Joining a Martial Arts School
By
First, a few
ideal rules to follow:
ØNever sign
up at any martial arts school without having observed at least a couple
of classes.
ØIf they don't
let people watch classes in progress, or at least make arrangements for
you to observe a class soon, politely leave and don't come back.
ØLook for
trophies (that might mean they have been around for awhile) but don't be
overly impressed by them. Trophies don't mean much when it comes to real
fighting.
There is only one trophy in real combat -- the fact that you are still alive.
ØLook for a
compassionate, friendly teacher who works his or her students very hard.
ØLook for
lots of safety equipment (face pads, boxing gloves, etc.). The more, the
better.
ØTalk to the
students after the class, outside and away from their teachers, and see how
they like the teacher and the school.
ØThe school
should offer you at least one or two free classes.
ØBe wary of
contracts. Read them carefully.
ØInitially,
do not commit to over 3 or 4 months of training. Ask if you can pay by the
lesson.
ØAnd, most
importantly, if the teacher
calls himself, or herself, a “master”
or “grandmaster”
or some such other nonsense, … just leave. These are just stupid egomaniacs. No
real master
would EVER call himself a master. He might use the designation of Sifu or
Sensei, but NOT
master. However, if he refuses to call himself a master, but his students DO
call him that,
against his protest, that is a GOOD sign.
If you sign
up for a martial arts class, do it for the right reasons. On a short-term
basis, you will only learn enough to get yourself hurt. Certainly not all of,
but much of what you will learn, in the short run, is outdated, invalid poop,
depending upon where and to whom you go to learn.
Also remember
that a good teacher does not have to be a tournament champion (hence, don't be
too impressed by trophies). Many great Football coaches couldn't throw a touchdown
pass to save their lives, but they damned sure know how to train someone ELSE
to do it, and do it well. It is one thing to KNOW the martial arts, another
thing to be able to DO the martial arts skillfully, yourself, and QUITE ANOTHER
to be able to TEACH the martial arts and instill those skills and knowledge in
ANOTHER PERSON. Most tournament champions make incredibly terrible teachers.
Teaching is an art in itself that has very little to do with personal martial
arts skills. Most tournament champions are champions because they do not waste
their time with techniques that they don't like. They know and practice only a
few techniques... the few that they are best at doing... the few techniques
that they have absolutely mastered which they can make work against almost
anyone at any time. They are correct in this strategy. To be a great fighter,
you should concentrate on, and master, only a few well-chosen techniques, and
forget about the rest!
Good
TEACHERS, however, do not have the luxury of discarding most of the system, and
only practice the few techniques they actually like. A good teacher must be a
repository of the ENTIRE art, because his or her students may NEED to learn
those “other” techniques. A good teacher can, and will, diagnose and take the
student’s needs into consideration first and always.
