all surprises — simplicity is the key. And what he has to teach is so simple that I’m literally telling you a person with no training and whatnot, going up against a street thug or somebody trying to intimidate or take you out on the street, has the tools within his grasp to immediately end that situation — and fast. What I’ve learned has definitely escalated my skills to a whole new level and I didn’t come here expecting that. Again I was scrupulous and doubtful before coming here but I’m leaving very, very confident in what I’ve learned in the material and it’s moved me to another level. So I really highly recommend Tim Larkin’s TFT training — it kicks ass!
Matt Furey – World Kung Fu champion and Combat Conditioning expert -
Tampa, FL
TFT is totally different from what I’ve been taught to do in Tae Kwon Do!
Sean Mullins -
Bakersfield, CA
Descriptions of trauma and biomechanics worth the price alone.
As a martial arts journalist and researcher, I’ve had the opportunity to meet the best and brightest in the world of combat, spend time with them, study their ways, learn their techniques, and pick their brains for what it is that makes them or their methods unique and outstanding. I’ve researched traditional martial arts firsthand in Asia, Africa, and North America, and taught for over 10 years in such esteemed centers of learning and research as Caltech, UCLA, and the RAND Corporation. The Live Training weekend I spent with Tim Larkin and the TFT Group in Las Vegas ranks in my top 3 combative learning experiences.
As a martial arts instructor, there are many skill sets that become subconsciously wired into what I do. I don’t think about how to punch, kick, throw, or lock. I just do it. But there’s a “disconnect” sometimes when I’m faced with a student that just can’t latch on to what I’m demonstrating physically. The reverse can also be said when I’m learning from a teacher who can demonstrate perfect technique, but can’t explain it to save his life. That’s when the ability to explain concepts clearly and effectively is utterly crucial.
Larkin has done all the homework necessary for anyone to be able to latch on to his Target Focus Training system. The delivery of information is carefully orchestrated such that everyone from a teenage schoolgirl to a S.W.A.T. team sniper can access, assimilate, and apply TFT to successfully disable an assailant within a matter of hours. Larkin and his team have paid careful attention to every detail of word choice and training environment to create a learning situation that is faster than any other I’ve seen to date. This program is of the highest educational caliber.
Even if you think you’ve seen it all, you know it all, and you’ve done it all and got the T-shirt, Larkin and his team of instructors make it worth every penny you spend just to hear the high quality explanations of what makes some techniques work and others fail. As a medical professional, I can tell you that the descriptions of trauma and biomechanics are worth the price of the seminar alone.
If you can make it to a Live Training session, get there. Nothing teaches the TFT principles better than experiencing it firsthand. And if you can’t get there, get the Live Training DVD’s. Even seasoned instructors will find better ways of comprehending and explaining things that they’d been doing for years. No matter what your level, Larkin’s explanations make the video series a steal!
Mark Cheng, L.Ac.D.
Columnist and Contributing Editor, Black Belt Magazine,
Director, Chung-Hua Institute for Chinese Medicine
& Martial Arts Research
Los Angeles, CA
Exactly as advertised — intense, targeted, focused training designed to produce immediate results.
Intense, effective, highly recommended. An incredible experience. Larkin and his instructors are the absolute best in their field. Everyone else is four steps behind. What I liked was the intensity, the lack of unnecessary info, jargon and fluff. A complete focus on the fundamentals, the total concentration on results. With this system: 1) You will learn what Larkin says you will learn, and 2) The course is exactly as advertised — intense, targeted, focused training designed to produce immediate results.
Mark D. Fabiani, Crisis Mgt Consultant -
La Jolla, CA
My first experience [with TFT] was life changing. In fact a lot of the principles are diametrically opposed to what they teach you in other martial arts. In my first experience with martial arts, I ended up behind someone and had a wide-open kidney shot and was immediately chastised for taking it even though it was an opportunity that presented itself. Well, this is the other side of that coin, where they say, If you see it, take it; use the target. Again, it’s totally different than anything else I’ve ever experienced. It is very safe, with emphasis on control. I’ve taken 3 or 4 different versions of martial arts and combat training in the military but none of them prepared me for a real time, on the street, someone sticks a gun in your face, grabs you from behind situation — none of them have prepared me for that like this course did.
Nick Camp -
Dallas, TX
I have spent considerable time, money, and effort in the past on various martial arts like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Krav Maga, etc. and after the success of this weekend, I wish all those other “Arts” would give me a refund. Never feel like you waste any time. Everything is streamlined with a purpose and offers a physical learning that “sinks in” even before you have conscious recall of all the targets you were just introduced to.
Brian Ozinga -
Santa Monica, CA
Very different from any other Martial Arts or Fighting classes I’ve taken.
Greg Weber -
Arvada, CO
I like martial arts a lot, so Ive trained 4 or 5 times a week for years. I’ve done a lot of tournament fighting. What I like about TFT that was so different is the shift in mindset. In martial arts it’s all about points. When we do Shotokan, it’s points. When you put a punch, you stop. You punch and pull back. I’m a typical headhunter, always hitting to the face as I’ve been taught. It never occurred to me to hit somebody in the groin or neck, which could do so much more damage as I learned here. All my years of training taught me never to hit first and then once I do hit, to stop, to just defend myself and not to do damage. Now, coming here, I realize I could kill someone if that’s what I needed to do to defend myself. That’s empowering!
The other thing that is really good about this course is I’m small and here I had to fight really big guys and when I applied the techniques I could easily take these guys down. It gives me a lot of confidence. I don?t feel helpless. If I’m in a group of guys now and somebody tried to grab me I know I?m not going to get hurt because now my thinking is first, ‘How am I going to hurt him?” It’s a very good feeling, very empowering. I like that. I like that a lot.
Kris de Jesus -
Las Vegas, NV
I want to thank you for telling the truth re self-defense and violence. I am a Brazilian Juijitsu fighter and at the age of 52 I know what works and what just looks good. There are so many “belt mills” in America fooling countless young men and women into thinking they are prepared for street violence. A voice like yours is greatly needed and appreciated. Thanks again.”
Byron Massey -
DeBary, Florida
I’ve trained as an amateur boxer, then judo, Japanese karate, Korean karate to 6th degree level, full contact fighting in Japan with Tai kick boxers, plus many street altercations, and not one of my many teachers ever explained the impact our strikes had on the central nervous system. I’m a lot older now and no one understands the anxiety of not being quick enough or fast enough for someone like me who’s had competitive athletic skills. Then 3 days with TFT and realize I can now inflict more damage than I could with all the years of training. Thing is, so can anyone else going these same 3 days. This can be taught to anybody, from a skilled fighter like myself to a CEO coming out of a corporate office. In 3 days he can become a better fighter on the street than 90% of real fighters because of the focus taught by TFT. You don?t need all the years of effort.
It’s changed my entire structure of thinking. Now I realize it’s no good getting in a gym and kicking a bag 50 times with each leg, and throwing roundhouse kicks in bunches because when you get into an altercation of a serious nature, your bag training, that’s how you’ll react– just kicking at someone. Now with TFT I’m not kicking at someone, I’m going directly for a target. I think of all the years of practice that could have gone to other things — and I’d still have been a better fighter.
George Davis,- International Financial Consultant -
Laguna Beach, CA
I have 15 years of training, Tae Kwon Do to Aikido, a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. I never stuck with one for more than 2 years like lots of folks. Each got redundant. I felt I walked out of the dojo without anything I could practically use on the street. So I hopped from one to the next until I discovered Tim Larkin, and basically found what I’d been looking for all my life. I basically came out with more practical information in two days than I did in 15 years of studying martial arts.
…Given the underlying parameters of what TFT has to offer, it doesn’t reduce itself to a fistful of questions. Questions I used to have really answer themselves very quickly with this system. And you can absorb and learn it in 3 days here. This is my 3rd live training, and even though I got it the first time, I wanted more. Amazingly, each session, even though it’s the same introduction, is totally different. Tim never uses the same techniques workshop to workshop even though the principles are the same. That’s what really drives it home; the time they spend explaining why something is happening really drives it into your brain. Then getting on the mat and actually implementing it gives you a concrete feel for it. No esoteric concepts like I’d seen in the arts, especially in the Eastern arts I’ve studied. This is very practical. And it’s something that you can implement the moment you leave the door; it’s yours for the taking.
…The transformation you’ll see manifests itself in terms of confidence, not only to handle yourself in situations but being able to assess a situation. You know whether something is really a threat or some guy is just drunk and fooling around. After this training, all that gets very very clear. You realize this is not about an arm-bar you learned or something your uncle taught you, this is life-and-death, and you say to yourself, “Hey, I’m not going to use this unless I absolutely have to.” And that really changes your mindset a lot.
…When I was 20 or 25 studying Tae Kwon Do, it was fun hanging out in bars sort of hoping something would happen so I could have a chance to throw my combinations. But learning TFT brings you up to a new level. You’re actually averse to that. You want to avoid it because for the first time in your life you come to terms with how violent kicks, punches and strikes in the right places, can be. And even if the other person didn’t know what they were doing, even if they accidentally hit you in one of these places, you understand the damage it could do to your central nervous system. And that’s unlike any schooling I’ve ever had before. In addition I’ve studied a couple other types of combat martial arts as well, military type, and TFT still comes out ahead in its simplicity, its ability to learn it in such a short period of time, in its ability to walk out this door right now and use it if you needed it. When you understand the lineage and the history behind TFT, where the instructors came from, where they originated from, their military background, then you understand why it was so simple. I feel very blessed and fortunate to run into this.”
James Jankiewicz, Video Artist -
New York, NY
Common Items for Self-Defense
When we think in terms of weapons for self-defense, we often think in terms of guns and knives. These are not good choices for self-defense weapons for the most part, because in many areas, it is illegal to carry them, and in many instances, there is a great risk that the weapon will be taken and used against you in the event that you are attacked.
Have you ever noticed that we seldom pay attention to what is in plain sight? Ordinary, everyday objects get little attention from us — and are likely to get little attention from anyone else. Instead of using “traditional” weapons for self-defense, consider using some ordinary items.
Ideally, anything that has weight and/or a point can be used as a weapon. Let’s take a look at three “ordinary” items that could qualify as a weapon.
1. An umbrella — for use as a weapon, the newer, fold-up type umbrellas really don’t work well. You need one of the older-style umbrellas that have a metal point on the end. These are usually larger, and have a cane type handle.
2. A purse with a strap — we’ve always been told that clutch-style purses are safer to carry than strap-style purses, because the straps can be cut and the purse easily stolen. Carry a strap-style purse, with weight in it — but carry it like a clutch, with the strap firmly wrapped around your hand, and the purse hugged close to your body.
3. Keys — As you can imagine, keys won’t do any real damage to anyone if you stabbed with them, but they do considerable damage if you stab in the right place. Hold the key ring in the palm of your hand, with the longest key protruding out from between your index and middle knuckles. If attacked, literally punch with that hand holding those keys in that way. Aim for the eyes or the softest part of the throat, at the bottom of the neck.
As you can see, a self defense weapon doesn’t actually have to serve in its normal capacity as a weapon to be used as one. There are many other “ordinary” items that you can use in your self-defense as well. For best results, make sure that you have more than one with you at all times.
Can You Really Learn Martial Arts From DVD’s?
If learning how to defend yourself is your goal for learning Martial Arts you owe it to yourself to check this out. Click Here.
There are many Martial arts DVDs on the market. Some of them are good and some of them are crap. But is it really possible to learn martial arts from a DVD? Below are my thoughts based on studying several different martial arts over the past 20+ years.
First of all let me say I believe that “all things being equal” almost everyone will learn faster and be better with in-person instruction from a qualified instructor. A big part of this is the feedback you will get from the instructor or higher ranking individuals. This will prevent you from practicing the wrong thing, and can bring to light little nuances that can drastically improve your technique and skill.
All Things Being Equal
That is a very important part of the statement in the previous paragraph, and by that I mean you will learn more from Instructor X in person than by watching Instructor X’s DVDs. That doesn’t necessarily mean you will learn more from instructor X than by watching and practicing the techniques in Instructor Z’s DVDs. And you will certainly learn more from good DVD’s than learning from a book or sitting on your butt and doing nothing. The fact is there are many legitimate reasons for not taking lessons in person with an instructor. In these cases if you follow some good training practices and have a training partner or two you can learn a lot from DVDs. Below are some reasons to consider learning Martial Arts from DVD’s:
- There are no instructors in your area that teach the style you want to learn.
- You do not like the training style of the classes in your area.
- You are already in a class or have been, and want to learn new techniques or get a different perspective.
- Your schedule does not fit with the classes offered in your area.
- The cost is too high for the classes you want to take in your area.
Some benefits for learning from Martial Arts DVD’s
- Can learn from some of the top instructors in the world
- Can learn at your own pace
- Can watch the technique over and over again until you fully understand it.
- Can always go back and watch techniques to refresh your memory
- Can focus on the type of training that interests you. (self defense, kata’s, basics)
- Less expensive
So while it is usually better to have in-person instruction. Learning from DVDs have many benefits and sometimes are your only choice for learning certain techniques. For those interested in the meat of any Martial Art – Learning how to defend yourself. Here are some of the best DVDs on the market.
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