So after spending the best part of three weeks going to every club i could i am a lot closer to choosing! I was truely amazed at how true it is to try the place out and see the class/instructor BEFORE choosing as what seems a perfect art can sometimes be the worse one! My top choices are as follows: Jujutsu, Aikido, Kickboxing and Bjj. The jujutsu place offers self defence style training, no competition but quite a good work out! It also has parts taken from other MA's to add in training. Although as lessons were quite short we didn't go over things we learnt the lesson before a lot, which i didn't like very much. The aikido place has very friendly instructors and class mates, is interesting, no competition and also has self defence styled training. Also has weapons concepts. Which is good. Kickboxing has a fantastic work out, has competition, is the closest to me, but is on very odd days (Monday & Thursday) which does limit cross training whether it be future or now. Although he offers another class a little further out on Fridays. Bjj i'm currently in the beginners class so i can't really say much about the normal class. Its a really good work out, has competition and seems to be a very popular choice amongst MA practitioners (i'll assume this is for its excellence rather than it being a fad?) Jujutsu Link Aikido Link Kickboxing Link BJJ Link My initial reasons for wanting to learn MA were: Increased fitness, Weapons if possible but not major, Competition if possible but not major, Self defence was more of a bonus than something i needed and generally that i just find MA really interesting. So yeah any opinions based on that, such as whats best to mix, what shouldn't be mixed, what looks/sounds best overall etc. I really do feel that i could be really happy studying any of the above, they all had something to offer in equal measure but for different reasons (i hope that makes sense) So yeah any advice, information or general opinion on the subject greatly recieved as always. Regards, your local friendly n00b trying to do MA
what about the mt and boxing at the bjj place? it sounds like they're a full service mma school... bjj, judo, mt, boxing, mma...
I'm not allowed to do the MT at that club aparrantly you have to already be fit! I did look into the boxing, however it finishes an hour before i have to be at work on saturday. (Beginners class) so i'm not 100% sure whether i could do it or not.
This is the biggest case of paralysis by analysis I've ever seen. Just sign up for something already.
Wonderful contribution there slip... Honest... Well done... While im still interested, can i just ask, whats the big problem with going to different classes, trying out different things, evaluating what i want etc etc before i do something? Why is it that people here are told to 'try it out' 'find out whats available in the area' etc etc. Then have statements like yours used agaisn't them when they do so? Why should i 'just sign up for something already' when it could be if i just took my time i could end up with something i really enjoy and can do for years to come, whereas with your method i could get bored of the training after a short amount of time, quit and be back to stage 1?
i thought you'd already made your choice? you want to get started training properly now. if i'm honest looking at your goals. fitness i'd say your bjj or kickboxing clubs would be best for that probably, however if the kb club is only 2 sessions a week i don't think that training there alone is going to shoot your fitness through the roof. weapons is included in aikido but personally if i wanted to study weapons i'd probably be looking at a fma. competitions in the kb and the bjj club but again i don't know how much sparring practice you could really get in per week over 2 sessions, the bjj club has, well loads of sessions you can go to and seems very combat orientated. Self defence they both seem sport orientated but you will learn striking and groundwork at the bjj club. actually come to think of it the bjj or rather mma club has loads you could do, my problem would be stopping myself going to too many. bjj, mt, submission wrestling (if you can only go to one bjj session i'd supplement it with this - iirc you'll be using a lot of the same techniques but the wrestling element will give you a better focus on positioning and controlling your opponent while you'll still be able to use your submissions) judo, mma sessions, boxing, judo and krav all in one place? i'd be like a kid in a candy store.
This is my major problem you see. It appears Nottingham has pretty much every MA going! Which leads to when i do something i quite enjoy i then find something else which looks just as good. I mean just from the MMA place i could do: Mon - Judo Tues - Krav Maga Wed - Wrestling AM BJJ PM Thurs - Krav Fri - Bjj then Judo And thats one place out of...LOADS.
true but there's weighing up your options and then there's overly procrastinating and wasting time. you should set yourself a goal to have found a club by a certain deadline, if you've put some research in and found that you're happy with the teaching style then once you join up to a club you will find yourself growing a bond to it. no one feels that attachment on their trial visit. I'm of the opinion now that you might need to set yourself a clear goal and target to join a club by a certain time. At the end of the day, it's impossible to be entirely sure on any club after only a few visits so it's not something you can do to say 'this is the right club for me' and be 100% sure it's a life commitment, sometimes you might realise a few months later that you aren't getting what you want from training sometimes it might take years. i bet that a high percentage of mappers have at some point altered their club after an epiphany of how they wanted to train. they were able to make that decision based on their experiences as martial artists and even if they move into something completely different then they will still have gained and benefited from their previous experience. only you can make the choice but look at it like this, it's hardly a life decision, joining a ma club is hardly like taking on a mortgage people evolve their needs evolve and if 6 months down the line you think, 'bjj just isn't for me' you can take those skills over to another club your fitness will have increased loads you'll be comfortable with the concept of competition fighting and there's not a huge financial outlay in changing clubs. i'd personally say of the ones you've looked at the mma one looks the best to me. you know the forums general opinion on arts such as boxing, judo, mt and bjj is positive. they arts they study seem to marry well to your goals and they seem to produce some successful fighters which is a good sign. give your short list one more go but remember you aren;t going to learn definitively if something is right for you in a couple of nights, if in 6 months you think 'oh crap made the wrong choice' and move clubs then you will have had more benefit than if you are still looking for a club in 6 months time, and at least then your decision will be educated.
i see that i rambled on a lot in that post but it's very late so apologies. you can probably get the gist of it. * this thread for people who make a decision to change clubs after training for a long time, might add some perspective. thread
