ADVICE ON LOOKING FOR A CLUB


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General Information

Many people who have none or very little knowledge of martial arts tend to take up styles that after a time they realise it wasn’t what they wanted or isn’t suitable for them because of their height, weight, age or what ever, and drop out having wasted a lot of money and probably put off looking at other martial arts.

If you are thinking of taking up martial art the first thing you should do is ask yourself the following questions: -

1) Why do I want to learn "Martial Arts"?

· Curious to find out more about this type of activity
· Seems like an interesting Hobby
· I am very keen to Compete
· A social activity
· I want to build up my confidence
· I want to be able to defend myself
· I want to improve my fitness, strength and flexibility
· I wish to complement the Martial Art I already practice
· I want to push my body to it's physical limit
· I want to find a way to release stress
· I am interested in weapons training
· I want a black-belt

2) What type of person am I?

· My build
· My flexibility
· My physical strength
· My age
· My Fitness
· My Health
· My Personality


3) Do I like the thought of the following activities?

· Punches and strikes
· Kicks
· Blocks
· Grappling
· Holds and locks
· Throws
· Body Conditioning - Strength, Stamina, Stretching
· Sparring - Full Contact, Semi Contact, Light Contact, Non Contact
· Destruction (Breaking boards)
· Patterns - Sets of movements used for practice. Usually increasing in complexity as you progress.
· Weapons Training


4) How far do you want to travel.

This could be important especially in the winter. Martial arts requires a lot of dedicated practice and if you are only going to turn up for lessons when it’s not raining or snowing then you wont get very far.

Make a List

Now you have given a bit of thought to what you are like, what interests you and why you want to train you should find it easier to decide which of your local clubs is going to offer you a Martial Art that is best suited to your personal needs.

Make a list of different clubs & styles taught in your chosen area and use the internet to get more information on the styles that interest you, this will give you a bit of knowledge before you go and see the club and enable you to plan any questions you want to ask the instructor.

Phone up and ask for details and times of training. Ask if you can go along to watch one or two lessons. This will let you see what you are letting yourself in for and get a feel for the atmosphere in the club.

Look at as many of the clubs as you can before you make your decision to join one.


Visiting a Club

Now you have some idea of the type of martial art you are looking for and a list of clubs, now you are ready to go and visit them, so here are some tips on what to do and what to look for.

1) Be Polite
    When you visit any of the clubs, remember that the instructors will be assessing you as well so be polite.

2) Ask questions
    See "Asking Questions"

3) Talk to the students
    Talk to as many of the student as you can and don’t be frightened to ask them questions.

4) How many students are there in the class
    The number of students in a class may not bother you, but if you are a shy, you may find the thought of going into a big class a bit daunting.

5) How many instructors are there
    The bigger the class, the less time one instructor can spend with you.

6) What is the atmosphere like
    The better the atmosphere the more you will enjoy the lessons

7) Stay as long as possible
    Stay as long as possible to get a good idea of what is involved.

 

Things to Ask

Don’t be frightened to ask the instructor questions. Remember it is a two way street, they will be interviewing you to see if they think you are suitable to join their club but likewise you are trying to find out if they are what you are looking for. Its your money that you are going to be spending there.

Here are a few questions you might want to ask about the club: -

· How much is the membership   · Will you need any additional equipment  
· Is it renewed every year   · If so, how much will it cost  
· Does this include insurance for you   · How often are the gradings
· How much is the uniform  · How much do the gradings cost
· How much are the lessons   · Is the club a member of any associations 
(Make a note of the association and check it out on the internet)
· How long are the lessons   · Do the instructor/s have first aid certificates
· Do they run trial lessons

· Do the instructor/s have personal indemnity insurance

· Are there separate classes for children and adults or are
  they mixed		  

Here are some questions that you could ask about the Instructor: -

· How long has the instructor been training   · How long have they held their currant grade

· How long has the instructor been teaching

 · Have they practiced more than one style
· Where do they train (or did they train) · What grades did they achieve to in these other styles

· Can they show you their certificates and grading / licence book signed by their instructor up to their present grade
If the person is genuine, they should be more than happy to present you with these, anyone can run a certificate off on a computer these days

 

Here is a rough guide as to how long it should take to get from black upwards: -

1st Dan = 1year  2nd Dan = 2 years  3rd Dan = 3 years  4th Dan = 4 years  etc

Although the time period may vary slightly from one style to another, it will give you some idea of telling if the instructor is genuine.

 

Beware of False Masters

At one time a Dan / Degree grade in any martial arts, indicated a persons dedication, the length of time they had trained in that particular style and the knowledge they possessed, the higher the grade the more dedicated and knowledgeable the person was, unfortunately, that is not the case to day.

With more and more people training in the martial arts to day than ever, there has been a big increase in the number of Black Belt/Sash grades and more and more martial arts clubs opening. Although many of these instructors are legitimate, there are some who, having passed their black grade, think they know it all, leave the club they are training, open their own club and give themselves an impressive grade or title like 8th Dan or Master. Who are they kidding? These people are not only conning themselves but also you! I make no apologies if I upset anyone with this remark, after all if you can prove your grade then why be offended.

You think because an instructor is such an high grade they must be good, the truth is they have limited knowledge and experience in the martial arts and by the time you have worked this out you have wasted a lot of time and money.

I know of one such case of a person passing their black belt, disappearing then opening up their own club two years later calling themselves a 5th Dan. This is totally impossible; the shortest time I know of to get from black to 5th Dan is anything from nine to fifteen years. If a person has achieved a black belt grade in other styles then fair enough they have proved their basic knowledge in those styles, but to just give yourself a new grade is just not on.