I need some help making a decision.

[myusername]

Hello folks,

Please excuse this rather self indulgent post but I am feeling very undecisive at the moment and just typing my thoughts out and reading your opinions on this may help me make up my mind.

I have a few options open to me in regards to my martial arts training. I stopped my TKD training a while back and took up jujutsu. This was a good move as the jujutsu classes meet all of my personal requirements of martial arts training. My jujutsu is on Mondays and Wednesdays.

When I changed my job from shift working to 9-5 this opened up the option of training more than twice a week. So I started a Boxing class on fridays as it was always something I wanted to try.

I have recently become a little disheartened with my boxing class as it is not a sparring class (sparring is on Mondays so clashes with my jujutsu) and it has become much too big and popular for the size of the venue. Plus I was missing the kicking aspect. So I looked around for a kickboxing or muay thai school. I found a decent kickboxing class that trains on Fridays. Unfortunately the friday session is predominantly bag work so I think would soon frustrate me like my boxing class does with the lack of sparring. (The other training nights for kickboxing are Mondays and Wednesdays so would clash with my jujutsu).

I have recently received a few text messages from my old TKD instructor asking me if I felt like returning to his club (offering me a free month trial). I could do this as well as my jujutsu as TKD trains Fridays and Sundays. There are a few cons with this; I know my girlfriend will be unhappy that I am training an extra night! Also even though my old TKD instructor was very self defence orientated I remember becoming frustrated that after passing my first novice belts my training became more syllabus focused. More and more time was spent learning jumping, spinning and high kicks and I missed the time spent pounding the pads with my elbow and knee strikes and learning the takedowns from the patterns. Saying this though I was starting to get it a little before I left. I also feel that with my jujutsu classes I now get loads of time practising realistic close quarter striking and grappling so will now enjoy the variety more. Another con would be leaving behind the boxing techniques. My punching power has drastically improved since taking up boxing.

The pro's to going back to TKD would be that I really enjoy the sparring in TKD and I'm not getting sparring any where else. Also I think the TKD would really complement my jujutsu training. I would also get lots of kicking practice that I have been missing.

So to cut this down to the chase, what should I do?

Do I stay with my boxing class on Friday nights?

Do I change to a kickboxing class on Friday nights?

Do I change to my old TKD class on Friday and Sunday nights?

Obviously no one can make this decision for me but I would appreciate reading everyones opinions and thoughts on this. It may help me get closer to making up my mind.

Cheers

 

[terryl965]

Well you said you have always enjoyed the sparring aspect and you really miss it, so your decission has already been made. If you was happy you would not be in this delimma, so go back to TKD and get your sparring fix and keep the door open for additional training when your body and mind needs a change again.

 

[SFC JeffJ]

If I were you I'd do the TKD and the boxing. In boxing you'd learn to take a punch and its great conditioning. Also, it will make your hand teniques smoother and faster.

 

[searcher]

I have a question for you, do you have a place to hang a heavy bag? If you do, I would go back to the TKD, keep up with the jujitsu, and start doing bag training on my own. It covers everything you want, you get to spar, you get TKD and jujitsu training, and you get to pound on some pads.

 

[myusername]

If I were you I'd do the TKD and the boxing. In boxing you'd learn to take a punch and its great conditioning. Also, it will make your hand teniques smoother and faster.

Thanks for your input Jeff but I love my jujutsu too much to do that. I will definately miss the boxing if I decide to swap it for TKD though. My punching power, hand speed and muscle definition around the shoulders have all improved thanks to boxing. The thing is improvement is slow when only able to train boxing once a week, I'll never get to competition standard this way especially since I can't attend the sparring class due to jujutsu, hence not actually learning how to take a punch. But on the other hand I personally like punching in a boxing style more than in a TKD style.

 

[myusername]

I have a question for you, do you have a place to hang a heavy bag? If you do, I would go back to the TKD, keep up with the jujitsu, and start doing bag training on my own. It covers everything you want, you get to spar, you get TKD and jujitsu training, and you get to pound on some pads.

That's a very, very good idea. I live in a one bedroom flat with my girlfriend and 4 cats so no room inside but could hang one outside in the garden.

 

[stickarts]

It sounds like you already have a direction that you are leaning toward and just need an extra nudge. Back to TKD, and hanging up a heavy bag is a great idea!

 

[Tez3]

Persuade your girlfriend to come to TKD with you?

 

[morph4me]

Why did you stop your TKD training in the first place? Does that reason still exist? Since the boxing class isn't sparring anyway, is there any reason that you can't add some boxing drills to a home workout? Is it worth making your girlfriend unhappy to train an extra night or would training TKD once a week satisfy you?

Sorry to answer a question with questions, but sometimes it helps clarify things in my mind when I ask myself questions, the answers remind me of what's important to me. Good luck with your diecision.

 

[myusername]

Persuade your girlfriend to come to TKD with you?

Lol! I tried that when I first started and she really hated it! She is quite a quiet person and I think being made to shout made her a little self concious!

 

[myusername]

Why did you stop your TKD training in the first place? Does that reason still exist?

Thank you Morph,

There are a few reasons that I stopped TKD. Firstly, when I decided to start MA and began looking at what MA schools were available to me TKD was not my first choice but it trained 6 nights out of 7. There were a few like my current jujutsu class that I wanted to join but couldn't because they only trained twice a week and I worked irregular shifts on a hospital ward. When I moved from nursing on a ward to community nursing it opened up all those schools that were originally unavailable to me.

Secondly I became a little disillushioned after passing my first two belts as it meant I had less training time allocated to learning self defence applications and more time learning sport style sparring techniques. I still enjoyed my classes but felt I needed more self defence instruction. That is when I left for my jujutsu class.

I did consider training the two together at the time but was worried that as I had lost all of my unsocial hours payments at work by moving to the community post that I couldn't afford it.

In some ways two of the problems aren't there any more. The first problem was solved by me going out there and trying out the classes I was curious about (including the boxing). I now know what is out there and how it compares to my old TKD class. I have always thought highly of my TKD instructor as my previous posts on TKD will demonstrate. The second problem would not necessarily prove a problem any more as if I train my TKD alongside my jujutsu (which is always taught with self defence in mind) then I would not resent the extra time learning the more elaborate techniques that my TKD syllabus has to offer. I think that I would relax more and just enjoy the variety (I always enjoyed sparring).

Unfortunately the third problem of the cost is still holding me back a little. TKD isn't pay per session like my boxing class. Instead it is a monthly direct debit so if I am ill for two weeks I end up still paying for training. However, now that I have been living on my wage without unsocial hours payments for a few months I feel that training the two is more affordable than I first thought.

Since the boxing class isn't sparring anyway, is there any reason that you can't add some boxing drills to a home workout?

No, no reason and if I decide to go back to TKD I plan to remember and practice the boxing drills. The fact that my boxing class is not a sparring class is one of the main reasons I am having this dilemma. It has got to the point where I feel that I need sparring to improve.

Is it worth making your girlfriend unhappy to train an extra night or would training TKD once a week satisfy you?

I've been talking this over with my girlfriend. She is very supportive as she knows that martial arts are really important to me. I think if I am going to return to TKD one night a week would not be enough as I feel two nights is where you see improvement. Unfortunately, I know that no matter how supportive my girlfriend is she will be unhappy that I am coming home later on yet another night! To minimise this impact I am now thinking of training fridays and tuesdays instead of fridays and sundays as the tuesday class finishes earlier and it would leave my entire weekend free for us to spend together. I would also ensure that I cooked her a nice dinner every tuesday night when I got home from TKD!

Sorry to answer a question with questions, but sometimes it helps clarify things in my mind when I ask myself questions, the answers remind me of what's important to me. Good luck with your diecision.

I appreciate this Morph as answering your questions and reflecting on my feelings and reactions to reading the other posts on this thread is highlighting to me how much I am obviously justifying a desire to return to TKD! It is starting to seem an inevitablity that I will go back. It is weird that I feel so guilty about this though and part of me feels a bit nauseous about the idea of returning!

Thank you, your questions were very helpful.

 

[myusername]

I contacted my TKD instructor today and asked him if it will be ok for me to attend this Friday. He replied saying that I was welcome. So my training will now be Monday - Jujutsu, Tuesday - TKD, Wednesday -Jujutsu, Thursday - chillin' with my girlfriend!, Friday - TKD, weekend - Chillin' with my girlfriend!

I think this is a nice balance. Thank you so much to those who gave time to this thread and gave me the nudge towards this decision. My mind was racing when I started this thread but now it feels a lot clearer.

Cheers

 

[searcher]

Thursday - chillin' with my girlfriend!, weekend - Chillin' with my girlfriend!

Is this code for working on the heavy bag or for keep you out of the doghouse?

 

[myusername]

Is this code for working on the heavy bag or for keep you out of the doghouse?

She doesn't know about the heavy bag plans yet! LOL!

 

[Aefibird]

Good luck with your new training schedule. It sounds like you were in need of a change and I think that with combining TKD, JJ and heavy bag work at home you have the best of all worlds - especially as you will still have some days free to spend with your girlfriend!

 

[IcemanSK]

Others have already covered the girlfriend questions. I want to ask another question. What are your goals in MA? To compete in MMA? To do a bit of all types of Arts? To fully immerse yourself in as many different Arts as you can? What is your ultimate goal?

If you want to fight in an MMA competition, I could see making a plan such as you have. If it's simply to do all those different Arts, I could see that as well. Although, I look at the financial costs & think that would be prohibitive...at least in my case. Can you afford your choices?

Years ago, I picked up boxing & full contact rules Kickboxing in addition to TKD I was doing with the thought of competing. I loved it, but it took a lot more of my time & energy than I ever thought it would.

It sounds like you've got great options there. I would let the questions of 1) ultimate goal, 2) Time & energy, & 3) expense of those choices be your guide in making this decision.

I hope that helps. I wish you all the best.

 

[myusername]

Others have already covered the girlfriend questions. I want to ask another question. What are your goals in MA? To compete in MMA? To do a bit of all types of Arts? To fully immerse yourself in as many different Arts as you can? What is your ultimate goal?

Thank you Iceman,

My goals are simply to continue to learn effective self defence, keep fit and strong and enjoy myself at the same time. At present I have no plans to compete in MMA. If I did I would not do this particular training regime I would actually train under a specific MMA club. There are a few good ones in my town that I am aware of as MMA is thriving in the south west of England.

It is more about the fact that my main art (Jujutsu) only trains twice a week and I wish to train more than this. What ever I do I like to be able to see progression and development. Unfortunately I reached a point in my boxing training that to progress I needed sparring practice but sparring happened on evenings that clashed with my jujutsu. Also to compete at even amatuer level, I saw from the competing boxers in my club that they had to put in a lot of effort into their diets (to make weight) and train more outside of classes than I am able/willing to commit to.

The TKD classes offer me the chance to spar and also by attending twice a week it will enable me to develop and progress in that system. It is different enough to my jujutsu to not get in the way and confuse me but instead I feel is complimentary to what I am doing.

If you want to fight in an MMA competition, I could see making a plan such as you have. If it's simply to do all those different Arts, I could see that as well. Although, I look at the financial costs & think that would be prohibitive...at least in my case. Can you afford your choices?

I have worked out that including all class fees, grading fees and yearly licences for both clubs I am looking at spending around £81 a month. I can just about afford this.

Years ago, I picked up boxing & full contact rules Kickboxing in addition to TKD I was doing with the thought of competing. I loved it, but it took a lot more of my time & energy than I ever thought it would.

I see what you are saying here. This is another reason I have no current plans to compete in Boxing, MMA or Kickboxing. I would not be able to commit enough time to train to the degree I feel I would need to, to put up a solid performance. I can see there being a time in the future that I may get the urge to pressure test my self beyond the full resistant training I am doing at the moment but I am not at that stage yet still being a novice in my jujutsu.

It sounds like you've got great options there. I would let the questions of 1) ultimate goal, 2) Time & energy, & 3) expense of those choices be your guide in making this decision.

I hope that helps. I wish you all the best.

Thank you Iceman, these questions have helped me a great deal. They have reinforced my decision to do the jujutsu and TKD combined. I honestly felt so muddled before I started this thread but now I am absolutely set on my decision to swap the boxing for the TKD.

Cheers

 

[terryl965]

Myuser Gla you was able to make that decission, best of luck and continue training.