What's the furthest you're willing to drive to attend a MA school?

[_Simon_]

If it was an amazing school/instructor... well IIIII would walk 500 miles.... And IIIIII would walk 500 more... !

(But seriously, I eventually extended my looking for a school to about the 45 minute radius. Figured it was too limiting to only choose very close ones, especially if there was one I really connected with that may be just that little further away. That being said there are a ton of schools in the city at about an hours drive... but meh, that traffic! XD )

 

[dvcochran]

I've traveled considerable distances to train at times when I had no choice since there was nobody teaching the stuff close by. And then there were the years when I drove my teenage son all they way across town to his TKD class ...when there were several schools close by our home. But he only wanted to train with Master Nick. And I wanted to have a better relationship with my son.

Those drives were about the only time I could connect with the kid at that age. Don't regret a minute of it!

That is freakin' cool right there.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I once attended a Judo dojo that was an hour from my home. That was probably the furthest. I've been fortunate to have lived in large cities my entire life, so martial arts schools were never hard to find. However, I do understand that some people living in rural areas may not be so fortunate.

With that said, what's the furthest you've traveled to attend a MA school?

For quite a while I drove about an hour to get back to my old dojo (when the Hobbit and I moved in together). I can't see myself making anything longer than that for any length of time, and I'm not sure I'd travel that far on a twice-weekly basis any more - sitting in a car bothers me more than it used to. But that's from the standpoint of someone who has mostly been teaching, and only to small groups - for several years. If I had a school where I was training and having fun with a variety of training partners, I might be motivated enough to travel more.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

You're quite perceptive....


A friend found a MA school they wanted to try, but it was about 30 minutes away from where they lived, and they wanted some advice. My only experience with long distance training was the very short time I did Judo. It was an hour there and an hour back, and was one of the major reasons I didn't stick with it. So I thought I'd ask around here to get some other perspectives.

Anyway, thanks for the input.

I think your experience is pretty much the common one. If it gets to an hour, for most of us, it's hard to maintain.

 

[drop bear]

I am driving 300km for a seminar this weekend.

 

[dvcochran]

I am driving 300km for a seminar this weekend.

That is a 186.4 mile haul. I hope you have a good one.

 

[drop bear]

That is a 186.4 mile haul. I hope you have a good one.

They are all pretty good guys. Plus Ian bone and Paul cale will be there. So it should be fun.

 

[Chris Parker]

I drive around half an hour each way to teach... but to learn, presently I drive one hour (or so, depending on traffic) to the airport, fly for 4 and a half hours, then drive another 45 minutes for one class, or drive an hour to the airport, fly 10 and a half hours, and travel another hour or so to another class, or drive an hour to the airport, fly 10 and a half hours, then take a 4 hour bullet train for another.... so there's a bit of distance involved.

Then again, I'm looking at adding a class that I'll travel around 20-25 minutes to... so that'll be a shorter distance (but also might incur hour long flights every now and then...).