Frequently Asked Questions

These are a few of the questions (some of the more sensible ones) I have been asked regarding training at our clubs and martial arts in general.

Are you better off training in one style?

Depends what you are looking to do? Defend yourself? MMA fights? General fitness and stress relief? What ever your reason make sure you are maximising your training. Don’t be looking for things that look good but have no substance. Unfortunately the majority of martial arts will have you practicing something that is wasteful of your time and could be counter-productive to your overall performance.

Areas to consider when wanting to train, do you want:

1. Stand up fighting – learning to use kicks, punches, knees, elbows and standing grappling techniques and defence against these techniques

2. Takedowns and throws – learning to take control of an opponent and take the fight to the ground plus defending against someone doing the same to you

3. Ground fighting – learning to apply chokes, strangles, joint locks and strikes on the ground. Using the principles of timing and leverage in place of strength and power. An absolute must for girls & women but equally applicable to men (my favourite training, by the way)

How do your classes vary from other martial arts, such as Karate or Kung Fu?

First and foremost we teach hands on whether it be striking, takedowns or groundwork. You always work with a partner, there is no wasted movement practicing against thin air or doing kata/forms. Working with a partner you get instant feedback, you ask your partner if something worked they answer yes or no. Nothing left to chance, nothing theoretical. You ask questions, you get immediate answers.

We are also a little less rigid in the way our sessions are run in so much as:

· we don’t have a hierarchy, everyone is called by first name or nickname, instructors & students alike.

· we don’t encourage bowing or traditional salutes, if you are striking training touch gloves, if we are grappling or Jiu Jitsu training shake/slap hands then just get on with it. If you want to bow/salute, that’s cool but it is not necessary.

· the uniform we wear when doing Jiu Jitsu can be any colour, white, blue, black, red etc whichever you want. For striking training & submission wrestling, shorts & T-shirt are fine.

When I did Karate we called the instructor Sensei, is that the usual way to address an instructor?

I can not speak for other groups but our instructors are called by their first names. We are more a group of friends and family, there is no class system where you call someone “sensei, sifu or master” just because they have more experience of training than you.

How does the student show respect to the teacher if bowing and traditional values are not used?

This is my most favourite question ever and could inspire me to write a book. There is so much rubbish in martial arts, bowing to show your respect, calling the instructor by his ‘title’, only training at one school, the list is endless.

Let’s address these issues relating to different pastimes.

· If you wanted to learn to play the piano and the first thing the piano teacher told you was if you wanted to speak to him, you must address him as Sir or Master, what would you think?

· What if he then told you that whilst ever you were learning to play the piano you could not learn to play any other instrument, you’d rightly think he had some issues he needed to address.

· If you take your child for swimming lessons and the coach tells you that your child can’t swim in any other pool apart from his, you wouldn’t allow it.

This is “accepted” behaviour from some martial arts.

How do you show respect then?

You come to train with us, you do what we are showing you to do, you observe the health & safety of your training partners, you have fun and you try your best.

I trained at a school where you were charged £80 for membership, £20 for gradings, you had to buy your gear from them etc this was on top of a monthly fee to train. I was told this is true of all martial arts associations…is it?

In a word, no. Are you there to be taught or are you there to make their business financially viable?

You will definately need to buy some insurance though. Our insurance is £15 per year, that’s it.

A lot of people charge for gradings but not everyone; it depends on the structure of the martial art you are studying. Do they have a set test for rank or is it a continual assessment? Does part of that fee go towards the overheads associated with holding the grading or is it all profit?

The instructor should be able to advise you on the type of equipment required to participate in the class, make sure you get the right training suit, the right protection but if they insist that you buy from them, be a little suspicious.

Do I have to have your insurance?

You need to have some insurance but it doesn’t need to be ours. We are insured through the NJJKC but if you prefer your own private policy then that’s fine.

What gear do I need?

To start with all you need is shorts, jogging bottoms, T-shirt, sweatshirt, something like that. Don’t worry about any gear to start with, pads, gloves and things can be borrowed for now. If you are going to train regularly then your own equipment would be preferable.

How often will I be expected to train?

You can train whenever you want, we have various classes. You can come as much or as little as you want.

What if I want to train at other gyms as well?

Go ahead and train with whomever you choose. There is just one condition……if you learn some cool stuff, bring it back and share it with all of us.

What if I train somewhere already?

Keep training there if you wish. We are not looking for an exclusive deal. Our instructors all still train at different gyms, this prevents us from stagnating and keeps us competitive.

I just want to fight, do you have competitions?

For starters, the guy that asked this never showed up. Another pseudo tough guy whom talks a good fight. As for the second part of the question yes we do have competitions as you can see from the Competition News page. We have grappling competitions to cater for all levels from the inter club competitions for beginners to national competitions where the level is a little more advanced.

We also attend other people’s competitions in various formats. Whatever your preference we can cater for you.

Will I have to compete?

No one is forced to compete, it is your choice. Having said this I would advise everyone to try competition at least once to see how you react to pressure. Ask yourself what is the worst thing that could happen in a competition, you might lose your match. Big deal.

The main reason people do not compete is ego, they can’t stand to lose. If this is the thing that is stopping you, you must overcome it. Believe me, when you do you will feel much better for it.

The ultimate choice though, is yours.

Do you have to fight/spar in class?

Usually, yes. You won’t just be thrown in at the deep end and expect to hang with everyone. Without sparring you will never fully develop the confidence to pull off the techniques when it counts. If you can’t do it in training, you will never be able to do it anywhere.

I want somewhere for my daughter to train, I’d like to train too but I think I’m too old, what age do you have to be to train?

Anyone of any age can benefit, do not think that you are too young or too old. There really is something for everyone.

Are the classes split or is everyone in together?

Classes are split. There are separate junior classes, there is a separate class for girls/ladies only and there are adults class. There is a little crossover in the adults class as advanced junior above a certain age can train there too.

I don’t want to be part of a class, do you do private sessions?

Some of the instructors do private and semi-private lessons. Choose which particular area you want to train in, either on your own or with a partner and enquire to the gym about availability and cost.

Is it all physical training or do you do mental training too?

The 2 are inseparable. When you train hard you are working your mind as well as your body. The martial arts are full of this mystical garbage about you becoming a better person by meditating under a waterfall or smashing your head through a stack of tiles. Training and sparring will increase your confidence in your abilities, the increase in confidence will aid you in becoming a stronger person. This in itself will give you the confidence to face difficult things in life and to walk away from trouble when you can as you know in yourself that you have nothing to prove. This is the real mental training.

If you want to use meditation, visualisation or other methods do it in your own time, we do not incorporate anything like this in our curriculum. These things have value but it’s more of a personal thing.

NOTE

Throughout the answers to these questions, I refer to martial arts instructors as he/him. This is not way implying that all instructors are male because they are not but it is usually the male that has the ego problem.