At Police Judo, we believe that the best way to learn how to control the human body is to work with the human body. And if we accept that humans tend to perform the way they train when operating under stress, the type of training Police Judo provides for aspiring law enforcement officers (in whatever capacity be it security, corrections, sherifs, police, etc.) is helping them become best prepared and equipped to place hands on individuals when the situation requires it.
There are plentiful opportunities for improving physical conditioning in the Lower Mainland, ranging from Cross-Fit type training to recreational gyms. Being involved in sport or training and getting in peak physical shape is a great asset for policing and at Police Judo we support any effort to maintain a high level of physical conditioning. It is all good. From the pedestrian community centre gym through to the high level jiujitsu program, any time invested into improving physical conditioning (and doing what one likes) is a positive undertaking and will provide good benefit.
However, with busy schedules, and limited time, the serious student pursuing a career in law enforcement is best to start training the way they are going to work and learn the most appropriate functional fitness for the unique demands of their job.
There are some very athletic and fit people who are spending a lot of time working with one dimensional weights, heavy bags that provide no resistance, hanging from bars that won't hurt them, etc. This is completely different than working at developing appropriate police judo throws, balance dills, footsweeps, break falls, takedowns, limb extraction, two-on-one training, and groundwork drills suitable for policing and self defence using (yes - go figure) a real person.
Police Judo is about developing conditioning and fitness as well as a blueprint for proper, ethical use-of-force skills one may need in the field. Being strong and fit is an important part of the equation, but if individuals are assuming that this is a straight translation into a natural skill set for taking an aggressive and combative individual into custody, they may be a little disappointed in how they perform in real life. Can't recall the last time a police officer had a fight with a tractor tire or a kettle bell.
Martial arts training that involves working out with other participants needs to be appropriate for the unique demands of the law enforcement (i.e. police officers don't want to be dragging someone to the ground to embark on ground fighting as the ground is not a good place to be for anyone in law enforcement, conversely trying to resolve problems with striking "ground and pound" training is also more than inappropriate).
In order to look at the general costing of Police Judo vs. other fitness programs out there, we asked a student to research pricing. Below is the table showing the average costing (these are general snapshots and there may be some variation in pricing for the programming) of various fitness programs in comparison to Police Judo. It should be noted that the JIBC and TTC Police Judo programs run 2x a week for two hour sessions. SFU Police Judo runs 3x a week for two hour sessions.
Considering that at any given practice, between the various black belt instructors on the mat, there is usually several hundred years of martial arts experience and decades of operational police experience represented, there is a pretty decent bang for the buck. And why not get in shape learning something that is going to be very practical and useful for a career in law enforcement?
Crossfit
*all Crossfit Affiliates require that their patrons complete a “Fundamentals” program to learn the proper exercise technique. These private or semi-private sessions range from 5-10 classes and cost between $350-$800
$180/month no contract*
$165/month, 1 year contract*
MMA/Brazilian Jui-Jitsu
$180/ month unlimited, no contract
$150/ month one discipline, no contract
$125/ month, 1 year contract
$100/ month one discipline, 1 year contract
Boot Camp Group Fitness Classes
$300/ month unlimited, 1 month contract
$169/month unlimited, 12 month contract
Boxing
$125/ month, no contract
Yoga
$110/ month unlimited classes, no contract
Tae Kwon Do
$100/ month
Steve Nash Fitness World Membership/ Park Board Fitness Centre Membership
*depending if there is a contract signed
$25-$90/ month*
1 Tim Hortons Doughnut and 1 Double-Double Every Day for One Month
$70
Spin Class with Park Board: 10 tickets
$50
Police Judo at the TTC
$200 for 4 months – no contract
(Sworn Police Officers: Free)
Police Judo at the JIBC Police Judo Club:
$200 for 4 months – no contract
(Police Officers and LESD Students: $100 for 4 months)
