The martial arts are challenging and rewarding. More than just a sport, martial arts is a form of self defense, fitness, opportunity for competition, an outlet of philosophy and artistic expression. As a coach, I respect the reasons a student may have for choosing to study martial arts and try to provide a framework where they can pursue their specific desires.
However, I have rules, regulations, and teaching ideals that remain constant throughout the different martial arts I teach, regardless or gender, age, or experience level of the students. My hope is that these rules and ideas assist all of us live, grow and love the martial arts. The study of martial arts has been one of the most positive forces in my life, and could be a defining element of joy in a student’s life as well.
Teaching Ideals
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Safety is priority number one. No goal, however worthy, will be worked on unless it can exist in harmony with this prerogative.
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My martial art classes are not a place for rehabilitation, mental or physical. True, martial arts strengthen the body and mind; but there is a base-line of personal well-being that must be maintained in order to maintain safety of the instructor and students. Serious emotional or physical injury need to be taken care of by a competent professional.
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We strive to respect others and ourselves. We cannot truly have one without the other.
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Our class is an environment of learning.
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We leaving our ego at the door. This is not a trite saying– we train in a space of safety and respect, so there is no need to prove anything to anybody. We know ourselves and accept ourselves with our combination of flaws and strengths. We do not compare ourselves to others for the purpose of creating a pecking order.
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All those in our classes are teammates and not competitors. We share knowledge, experience, and respect liberally with each other. The stronger our teammates become, the better off we are for it. We accelerate our growth collectively.
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When we train hard with each other, it is still in alignment with our views of safety, respect, and ego. When we compete, we do not deviate from our philosophies.
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As an teacher, I try to perpetually focus on fundamentals and strive for principle based instruction. As a shining example, I quote martial art instructor Matt Thornton, “The entire curriculum … revolves around the fundamentals of the delivery system. And because of this, each individual athlete is given the freedom needed to develop his/her own style; one that is optimum for their own body, mind and temperament. In a Gym that focuses on fundamentals, as opposed to a technique-by-technique template, each [student uses] very different types of games. And this not only produces better athletes/technicians quickly, it also helps impart and preserve the core Art (delivery system) itself.”
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Martial arts is a way of life. Our training is not a compartment our being, it is a fiber that runs throughout. If we are jerks outside of class, we bring that to the mats. Likewise, if we keep our cool, show respect and determination on the mats we will take that everywhere we go and to everyone we meet.
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Life is about joy and martial arts reflects that. We train hard, yes, but we laugh, play and relax in the joys of it. Our team is primarily a group of friends with a common interest in martial arts.
Rules, Regulations, and Expectations
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Arrive on time to class and notify the teacher if you must leave early.
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Wear appropriate training clothing. Sport shorts, athletic pants, or martial arts uniform (gi) are acceptable. Shirts are required. No clothing with metal zippers, rivets or buttons are permitted.
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No shoes of any kind are allowed on the mats.
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Body piercings and jewelry (including watches, wedding rings, necklaces) of all kinds are to be removed before training begins. They are safety hazards.
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Students “going too hard” in training will be reminded to relax first. Next they will be asked stop participating for a time if they cannot or will not control themselves. Repeat offenders will have private talks with the coach to determine if they can continue to train with team members.
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Students are expected to communicate with each other about how comfortable they feel about training intensity. Honesty-with-self and lack of ego make this easy – it is never a problem to say to a teammate, “I need to take it light today.”
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Cursing and vulgar language is not permitted.
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Remarks or gestures of a sexual nature will not be tolerated. I take such offences very seriously– depending on the instance, there may not be opportunity for students to remain training with the team. Our ability to grow as a team is affected when individuals create such discomfort.
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Students are expected to clean, take out, and put away the mats as necessary. This is a form of respect for self, team, and our environment.
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If students are found instigating fights, inside our outside of class, they will not be allowed to train with the team. True warriors save it for the ring.
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If students are sick, they are invited to watch but not participate.
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If you have medical conditions that could get others sick – hepatitis, various rashes, warts, etc – the instructor and training partners need to be aware. See below.
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Students are NEVER expected to share details of physical illness, disease, injury (emotionally or physically), but are expected to take responsibility for their own well being and sit out when necessary.
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If students are uncomfortable for any reason, they are not required to participate in the activity and may sit out.
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Students are expected to be clean physically for practice. Proper showering, usage of deodorant/antiperspirant, and oral hygiene are not just social conventions, but standards of safety and respect. Infractions will be brought up in a confidential manner.
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Fingernails and toenails are to be trimmed neatly; if they remain sharp, a nail file is to be used to smooth them.
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Training clothing is to be washed regularly, immediately after each use if possible. Just because you don’t sweat or they don’t smell does not give you permission to bend this rule. This is a matter of safety, not social convention.
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Students are expected to learn and apply the team training philosophies on their own, in addition to the instruction they learn.
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Students are expected to ask questions.
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Students are expected to inform the instructor if something un-safe is occurring.
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Students are expected to support teammates with positive reinforcement, never criticism. If you cannot offer a technical pointer without offense, don’t say it.
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Students are expected to have fun.
Assignment for U of U students:
After reading, you are required to write one comment about 50 words long. Use your first name and last initial so I can give you credit. As for the content of your comment, it’s up to you, provided it moves the conversation along. Question, disagree, ask for clarification, add your own thoughts. I’m sure I’ve missed something – illuminate me!
As we’ve talked about before, the “Cool post bro” response is inadequate.
Also, consider other teammate’s comments when you write your own. Feel free to address them and exchange ideas.
Tags: game, Philosophy, theory
Try to see yourself as you truly are and try to adopt what is meritorious in the work of others. As a [martial artist] you will of course often watch others practice. When you do and you see strong points in the performance of others, try to incorporate them into your own technique. At the same time, if the trainee you are watching seems to be doing less than his best, ask yourself whether you too may not be failing [in that same area]. Each of us has good qualities and bad; the wise man seeks to emulate the good he precieves in others and avoid the bad.
- Gichin Funakoshi, founder of Shotokan Karate,
There is a lot of wisdom in this quote. One part in particular has been enlightening for me – when you see a fighter make a mistake it is easy to criticize instead of checking yourself to see if you too have the same malady. I’ve been told that the faults we possess are easy to see when they are exhibited in others, but elusive in ourselves.
Know yourself. See what is being proven effective. Evolve.
Tags: advice, karate, tips, wisdom
(Image courtesy of icantcu )
I’ve published over 150 posts here at SLCMMA, and I appreciate you reading some of them. You’ve brought traffic to my blog, maybe even clicked on my adsense ads to help me out – now I want to do something for you.
Tell me what you’d like to see – more pictures, videos, interviews … request away. As my blog grows, I want to give you what you want. So tell me what that is!
For example, in my personal life, I’ve had a number of requests to write something about flexibility, so I’m putting together a free Ebook that will be available later this year. It’s a pretty big project for me, but since I know it will be appreciated I’m going to do it.
Of course, I may know nothing about what you want to know. In that case, what a cool opportunity for me to learn it, right?
In the comments, request something you’d like me to write about, and I’ll do my best to cover it in the future.
Tags: requests
I know it sounds like Sesame Street when I say it, but I do think Paulo looks a little bit like Oscar the grouch mixed with Bert – its probably his thick eyebrows and huge ears. See evidence about that below.
Back to the point, Paulo’s head and arm choke put Mike Swick to sleep in seconds. We practiced this choke in class today and Thiago shows us a textbook example. He gets the deep underhook on the top arm, passes his wrist on the far side of the neck, shoves the head down, locks the hand in the elbow crease and finishes Mikes’s trip to dream land with a twist of his forearm into the jugular. All of this and he doesn’t even have to leave the opponents half guard. Made me a Paulo fan.
Since I’m a light hearted mood, I’ve chosen an instructional to match. Here’s a link to MMA prankster Mayhem Miller teaching the Darce choke.
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This post brought to you by the letter P and the number 109.
Tags: barabo, darce choke, paulo thiago, ufc 109
I have been thinking about what would help novice student become well-rooted in martial arts. My students up at the U of U have taught me a great deal, and I have a few things that could be of use to them and all beginning students.
Relax
Relax, relax, relax. There is a tendency to substitute strength for technique – especially since at the beginning of your training career you have very little of it. When sparring, the lack of experience and control tenses up your body and often makes guys go ape crazy. Breathe, have positive self talk, use mantra’s ,do visualizations before class. Whatever it takes.
A tight fist can hold nothing; a relaxed hand can accept.
Safety
Safety is a no brainer – if you plan to train in martial arts for any significant length of time, you are at continual risk of injury and disease. The healthier and safer you remain, the more fruitful and long lived your training.
Take your personal safety, and that of your training partners dead serious. When you get injured, you stop training. You get sick? Training stops. You hurt your team members? People will shy away from practicing with you.
So how do you stay safe? For starters, see above. Relax. Second, take care of yourself. Get to bed on time, eat your veggies, don’t push yourself beyond your limits. Third? Pay attention to the safety pointers your Sensei brings up.
Ask Questions
Instructors love it when you ask questions, even more so when they are thoughtful questions. Don’t just ask to see a technique again – go deeper. Ask about the fundamental principles at work. Ask why the move works.
Also, the instructor cannot read your mind – if you have difficulty with something, bring it up. At the same time, be respectfully curious – think about your questions before hand. When you are practicing at home, ponder what would be a good question. People say that there are no dumb questions, but this is because “they” are idiots. Of course there are dumb questions – questions that are usually blurted out with no thought. Don’t let this discourage you though – “they” and “we” were all idiots at one time. Nice people will forgive you and help you in spite of it. Still, use your brain; craft good questions and imagine someone else asking you the same thing. What would you say to them?
Record
Invest in a notebook dedicated to your martial art study. Write down what you learn, draw stick figures and diagrams. Write down questions about techniques and make a list of the top three things you are developing.
You can re-live the class with good notes. Your memory will become sharper. You will be cultivating martial intelligence. In an interview, my jujitsu instructor, Sensei Edmunds, has talked about a notebook as one of the most important training tools in your arsenal. It’s one of the best kept secrets in martial arts today, hidden in the place people will look last – right out in the open. I’m sure you’ve heard it before and disregarded it … but I can tell you from personal experience that it is worth.
K.I.S.S.
At the beginning, you are a kid at a candy store. So many awesome, sweet things to learn and do. Knife-fighting defense, rubber guard, advanced sweeps, five point palm exploding heart technique. So much!
The aphorism, “Keep it simple stupid” is a great frame of mind. A master of the basic, fundamental moves and ideas of his or her martial art is a true master. When ever you can, focus on the core concepts and basics.
The most common question I have heard while training is, “Well, what if the guy does this?” “Or this?” Such queries are well-intentioned, but often take an instructor so off topic that it becomes difficult to remember the move you were once learning and the new move that answers the question. There are thousands of things an opponent might do, and there are thousands of techniques to deal with each of them.
I know its tough, but be satisfied in learning one move and learning it well. Save variations on a theme for later. As I have been told numerous times, better to have five techniques you can really fight with than to have five hundred techniques that fight you. Don’t be a collector of techniques. Become a student of the essence of a move.
Practice the basics, over and over again. Advanced stuff is typically just an expression of a well-honed fundamental.
Keep it simple, and keep going.
Share
I love martial arts. I love love it. Chances are, you’re getting pretty found of it too. Talk about it with your friends, practice with them. Invite your friends to class (if its okay with your instructor). A large part of the pleasure of training will come from the relationships you develop in the gym and the relationships you bring into the gym. If you train with a buddy, you can motivate each other and build each other up. When you are tired or lazy, your true friends will coax you into training anyway.
No need to force it on anyone, of course, but if you like it why wouldn’t you want to experience it with the people you love?
“Hey, I just learned an awesome move. Can I practice it with you for two minutes? I’m just a novice at it, so I need to go really slow.”
