Martial Arts Study

Narj

Narj

Narj

Soldato
Joined
19 Feb 2010
Posts
13,254
Location
London
I gave up Judo years ago and always regretted it. I'm now looking to do another Martial Art (Jiu Jitsu, preferably).

How the hell do I tell if a local school is reputable and has someone in charge that actually knows what they are doing?

Cheers!
 
Narj said:
I gave up Judo years ago and always regretted it. I'm now looking to do another Martial Art (Jiu Jitsu, preferably).

How the hell do I tell if a local school is reputable and has someone in charge that actually knows what they are doing?

Cheers!
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Look them up online?

Any good school will offer taster lessons so you can get a feel for what it's like. Use those free lessons?
 
Just turn up and start taking lessons you soon find out.

I did a particular style of kung fu for years and loved it. I then moved away for a while. When I came back I decided that I wanted to do something with more live sparing and pad work.

Tried quite a few different places and just from one lesson it was easy to tell which ones were decent and which weren't.
 
LOL... With many other things you want to do, there are usually teacher's associations and other organisations that lend some credibility to the tutor. I don't know anyone I can ask when it comes to, "are they actually 2nd dan or are they making it up?" :p

But thanks anyway :) I'll give the local club a go but if I end up painting a fence for the next 3 weeks, I'll blame you lot. :p
 
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Narj said:
How the hell do I tell if a local school is reputable and has someone in charge that actually knows what they are doing?
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1. Ask him if he knows the way of the dragon.
2. Get him to demonstrate his Kung Fu grip.
3. Make him Judo Chop a breeze block.

Job done. /thread.
 
Well done choosing Jiu Jitsu, it's one of the harder MA to master.

Some local schools might have a facebook page, the one I used to go to did, had photos etc and comments left about the training sessions.

inb4butfacebookisgay
 
I've trained at a few different clubs over the years and been fairly lucky. However there is definitely a few things to bare in mind.

With the surge in interest of MMA there's a lot of places springing up trying to cash in on the scene; we nickname these McDojos. They'll have 6 yet old black belts (no exaggeration) grading every couple of months that cost upwards of £30 a go etc, and will typically want you to buy all sorts of kit. Not that buying kit is always a bad thing - expect to have to buy a Gi (suit) and if you're doing Jujitsu you're best off getting a heavyweight one else they just fall apart. You'll also need insurance but this is only usually about £30-50 per year.

Jujitsu is quite fragmented - lots of different associations with differing styles and outlooks. Some like my own club are purely self defence oriented, no sport leanings at all. Others are very traditional - others more liberal and freestyle. There also the Brazilian flavour which has slightly more ground fighting leanings... So that's something else to consider.

As said the best way to find out about a club is spend a few weeks training there. See what the students are like. Are the higher grades helpful and supportive or are they just using you as target practice? Are there any egos flaring or red mist? How many high grades are in the class etc? How old is the club and how long has the Sensei been training? Who was his master?

I'm really lucky and stumbled across an absolutely fantastic club. The instructor is down to earth and basically doesn't take any **** and will weed out the 'alpha' types - they get bored, give up and go elsewhere. The other members are all great people and despite us lampung seven shades out of each other and often really inflicting a whole heap of pain, there never any intent or malice behind it. It's all done with control, we all have jobs and families to go back to after training and being injured isn't helpful! ;)

In short get stuck in and don't be afraid to try a few places before settling down. Most clubs offer a free first taster session so see what your local area has to offer. :)
 
I've actually done ju jitsu, to a good level. Got my black belt and just before truly doing my back in had started teaching weapons work.

As everyone has said, go to a few lessons, speak with the instructors about what you want out of it, what they can provide. A good club will make sure you have your own insurance (it doesn't cost much) and a decent Gi. You would usually be best buying through them, it will be a good quality Gi and match everyone else's, which just helps you gel with the other students.

Ask how often gradings are. Ideally you are looking at 12 months, longer for the higher grades. Ask how often you will get the opportunity to interact with other clubs. Every 6 months or so my old club would host or attend seminars with other clubs and you can learn a lot from different teaching styles. Especially if they are cross-discipline.

You won't need anything more than that for a LONG time. Steer clear from anywhere that tries to sell you gear. The club should have everything you need, and if you do get into weapons it shouldn't be for a few years yet.

Don't worry if you see brown and black belt students teaching. It's normal and part of their own training.
 
What style of Jiu Jitsu are you looking at trying? Traditional or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? If you are interested in BJJ, there are plenty of clubs around London, some really good ones, let me know if that's what you're looking at and I can find out what clubs are in your/close to your area.
 
Narj said:
I gave up Judo years ago and always regretted it. I'm now looking to do another Martial Art (Jiu Jitsu, preferably).

How the hell do I tell if a local school is reputable and has someone in charge that actually knows what they are doing?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

brazilian jiu jitsu or judo are likely going to have less charlatans
 
That's great, thanks guys. I'll go check out a local place armed with that info :)

More looking to do it as a bit of extra keep fit and as something interesting to do with the nice side effect of SD knowledge rather than competitions and the like. Not sure how that fits in so I'll see when I have a nose at a local place. :)
 
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EvilDreams said:
You should just take up kicking doorframes barefoot and punching yourself in the face once a week.

Same effect, and at least it's free.
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Seeing as one of my current hobbies tends to cause a few sprains and a lot of aching muscles, it won't be alien to me. :p
 
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