What we’re about
"Does it work?"
HEADS UP- we "vet" members to insure some integrity in our group. Basically? All we are looking to do is make sure people are nice, and orient people enough to what we do that we can filter folk that may not be interested. When you send a request to join, I will have you call me so we can chat for 5 or 10 minutes to do so. :)
Greetings- I'm Petar, one of the co-founders of Lab Rats, and the "gatekeeper"/vetter/orienter etc. for our members. I am a mental health professional, self-defense/MMA coach, and audio engineer. Lab Rats is the name for our FREE self-defense/martial arts/combatives/MMA training group, active since 2000.
Probably the best way to describe what we do, is to explain it FAQ style:
Who are you people?: The existing group are males and females, ages 18-57. I'm the old guy at 57 (thus far). The mean age is probably 30ish. We started as training partners, but have all become friends as well. Lots of nice, smart people, not an ego in the bunch. Some do what we do training for a living in one way or another, there's also a chef, a librarian, a therapist, service folk, and more. There are actually two groups that come together - my existing training group, and the Meetup group that was active from 2017 or something until 2020, the existing group (Lab Rats) continued. There's about 15-20ish of us (including a couple of people that live far away, but come as they can), usually 6-10ish of us show up most weeks, at this point. Members come from as far as Pomona and El Segundo, with occasional visits from NYC, Boston, Arizona, Texas, and Central California.
More specifically, who is right for this group?: Starting from people that want to practice/share/learn "self-defense"/MMA... folk who are over 18, can train safe, don't have egos. Social skills. Definitely, people with social skills. Preferably, people who are dedicated, and want to exercise. Level of experience doesn't matter- we have people that have never done martial arts, and several people who are coaches. We have moderately fit people, and really fit people. Males and females. You don't have to be tough. Members are welcome/encouraged to invite people, but they must also go through the vetting/orientation process. It's appropriate for men's and women's self defense, sport and "non-sport" interests. LGBTQIA+, female, brown, black, yellow, red and more friendly. Pluralistic!
What "style" do you do?: We don't really believe in such. In terms of who can actually teach/coach stuff, there's Muay Thai, boxing, Jeet Kune Do (Bruce Lee's philosophy), Kali (Filipino styles), Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, judo, military and law enforcement combatives, western wrestling and more.
That's a terrible description! How am I supposed to know what it "looks like"?: Of course the best answer is to come check it out. It is very “organic”. People show up and warm up, and depending on who is there/what they are curious about or want to work on, we do that. There is always someone there that can teach what to do to stay out of fights, and what to do at every “range” (standing, clinch, ground . . .), with and without weapons if one is curious.
That sounds intense/scary. I wanna learn self-defense and exercise, but...: Couple things about that. First, in the 24 years we've been running this group, there's never been anyone that needed to see a doctor, though we train 1-4 times a week. If we don't train safe, we can't keep training partners! Most of us do full-contact, non-cooperative stuff, with pretty good intensity. However, we're really good about working with people's comfort level, and always agree on what kind/how much contact. We all sweat and work hard, sometimes get bumps and bruises, but everyone can go at their own pace and intensity. People work as they like, rest as they like, at the level of intensity and resistance they like.
So, what'll I learn?: We're just looking for training partners, and to build community. As such, we don't really "teach", and certainly don't charge a fee. However, all of us are willing to share/coach what we've been taught, from the ground up so to speak. That means you'll pick up how to fight standing, at "clinch" range, on the ground, with and without weapons. You'll also pick up "pre-fight" material- how to avoid fights, situational awareness, "managing unknown contacts" (people you don't know), "tells" (indicators of assault), and more. We do operate from an organized, progressive, body of material, that works from what's most likely to happen, down to what's less likely.
OK, I'm curious about it, and it's free! What now?: It gets a little sticky here. Because of the nature of what we do, we "vet" and orient everyone for the group. We want people that are nice, without egos, and can train safely. Sadly, that's a little exclusive, but we intend on maintaining a level of safety and community. We will do a brief phone chat/orientation to figure out if we want to work together, and to answer any questions you may have.
Where/when, and what do I need?: Where: Pasadena. More details when we email/talk. We are training indoors at a school I am an MMA/self-defense coach at. When: Sunday mornings from 10a-1p, or whenever we get tired. 😊 What: At the beginning? Sweats or shorts and a water bottle. If you wanna really be ready, MMA gloves and a mouth guard. More stuff later.
I can really steal all this stuff from you guys, for free? Do you really know anything? Is this for real?: Unusual, right? Yes to all. Just nice, sane people, sharing what we do for free, in exchange for training partners and community. Imagine that.
