It all depends on the teacher and what the student wants out of the school. If ALL you want to do is grappling then you should find just a grappling school ( but how many people just want to grapple and not learn anything else?). Why pay three schools tuition for three different styles and go to three different schools with while going to 2 classes a week per school you will be going to ( count them ) 6 classes a week. In today's world that is NOT realistic for most students. I have meet some BBJ teachers that are good and some that could not wrestle a worm. I have meet some WKSA teachers that could not do Ki Bohn Soo's. I have seem NON WKSA teachers win MMA matches. I have seen WKSA teachers do horribly in open tournaments. What I am saying is that the OP is at a WKSA school and if I remember correctly from one of here posts that she mentioned that school owner told her that they do grappling. Now she wants to do some and they don't do it. Non WKSA schools owners are not held to the "YOU CAN NOT TRAIN IN ANY OTHER MARTIAL ART" attitude. So they can learn grappling and other stuff to bring to the students table of knowledge. If you say that they are not as good as a BBJ teacher, all I have to say is can a BBJ teacher teach you KS?:evil:
They might. Just like a KS teacher might be a competent grappling instructor. But generally the specialist will be better at his craft (and so better prepared to teach it) than the generalist, to say nothing of training methods and the available talent pool. If the OP wants more grappling, then a group that specializes in grappling would probably be the place to go.
Depends on what your goals are. But it's certainly possible for a generalist to become so by training with multiple specialists rather than one generalist. And generally the instruction in each range will generally be at a higher standard since, again, you're dealing with specialists.
So if a person trains in let's say TKD until they get there black belt and then they decided to train in Judo/BJJ for 2 years are they specialize or generalize? It has been said that here that you should not go to a a teacher that teaches Kuk Sool if you want to learn ground fighting. Then someone said that they like to cross train in a couple of different martial arts. So when that person decides to open a school and they learned from different people and different schools, are what are they teaching? It all depends on the Teacher. If a program is put together correctly and the teacher has done there due diligence in learning the information then why not go to a Kuk Sool teacher that also has an education in the field of grappling if you want to learn grappling? I think that the people here that are soooooo stuck on learn only form "This style or the style" not form this person but they also want to learn form other styles are themselves are becoming what they are voicing against. If all you want to do do is learn one thing then do it. But do not put down someone else for wanting to learn other things. One the same note do not just learn enough of one style ( let's say blue belt) and then think you know everything that can be learned from that style. As BL wants said, it is not the style that makes the fighter but the fighter that makes the style. :evil:
Because the sambist, judoka, BJJist or wrestler will almost always be a better grappler to learn from, as this is what he focuses on. Seriously, why is this so difficult? And please, no more circular logic here. Training grappling at a grappling school does not preclude also training other things at another school. It's not an either/or thing. You can still do kuk sool while also training at a grappling school.
So if a person trains in only let's say MMA from Hargrave Martial Arts ( see what I did there ) they are shown what he teaches. If is up to the student to learn it. But wait Hargrave is also a Master in JKD. So he holds classes in that, you take those. Then you want to learn KM, guess what he is a Master in that. Most MMA teachers have been practicing there MMA for about 5 years before they open a school. So according to you folk they are more qualified to teach you this because they only practice this one thing. Even if a instructor trains in the same thing for the same time it sounds like just because they also know other things then they are no good at anything. ????? Would you not learn from let's say Chuck Norris about ground fighting, how about Bruce Lee ( may his soul rest in peace ) Point sparring for TKD? Yes, I would not learn MMA from just a Tia Chi Master unless that Master also has been trained in MMA. Wait: is MMA a style of Martial Arts???? Who founded it? Are there Masters in MMA? Usually the fighters have only been training for about 3 years tops. Some exceptions. :evil:
Mr Tulsa, I would say 3 years minimum at the amateur level (unless you train at a very shady place) assuming no previous experience. At Pro level most the guys I have heard about are bjj purple belts or equivalent in other arts which hints at a 6 - 8 year experience. "MMA" teachers are no different than "Karate" teachers. You have legit ones and shady ones. A legit MMA school owner usually has teachers who specialize in each area of the game. Each having several years of experience in their respective areas. The guys who train for 5 years and open an MMA school are no different to the TKD schools that change their signs to "Mixed Martial Arts" to cash in on the hype.
I always put people in as soon as they're good enough to not get hurt. It's good for their development, people train MUCH better if they've fought at least once, and it strips them of their misconceptions.
Sifu Ben, But you would want your guy to have a chance to win his fight and not get his record blemished would you not? If you are bringing a guy in with no experience, he'll be physically conditioned in 6 months but the acquisition of physical skill and more importantly the mental conditioning (you don't want your guy breaking if things are not going well) will take longer. I will say that everyone advances at a different pace. This is why would be fighters trust their coaches to tell them if and when they are ready. My post was simply an attempt to clarify the misconception that you can have Joe Blow off the street and ready to fight in a year and that after 5 years of practice (not even a 5 year fighting career) Mr Joe Blow will join the ranks of MMA instructors.
Trying to ensure good matchmaking is best. Amateur records are just that, who remembers Anderson Silva's amateur record? But yeah, I certainly wouldn't put anyone in if I thought they fundamentally weren't ready or if I thought they didn't have any chance. However, until they've stepped in the ring that first time it can be very hard to tell.
Speaking of MMA and fighting, there is a Kuk Sool fighter who is doing pretty well in the MMA scene...
Where did you get this idea from? Most MMA teachers I've seen have been involved in martial arts most of their lives. Again this is erroneous. Almost anyone you care to mention fighting in professional MMA has been doing martial arts for many years. GSP took up Karate as a child for example.
this part again! but srsly guys - "What is MMA?" actually i had a discussion with a uni friend into KMA who brought up that wrestling was not an MA cos it had no founders, no culture and no masters. apparently anything not eastern is not an MA. boxing included as non-MA
Yeah...we have to carry a LOT of baggage because the folks who brought MA to the States knew a LOT less about what they were doing than they pretended. If you look at a typical cheap dictionary "Martial Arts" is almost always tied exclusively to Chinese, Korean or Japanese--- "Asian"---arts. Really leaves the Indians, Persians, Egyptians and Europeans out in the cold. People wonder why I am always beating the drum about "learning" and "informing"..... try living through three of four decades whre the same mindless crap gets recycled over and over. Think I'm kidding? This is 2012; try asking some newbie TKD person questions about the origins and purpose of his material. Sheesh! Best Wishes, Bruce
I think that any organized SD or system of fighting can be a MA. Whether it is an Eastern MA is another thing. But certainly wrestling & boxing to me are fighting systems & I can consider them as Western MAs, would others agree?
