Concrete ‘Jitz: Ground Survival Workshop with Michael VanBeek, May 28th!
“Real Solutions to Real Problems for Real People.”
Please join us in welcoming respected self-defense instructor Mike VanBeek to Forteza!
What is Concrete ‘Jitz?
Working from the ground back to your feet, Concrete Jitz covers every thing you need to know about defending against violence while on the ground.
This is not your daddy’s Jujitisu. While Mike’s jitz is strong, he has learned that the game changes when you are facing violence in the street, rather than an athlete on mat. This workshop is about stopping violence’s ground game cold, and getting you home safe.
While he basic’s of ground-fighting will be covered, there is material here that will benefit grapplers and self-defense enthusiasts of all levels. So, whether you are an accomplished grappler or are looking to add ground skills to your self-defense, this is the workshop for you.
Topics covered:
- Why are we on the ground? (getting knocked down)
- Defense against a standing opponent.
- Defense against a mount.
- Defense from your guard.
- Getting back up.
- When can I access my weapons?
- How do stop the other person from getting to theirs?
About Your Instructor:
Renowned practical self-defense and personal protection instructor Michael VanBeek is the man to teach you how to defend against street-level criminals, because he knows their world from both the inside and the out.
Early in life, Michael was enrolled in special-education classes and given the drug Ritalin. As a result, he endured constant bullying. To compensate for his small and skinny stature and the social stigma of being in special education, Michael’s mother enrolled him in his first martial arts class in 1978.
Earning several different rankings in various traditional arts, Michael stumbled upon Jeet Kune Do in the late 1980’s. This art, made famous by its founder Bruce Lee, led VanBeek to train with many of the greatest martial artists alive. In the early 1990’s he not only maintained a victorious cage fighting record but also trained with firearms and tactical weaponry as a professional body guard, while finishing his education in Criminal Justice. As a security guard in the greater Chicagoland area, Michael was exposed to a side of self-defense/fighting not often seen in the martial arts. After spending most of his life in martial arts, working in bars and clubs, body guard training, setting records in cage fighting, earning black belts and obtaining a Senior Instructorship in Bruce Lee’s Art of Jeet Kune Do, Michael VanBeek thought he had it all figured out. He was wrong – almost dead wrong.
His life took an unexpected turn and in 2004, divorce and job loss left him in a severe depression. Within two years Michael VanBeek, the once honorable Sifu, was now using drugs and alcohol to escape his depression and isolation. He very quickly found himself homeless. From the one side of Chicago to the other, Michael’s goal was survival and in many circumstances, fight or die. Whether fighting to stay alive or fighting to feed an addiction, this was not the life of a once respected martial artist. The Cook County Department of Corrections became yet another challenge.
VanBeek turned his life around, re-entered the world of martial arts and reconsidered his career. He chose to dedicate his life to teaching people to defend themselves against the violence of which he became a part – the violence that almost took his life.
After a few years modifying the way he taught martial arts, Michael conducted violence survival seminars throughout the country and met other instructors with similar experiences. Soon, FOCUS opened locations nationwide. With a unified goal and service to train people to save their lives from real violence, without the rituals, uniforms or the time required by most training systems, Michael VanBeek created “Real Solutions to Real Problems for Real People.”
Today, Michael spends most of his time in service working with special needs children, lecturing and presenting seminars on Counter-Violence to families, corporations, security firms, organizations and individuals. In addition to running his company, VanBeek speaks to groups about performance-related matters, using his story to inspire others.
You can learn more about Mike and his work at: http://www.focuscounterviolence.com/
When, Where, How Much:
Sunday, May 28th
11:30 AM
Forteza Fitness
$75 pre-registration $100 at the door.
In this workshops we will cover basic and advanced strategies for the transition from gioco largo to gioco stretto (long to short measure). We will also focus on the flow of grappling toward striking and back to grappling, including:
