Labion
New member
Here's a quick little story: A few months ago I had someone bring up in conversation they wanted to find a boxing gym in their area. There was one in particular this person has heard many good things about and was contemplating checking out that gym. They did not know my martial arts background and out of curiosity I asked if the gym had a website. I looked it up online. It was a very big and nice looking place with a fight cage, fancy lights, lots of people in the photos with boxing gloves on. Immediately I was able to pick up on some red flags. I explained to this person the gym looks nice from what I can see but that has nothing to do with skill development. I proceeded to look at the class schedule. Boxing was 4 days a week and only lasted 1 hour each day. 30 minutes of that 1 hour boxing session would be used up for regular exercise which they use a term "conditioning" as a way to make it seem fancier than it actually is. The actual skill training only lasted 30 minutes each day. Out of those four days that only means 2 hours of actual boxing training throughout the week, if you can actually attend class four days a week that is, Which they tire out their students beforehand so they aren't actually able to absorb all the skill for that day. The membership fee was very expensive as well with a very long term contract. I then read the description of the class and their gym. They referred to boxing as "an efficient self defense system that is great at creating character development and gives people confidence". That showed me they don't actually understand their system and whether they realize it or not they are robbing people. We decided to look at other boxing gyms in the area and all had some major red flags similar to the above example. All I could recommend to that person was see if they can attend free trial classes and use their better judgement to decide what gym to go to and to also keep an open mind about trying other systems just in case.
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When I first began my martial arts journey I thought if I studied what I can online, look at as many videos as I can, and even try to self teach myself, I could obtain decent skill. Just enough for when I finally found a gym, that it would save me from looking like a total novice and it would speed up the process of my training. I didn't want to look bad when I entered the gym. I wanted to look good and avoid being a burden to everyone else around me. I was a beginner that didn't want to look like a beginner. I was wrong to think this. Now being an instructor in training, I've dealt with so many beginners that also had very similar lines of thinking when they started their journeys. Anyone that has read my posts can see I am very dedicated to debunking misinformation and bringing to light the many scams that exist in the martial arts world which I myself and many others were victims of.
One major issue I have found much of my beginners had is they were very mesmerized by aesthetics in the beginning. "I thought it looked cool so I wanted to try it","That looks cool I want to buy it", and so on and so forth. This could be about anything. Buying an expensive "uniform" or belt, a gym membership for a gym they see online with fancy lights and a fight ring with a nice big open space, or even just something as simple as a training course they saw on YouTube. The point of focus here is how easily it is to get people to do something just because it looks "cool". If it's aesthetically pleasing enough people will come in droves to buy it. More times than not, the coolest thing to do is not the best, or the most effective, or even the most practical. The criteria for something to be aesthetically pleasing is an entirely different category than the criteria for practical, effective, etc. We must be objective and go with what we can prove to be undeniably correct with no bias at all if possible.
When picking out something martial arts related, one must take into consideration the desired goal and the criteria needed to fulfill that goal. Your answer will obviously determine how lax you can afford to be with the quality of your training but the same principle applies regardless of your answer.
What is your goal? Do you want to do this for fun? To be a good fighter? To be a teacher? Is it just a hobby or something you want to take seriously? How does this gym and what it can offer bring you to your goal?
An easy way to go about this is asking yourself in simple terms.. *does this = this?*
Examples:
1. Does a big gym = I'll be a good fighter?
No. A big gym means they have enough money to afford one. That does NOT directly mean they offer quality instruction. So then we must ask what are they doing to afford a large space? The answer varies from place to place. I've seen some gyms sell their own brand of shirts and have optional events throughout the year. Others force students to buy belts to "rank up" and obtain more privileges in the gym such as sparring.
2. Does 2 hours a week = i will become a good teacher?
No. There's 168 hours in 7 days. You spend 2 hours training a week and the other 166 doing things in daily life which effectively untrains your combative ability. You will spend most if not all of those 2 hours a week reclaiming what was lost and/or being stagnant in development.
3. Does buying a uniform = I'll look like a real fighter?
No. Clothes is clothes. It has nothing to do with your skill. Looking like a real fighter means being a real fighter.
4. Does watching martial art videos online= I can teach myself things on my own?
Yes. Are these things beneficial? No. You are not a teacher. How can you teach when you have no idea how to teach and no idea about what you are teaching? If we all did not need in person instruction, gyms and schools wouldn't exist. Also keep in mind muscle memory can be stubborn. Things can linger in the body subtly and long after we thought they were gone.
This is obviously very simplified so everyone of any level can get an understanding of what I am teaching. Look at the criteria needed to accomplish something and you will see they require hyper specific conditions. Everything aside from what is specifically required is useless and will only get in the way of proper development.
Here is a more relatable example of what I mean: When we do our meditations and affirmations we are very hyper specific. This is because we understand to obtain a desired result we must fulfill certain criteria. If we don't the energy will manifest in the way of least resistance. Not what's healthiest or beneficial unless specifically willed to do so. It's all short, simple, and direct. No room for uselessness.
I hope this can help beginners weed out some of the bs when getting into martial arts.
Please feel free to ask any questions here
Hail Satan
Hail Asmodeus
Hail Satanachia
________________________________________
When I first began my martial arts journey I thought if I studied what I can online, look at as many videos as I can, and even try to self teach myself, I could obtain decent skill. Just enough for when I finally found a gym, that it would save me from looking like a total novice and it would speed up the process of my training. I didn't want to look bad when I entered the gym. I wanted to look good and avoid being a burden to everyone else around me. I was a beginner that didn't want to look like a beginner. I was wrong to think this. Now being an instructor in training, I've dealt with so many beginners that also had very similar lines of thinking when they started their journeys. Anyone that has read my posts can see I am very dedicated to debunking misinformation and bringing to light the many scams that exist in the martial arts world which I myself and many others were victims of.
One major issue I have found much of my beginners had is they were very mesmerized by aesthetics in the beginning. "I thought it looked cool so I wanted to try it","That looks cool I want to buy it", and so on and so forth. This could be about anything. Buying an expensive "uniform" or belt, a gym membership for a gym they see online with fancy lights and a fight ring with a nice big open space, or even just something as simple as a training course they saw on YouTube. The point of focus here is how easily it is to get people to do something just because it looks "cool". If it's aesthetically pleasing enough people will come in droves to buy it. More times than not, the coolest thing to do is not the best, or the most effective, or even the most practical. The criteria for something to be aesthetically pleasing is an entirely different category than the criteria for practical, effective, etc. We must be objective and go with what we can prove to be undeniably correct with no bias at all if possible.
When picking out something martial arts related, one must take into consideration the desired goal and the criteria needed to fulfill that goal. Your answer will obviously determine how lax you can afford to be with the quality of your training but the same principle applies regardless of your answer.
What is your goal? Do you want to do this for fun? To be a good fighter? To be a teacher? Is it just a hobby or something you want to take seriously? How does this gym and what it can offer bring you to your goal?
An easy way to go about this is asking yourself in simple terms.. *does this = this?*
Examples:
1. Does a big gym = I'll be a good fighter?
No. A big gym means they have enough money to afford one. That does NOT directly mean they offer quality instruction. So then we must ask what are they doing to afford a large space? The answer varies from place to place. I've seen some gyms sell their own brand of shirts and have optional events throughout the year. Others force students to buy belts to "rank up" and obtain more privileges in the gym such as sparring.
2. Does 2 hours a week = i will become a good teacher?
No. There's 168 hours in 7 days. You spend 2 hours training a week and the other 166 doing things in daily life which effectively untrains your combative ability. You will spend most if not all of those 2 hours a week reclaiming what was lost and/or being stagnant in development.
3. Does buying a uniform = I'll look like a real fighter?
No. Clothes is clothes. It has nothing to do with your skill. Looking like a real fighter means being a real fighter.
4. Does watching martial art videos online= I can teach myself things on my own?
Yes. Are these things beneficial? No. You are not a teacher. How can you teach when you have no idea how to teach and no idea about what you are teaching? If we all did not need in person instruction, gyms and schools wouldn't exist. Also keep in mind muscle memory can be stubborn. Things can linger in the body subtly and long after we thought they were gone.
This is obviously very simplified so everyone of any level can get an understanding of what I am teaching. Look at the criteria needed to accomplish something and you will see they require hyper specific conditions. Everything aside from what is specifically required is useless and will only get in the way of proper development.
Here is a more relatable example of what I mean: When we do our meditations and affirmations we are very hyper specific. This is because we understand to obtain a desired result we must fulfill certain criteria. If we don't the energy will manifest in the way of least resistance. Not what's healthiest or beneficial unless specifically willed to do so. It's all short, simple, and direct. No room for uselessness.
I hope this can help beginners weed out some of the bs when getting into martial arts.
Please feel free to ask any questions here
Hail Satan
Hail Asmodeus
Hail Satanachia