I have been a member of the Duke Roufus Online Striking University (DRSU) since 2014.
I joined not too long after the Duke Roufus Online Univeristy first opened and have been a member since then.
So in this post I want to provide you with an honest review of the Duke Roufus Striking University based on my own experiences of learning online through DRSU over the last few years.
If you a regular reader on this website then you should know that we are focussed on learning online and through solo training.
This is the approach I took as back in 2013 up until today in 2020, there are no muay thai gyms or academies in my country.
When the chance to join DRSU and access high level coaching from a well respected coach in fighting, I knew I had to join up.
But by signing up to DRSU I was looking to follow a structured curriculum that would help me learn muay thai from the ground up as a beginner.
And I can say that I have not been disappointed with DRSU over the last 5 years.
Who is Duke Roufus?
The Roufus family is a highly respected family in the martial arts and kickboxing world in the United States.
Duke’s brother, Rick Roufus was a world champion kick boxer and Duke himself is a former world champion.
Duke retired from fighting in 2002 and finished his pro kickboxing career with a record of 36 W (26 KOs) – 8 L – 1 D.
Among his list of titles are:
- 1998 I.K.F World Super Heavyweight Champion
- 1997 K.I.C.K World Super Heavyweight Champion
- 1996 W.K.B.A. World Super Heavyweight Champion
- 1995 W.A.K.O World Super Heavyweight Champion
- 1995 I.S.K.A World Super Heavyweight champion
- 1995 W.K.A World Super Heavyweight champion
- 1993 W.K.A North American Super Heavyweight Champion
In fact Duke Roufus brings 40 years of experience in fight knowledge and he gives great detail and depth in his instruction.
Now that his attention has turned to coaching Duke has coached some of the best strikers at the high level of UFC including Anthony Pettis, Sergio Pettis and Tyrone Woodley.
Duke Roufus Online – Benefits
Structured Weekly Curriculum
One of the major benefits of being a DRSU member in my opinion is the structured curriculum.
For someone like me who was learning muay thai and striking as a beginner with no access to live training or instructors, the DRSU curriculum is extremely valuable.
The DRSU curriculum consists of 30 Weeks of material which is high audio and video quality and high level instruction from Duke himself.
The best thing is that the weekly curriculum starts from the very basics of stance in Week 1 and moving onto Footwork in Week 2.
The next 28 Weeks take you through the full DRSU system and all is available completely online.
An added benefit is that the online weekly curriculum is the same taught live at all Roufusport affiliate gyms. This means you will be able to fit in fairly smoothly if you are able to train at an affiliate school if you are travelling.
As part of the latest DRSU online structure, An advanced Weekly curriculum has been added to DRSU 3.0 which includes 13 more weeks of instruction to take your muay thai fundamentals and foundations to the next level.
Video Access to Seminars/Webinars and Fighters Camps
In depth seminars and webinars on specific topics such as elbows, kicking, combination striking, sparring and a really in depth clinch seminar are valuable video to sessions to learn from and watch over and over again.
The fight camp videos of UFC fighters Tyrone Woodley, Anthony and Sergio Pettis and seminars by Alan Belcher make this extremely useful section a huge benefit of DRSU online.
Building on the weekly curriculum, these seminars/webinars will allow you to learn more in-depth through focussed video learning sessions that you can watch anytime!
Weekly Updates
DRSU is updated regularly with new content on a weekly basis.
Weekly updates come in the form of training tips from Duke, coaches at DRSU and pro fighters who share what works and has worked for them.
A wide range of topics are covered in the weekly updates, and it is safe to say that with all the hundreds of hours of video footage available to learn from, the weekly tips will only add to your training experience for the better.
Striking Across Disciplines
Another great benefit of accessing DRSU online is the in-dept knowledge DUke Roufus has in the striking game that he shares across the disciplines of muay thai, MMA, kickboxing and boxing.
Muay Thai
Duke Roufus has a vast amount of experience training in Thailand at prestigous gyms such as Jockey Gym as well as bringing Thai trainers to live with him and train students in the United States.
All this he shares on the DRSU platform.
Boxing
Duke also fought professionally in boxing and shares his experiences along with Coach Cush who is on the DRSU team and who also has a vast amount of experience in boxing which is available at DRSU.
MMA/Jiu Jitsu
Having coached and mentored UFC stars such as Alan Belcher and Segio Pettis as well as former UFC champion’s Anthony Pettis and Tyrone Woodley, Duke provides valuable insight into MMA striking.
Bellator, UFC and pro MMA fighters under Duke Roufus also provide training tips and tricks and technique breakdowns which are available through DRSU.
Kickboxing
As a former kickboxing world champion, Duke provides specific bag work drills and training tips to develop your kickboxing. Pad drills, sparring drills and specific ‘homework’ are part of the DRSU platform also which you can access anytime online!
The DRSU platform also features guest videos by high level strikers such as Tiffany Van Soest, Bryce Frank and DRSU coach, Coach Nicols.
Interaction with Duke
Duke stays very active on DRSU and weekly videos are sent out by email, on YouTube and posted on the DRSU platform for members who have full access.
Currently under the ‘Ask Duke?’ section of DRSU, DUke has 54 videos where he addresses specific questions from DRSU members on a wide range of topics in striking and muay thai.
He continues to add to this video section regulalrly.
There is also a discussion forum available on DRSU although this has not been too active lately.
If you have a specific question about training or fighting or anything at all then it is best to comment on a YouTube video or on any of the videos on DRSU or contact the team directly.
How Much Does it Cost?
There are different plans to access DRSU each are paid with a monthly subscription fee.
Each of the subscription plans you can cancel at anytime.
The plan I am currently on is the $17 a month special. Given that there are no gyms of live training available in my country this is a high value option for me and I can train at home anytime I want with great high level instruciton.
There are also other options for longer term subscriptions by which you can save between 50 and 70% by paying for longer subscriptions upfront.
