to switch schools or not??? (again)

[cfr]

Im going to try to make this long winded story as short as possible. But if I dont give all this info you may not get a feel for my dilema and not understand why Im so torn on this whole deal.

The reasons I train are for SD and for fun. Thats it. To uphold ancient tradition, get more self discipline, understand the deeper meaning of life, etc., are neat if thats your thing, but its not mine.

My training history:

I started training about 2 1/2 years ago in a garage. A combination of BJJ, Judo, Kickboxing, and JJJ. I was with him for 6 months but then he moved away. I would have been with hime forever as we trained well together and I really dug it.

From there I went to a Hapkido school. 6 months later I came to realize that the school I was at was pretty unrealistic. A McDojo if you will.

So from there I went to a Kenpo school for 3 months. My take on katas is you are one side of the fence or the other. If you beleive in them, nobody can convince you that you are wasting your time. If you dont beleive in them, nobody can make you see how valuable they are. They are not for me. (I really dont want to start the Kata war here so please just accept that they are not for me, and I am happy for you if you beleive deeply in them.)

So then I went to where Im at now. Ive been there for 11 months of my year long contract. We do a combination of Muay Thai, JKD, and FMA. I dig it alot. It seems pretty realistic. We never puch the air, always focus mitts or pads. No katas. My instuctor grew up in the Phillipines and has been in lots of fights. And he's trained with some pretty well credentialed people. The one small thing I hate about it is the sparring situation. 2 - 2 1/2 years to start sparring. Lots of drills until then. Even un-timed drills to learn from. But no totally unscripted sparring for me for another 1 - 1 1/2 years.

Due to my bouncing around in schools Ive never sparred. I really want too as it seems an invaluable part of training to those of you who do it. A Muay Thai school opened up a few months ago near me and I stopped by to talk to the instructor. At this school I would begin light MT sparring about 2 weeks after starting. As mentioned the school Im @ now does year long contracts. I could go month to month but it would be quite costly. I really do love my school, the ciriculum, and the instructor, but hate the fact that it takes us so long to spar. On the other hand, I beleive alot in MT. I love doing it at my school. But dont beleive its the end all be all for SD. A very huge part of it, but not all of it.


Basically, Im tired of bouncing around. But need to spar. Even the McDojo Hapkido school I went to had people sparring in 6 - 8 months. True it was pretty cheesy looking sparring, but it was something. MT has always fascinated me. Its definately my strong point at the school Im @ now. But since my main goal is SD, I like the weapons, takedowns of the other styles I do as well. So what would you do if you were in my shoes?

 

[theletch1]

If your happy where you are with the exception of the sparring ask the instructor if your previous experience could count toward your time for sparring OR get a friend and spar on your free time. If the school is great other than the sparring situation simply find a way around it.

 

[cfr]

If your happy where you are with the exception of the sparring ask the instructor if your previous experience could count toward your time for sparring OR get a friend and spar on your free time. If the school is great other than the sparring situation simply find a way around it.

My previous time wont count as I would need to be in a higher ranking class to be able to spar. As far as sparring outside of class, the instructor highly discourages it. I would still be willing, but dont think that many of the other students would.

 

[MJS]

So then I went to where Im at now. Ive been there for 11 months of my year long contract. We do a combination of Muay Thai, JKD, and FMA. I dig it alot. It seems pretty realistic. We never puch the air, always focus mitts or pads. No katas. My instuctor grew up in the Phillipines and has been in lots of fights. And he's trained with some pretty well credentialed people. The one small thing I hate about it is the sparring situation. 2 - 2 1/2 years to start sparring. Lots of drills until then. Even un-timed drills to learn from. But no totally unscripted sparring for me for another 1 - 1 1/2 years.

Yes, it does seem like you've done alot of bouncing around. IMO, I really dont think that you've been at any place long enough to really get to see the full menu, so to speak! The school you are at now seems pretty good but a red flag was raised when I read your next post talking about your instructor looking down on sparring outside of class. Why is that? Also why do you have to wait almost 2 yrs. before you do ANY sparring during the class? IMO, I would think that you'd be ready to do some light, controlled sparring within 2-3 months! The sparring would consist of you working with a good partner. What do I mean by good? Good meaning someone that is going to help YOU and not worry about trying to beat you or always get the best of you. How can you learn if that is always happening? IMO, you cant!

Again, it sounds like a good school, but I'd look around for another JKD school or something similar. I'm getting the impression that the instructor seems controlling, but thats just my opinion, I dont know the man.

Mike

 

[tshadowchaser]

It is sometimes verry hard to find that one school the fits all your needs.
Sometimes you must find one that meets more needs than other schools , then live with what you have and not worry about what you dont.
You may need to change schools once again but this time try hard to find the one that will give you the training you want. You seem to want to learn so do not give up, but try to make the nxt one the one you will stay with.
Best of luck

 

[cfr]

I was just thinking about maybe doing MT for something like a year just to get some sparring under my belt and then going back to where Im at. Ive got a month to figure it out so we'll see.

 

[Phoenix44]

Do you realize that this is the first time you've stuck with anything longer than 6 months? No offense, but that's not really long enough to get proficient at anything, even in the context of training on and off for a couple of years.

My opinion: If you're basically satisfied with your current situation, then stay the path. Get really good at something. If you feel the need to spar, and that's not an option at your school, then see if you can take some private lessons elsewhere, to supplement your current training.

 

[James Kovacich]

Two years to spar in my opinion is not even close to realistic.

But aside from that I would say stay where your at AND on the side go to the Thai school 2 days a week. You might not be right for Thai and realize you were already in the right place without having to of left it.

If you like the Thai you can always quit one school. Training 2 days a week at 2 differant schools isn't unrealistic at all.

:asian:

 

[c2kenpo]

Just to toss a thought out here but have being been in school managment before the reason your school my not be offering sparring untill a certian time frame may be due to his liability insurance. (Sounds fetchy but within reason).

I agree with many here if outside of sparring you are happy with the overall curriculum and what you are learning stay the course you may be suprised about what you have learned when you get to the sparring section.

If you have a YMCA or other program nearby some I know have a boxing program (LIGHT boxing) that you can join in and get started on the road.

Otherwise good luck on your journey and decision.

Dave Gunzburg

 

[Touch Of Death]

I suggest you stay. Sparring too soon develops bad habbits that are hard to break. You are never going to be satisfied no matter which school you go to, because, they will all be unlike your first taste of martial arts to some extent. This school sounds about as close as you are going to get without kidnapping your former instructor. In five years the sparring thing won't be an issue. You do intend to continue for life, don't you? :asian:
Sean

 

[MJS]

I suggest you stay. Sparring too soon develops bad habbits that are hard to break. You are never going to be satisfied no matter which school you go to, because, they will all be unlike your first taste of martial arts to some extent. This school sounds about as close as you are going to get without kidnapping your former instructor. In five years the sparring thing won't be an issue. You do intend to continue for life, don't you? :asian:
Sean

I agree. Sparring too soon will most likely develop bad habits, but I think that waiting 2 yrs is a little too long to wait.

Mike

 

[cfr]

Do you realize that this is the first time you've stuck with anything longer than 6 months?

Of course I do, thats why Im in this dilema. Im tired of starting overy but am dying to spar.

 

[cfr]

Two years to spar in my opinion is not even close to realistic.

But aside from that I would say stay where your at AND on the side go to the Thai school 2 days a week. You might not be right for Thai and realize you were already in the right place without having to of left it.

If you like the Thai you can always quit one school. Training 2 days a week at 2 differant schools isn't unrealistic at all.

:asian:

Due to time and $$$, doing 2 schools isnt going to happen. Otherwise Id be all over it. I love doing Thai @ my school, so I dont think I wouldnt like it.

 

[cfr]

You are never going to be satisfied no matter which school you go to, because, they will all be unlike your first taste of martial arts to some extent. This school sounds about as close as you are going to get without kidnapping your former instructor. You do intend to continue for life, don't you?

An excellent point. Yes.

 

[MMA Combatives]

If the instructor is a good instructor, stick with the school. A good instructor need not be Bruce Lee...but rather a great coach. You can always incorporate other styles later, but the closer the school, the more you will attend, the more training you'll receive, etc.

 

[tumpaiguy]

I would definitely say to stay where you are at and do the MT on the side. The best of both worlds!

 

[cfr]

I would definitely say to stay where you are at and do the MT on the side. The best of both worlds!

It would be great. But due to $$$ and time its just not possible.

 

[Phoenix44]

Well if it's not feasible to cross-train, then I think the answer is to stay where you are. As it's been pointed out before, if you keep jumping around, you'll never develop proficiency at anything. And for what? So you can spar 9 or 10 months earlier?

PLUS you're not really demonstrating the tenacity and dedication of a martial artist.

 

[cfr]

This blows. I just started training again this week after about a month layoff for an injury. Testing will take place at my school in a couple of weeks that I wont be a part of because of my time off. Had it not been for this, Im pretty sure I would have been able to test. Since tests only occur once every two months, Ive got that much longer from now until I can spar at my school. Probably a solid year and a half from now. I was already having a tough time with this decision and now this. Not too encouraging. What a drag. I was also thinking about just leveling with my instructor and letting him know how I feel (that its lame to wait to spar for this long) but I really dont want to be offensive or disrespectful. Any thouhts on this idea? Im really in a tailspin about this so ideas are welcome.

 

[Touch Of Death]

This blows. I just started training again this week after about a month layoff for an injury. Testing will take place at my school in a couple of weeks that I wont be a part of because of my time off. Had it not been for this, Im pretty sure I would have been able to test. Since tests only occur once every two months, Ive got that much longer from now until I can spar at my school. Probably a solid year and a half from now. I was already having a tough time with this decision and now this. Not too encouraging. What a drag. I was also thinking about just leveling with my instructor and letting him know how I feel (that its lame to wait to spar for this long) but I really dont want to be offensive or disrespectful. Any thouhts on this idea? Im really in a tailspin about this so ideas are welcome.

By all means go, if thats what you want. This two year rule is meant to weed out any problems that arise with newbees, and your obviously climbing the walls within the first six months. However you could just realize that he is teaching you how to spar. He will spend the next two years showing you and drilling you on what he expects to see. You will meet his standards or you will go elsewhere. I would just stay, but if you can find an instructor of this caliber that willing to let you do what you want, then go for it. I, for one, think it would be a mistake.
Sean