How to judge a martial arts school in less than 15 minutes

I recently had a very positive experience visiting a martial arts school.  A seminar was being held by a very skilled practitioner that was in the area for a couple of days before continuing on his cross country circuit.  I had heard of him and had seen online clips which were impressive.  My Sensei also spoke highly of him, which was reason enough for me to seek him out.

The problem?  It was being held at a dojo that I had never been to.  Add to that I was going solo and knew no one who was attending.  And it wasn’t a Jiu Jitsu dojo.

It’s always a little daunting to go to a strange location full of strangers.  Would I be allowed to attend?  Would it be awkward?  Would people be standoffish?  Would they want to test me to see if I deserved my ranking?  Would I stand awkwardly off to the side while everyone paired up?

So many questions.

So what did I do?

First, I checked the school’s website/Facebook page.  It said “Open to all schools and styles”.  Good sign.

Next, I called on the way, speaking to the owner/head intructor.  I asked him if it was ok if I just showed up and paid on arrival (you could pay on-line on his site – great idea!)  “Sure”, he said, asking only if I had any martial arts experience and if I had a gi or would be in street clothes.   Sounded friendly.  

Another good sign.

Arrival.  I found my way in.  Being a new face, I was immediately approached by the owner who introduced himself and welcomed me.  He introduced me to his second in command (only on paper, I suspect – his wife).  They both shook my hand, asked me to fill in the standard waiver.  I offered my payment, which was nice, they didn’t’ ask for it right away. 

Third good sign.

The owner introduced me to one of his students who offered to show me where to change/stow my gear etc.  Very nice person, let me use his locker so I could lock my valuables away.

Back to the mats.  Lots of people in attendance.  Crowed place.  Mainly students from the same school, but a couple visiting schools were represented with different gis, crests etc.

As we stretched awaiting the start of the seminar, I was approached by most of the students from the school who all welcomed me to the event.  Really made me feel at ease.  

Very good sign. 

As the warm up began (little was I to know it would last over an hour…), there was general good humour and positive energy, with humorous glances and looks during the more intense part of the torture, er warm up as we experienced the ‘shared suffering’. 

Once the seminar was underway, each time the visiting teacher told us to mix up partners, I was always the one approached by someone from the hosting school with an offer to work with them. 

The seminar itself was very good, with some good solid technique and some great things to think about.  A good time was had by all.  At the end I thanked the owner and his wife for allowing me to attend.  I was told that I was always welcomed and they thanked me for attending.  When I was getting changed, most of the students shook my hand saying that they hoped they would see me again.

I tend to judge a teacher by their students.  Good students, good teacher, generally speaking.

I didn’t get a chance to critique the pure martial skills of the owner, but I got a pretty good indication as I watched him taking the seminar.  No standing off to the side not taking part.  Worked hard, looked pretty sharp.  Yet another good sign.

I may not take the style of martial arts that they normally teach, but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the club as a place to check out for those that do.  And I’ll be back.

As I was driving away, I realized that in the course of one short afternoon, I had made a whole bunch of new ‘martial’ friends.  I also realized that even though the whole process spanned over several hours, I knew as soon as I walked into the school that it was a good one. 

It took less than 15 minutes.

A reminder what the martial arts are all about. 

A good day.

Train well.

Teaching Styles - Which is Best? Part II

In Part I, I talked about an experience I had with a 'sub-par' instructor.  I was reflecting on different teaching styles.  Here's a few styles I've encountered over the years.

So, first broad teaching style could be called:

Militaristic/Hard-core

Characteristics:

-        Student interaction minimal

-        Instructor lead/driven

-        Strict rules

-        Highly regulated

-        Punitive for rules/etiquette violation

-        Variation/discussion limited

-        Reflection on learning minimal

Different stokes for different folks, of course.  The training partner who made the observation later mentioned that if that was what he experienced years ago, he would have quickly quit the martial arts.  His opinion was that he didn’t sign up for people to yell at him and for nothing to every be good enough.

On the other end of the spectrum is the:

Totally relaxed/ Laisser-faire

Characteristics:

-        Student interaction high

-        Student driven

-        Few of no rules

-        Unstructured

-        Non-punitive

-        Lots of discussion and reflection

Some people are drawn to this type of atmosphere as well.  Very relaxed and non-threatening.  Sessions tend to have little structure, and tend to drift topics and techniques at random, driven largely by the attendees.  Kind of like a bunch of people hanging out to do martial arts.  Often there is a lot of “what do you want to do” type stuff.  The role of the teacher is much less in this type of environment.  They’re just ‘one of the boys’ (or girls).

And in the middle, you find:

Blended

Characteristics:

-        Student interaction present to a degree

-        Instructor lead/Student influenced

-        Rules adopted by students

-        Occasionally punitive measures for rules/etiquette errors

-        Reflection and discussion instructor initiated and lead

There are varying degrees  of the Blended category, some closer to one end than the other.

Just as there are different people and learning styles, there should be different styles of teaching.  It’s a constant progress of adjustment and adaptation, just like the arts themselves.

I won’t necessarily berate any one style but the overly hard, militaristic style can tend to automatically discourage a large amount of people from continuing or signing up.  I know more than one person who tried martial arts when they were younger and quit due to this style of instruction, often leaving a negative view of the martial arts for life.

Having said that, many people respond to this type of environment.   I believe they’ll come out fit, sharp, one dimensional martial artists. Very good at one way of doing things. 

On the overly relaxed side, I’ve training with some clubs like this.  More accurately, the head instructor ran and great class, but his senior black belts lead classes a couple of times a week.  When this happened, there was a lot of standing around, kind of working on this or that and the time dragged.  Friends clumped together and worked in their own little groups.  I don’t respond to this extreme either.

For some, however, it is a completely non-threatening environment.  And some might never experience the arts without it.  If it’s a positive introduction, perhaps they will continue.  We’re all wired differently.

Somewhere in the middle is where most long term martial artists end up. 

Productive training should be student influenced, but instructor lead and driven.  The degree will be influenced by the number, age, maturity and level of the students, and by the beliefs and style of the teacher.  This is the balancing act needed to be a good teacher.

There must be some reflection on learning and students must be able to ask some questions.  That doesn’t mean constant ‘what-ifs” but consistently unanswered questions result in lack of understanding.  And if you don’t understand techniques and the ‘why’ behind them, it’s unlikely you will be able to apply and rely on them in a real situation.  How these Q and A portions are set up is also up to the teacher.  Are questions welcomed any time, part way through a lesson, at the end, etc?  This is also up to the teacher, influenced by the needs of the students.

There must also be some rules and etiquette present.  Ideally, these should be set out early and adopted by the students without much prompting from the teacher.  This way, when there are violations, they are usually minor, and the ‘violators’ often know they’re in trouble.  The punishment is enough to acknowledge the breach but aren’t doled out with any malice or ill will.  Crack a joke and laugh, do some push-ups, that sort of thing… 

A good teacher is able to give his/her students what they want and what they need.  These aren’t always the same thing, and that is where a talented teacher comes in.  As with everything, it’s about balance.

As a student, you deserve to find an environment and a teacher that you respond to.  If your primary goal is self defense, make sure you’re getting that.  If it’s camaraderie and fitness, get that.  You’ll get a bit of all of it regardless. 

Enter your training demanding some things from it and your teacher, but being aware you may not have a view of the bigger picture, and many things become clear over time.  Bottom line, do you end most classes feeling you’ve learned or improved somewhat?  Do you leave feeling happy that you went?  Do you want to go back?  If you answer yes most of the time, whatever teaching style must be working for you.

Train well, with balance… 

Post Violence - Surviving the Aftermath - Part III

In Post Violence - Surviving the Aftermath - Part I  and Part II, we talked about surviving the after effects of violence and some of the mental trauma you may experience as a result.

We discussed ‘losing’ an encounter and the toll it might take on your training, current or future.  Part II ended discussing how people may question or quit their style and/or teacher and how many may think that martial arts don’t work.

I also mentioned the DFL factor.  DFL – ‘dumb F’n luck’ can occur at any time during a violent encounter, do your detriment or to your advantage.  A good fighter can lose to a novice if DFL kicks in.  Know that anyone might get the better of you depending on this factor.  Training is about minimizing the chances of this from occurring.

I told the story of a young man who was mugged on the street after years and years of training in Karate.  He was unable to mount an effective response to it and ultimately quit training, under the belief that Karate (in his case) didn’t work.

I said that it could have been the young man’s training, or it could have been his Sensei or it could have been him.

Any longer term readers of this blog will know that I believe a serious mindset is required for meaningful and effective training.  You can, and should, have fun, of course.  But if your head’s not in the game and you’re just going through the motions in training without connecting the skills to the real world, you’re unlikely to ever learn anything ‘useable’.  

If you’ve never prepared yourself mentally to deal with real violence, no amount of training in the world will help you against a motivated violent attacker.  

You must train your mind to be prepared to respond to violence, and to cause damage to others if necessary, to protect yourself or those you care about.  You must be prepared to do this without hesitation if the encounter can’t be avoided.  

Martial arts are only tools to make this easier to accomplish.  Without the will to win, they are essentially useless for self-preservation.  You must know, and truly believe, that you will prevail.  That you will triumph no matter what and that you will do whatever it takes to survive.

This is the skill that can’t be taught.  It must come from within.  

There are a few methods you can use to help prepare yourself.  Awareness training is one.  Mental role-play/rehearsal is another.  Utilizing the ‘if’ ‘then’ model of thinking.  If this happens, then I’ll do this.

Not only will this decrease your reaction time (make you faster) in the event of an attack, but your mind will have somewhat prepared your body to deal with the whole the host of physiological effects brought about by a traumatic event.  You will also greatly reduce the chances of hesitating, which can lead to disaster.  

You can do this any time, by the way.  For example, if you’re on the subway or public transit, imagine what you would do if the guy/girl across from you suddenly pulled out a knife, or a gun, or even an explosive device.  While the other riders would be confused and disoriented, you could react decisively and quickly, before those around you even knew what was going on.  Practice this mental rehearsal as much as possible.  It can be done anywhere at any time.

Another often overlooked area, is steeling yourself mentally, to really hurting someone else, if needed.  We are surrounded by sexy images of movie violence.  It’s not.  It’s ugly and upsetting, even for those on the winning side (assuming you’re not a predator).  It won’t look good, it won’t feel good and it may hurt you as well, physically.  Many a hand has been broken hitting others.  Often the winner is the one that is less hurt in an encounter.  Expect to fight with pain.  For some, it will hurt then, for others, the pain won’t set in until after.  Whatever the case, prepare your mind to fight though anything, including the sight of your own blood, or broken limb etc.  It’s about survival at this point.

Don’t expect your martial arts to ‘rescue you’ or just kick in when you need them.  This is not to say that you can’t drill a skill until it becomes an instinctive response.  You may actually react instinctually to an initial grab or strike, but if you’re not mentally prepared to follow up, that may be as far as you get.

Personally, I don’t expect my martial arts to work perfectly, if at all, during a real violent encounter.  I expect that I will survive no matter what and if my martial arts training help, that’s a bonus.  If it allows me to cause less damage to myself or my attacker, or to end the encounter more quickly, then it’s been a success.  If I’ve worked on my awareness and mental rehearsal skills enough, I may be able to more closely resemble the cinematic martial arts response.  If I’ve reacted quickly enough due to my mental preparation, it may look like I saw it coming.  Interjecting early enough into an encounter may allow a successful joint lock, takedown, wrist lock, weapon disarm, or even certain strikes to be delivered, shutting your attacker down at the onset, minimizing damage to both you and your attacker.  Or just as importantly, it may prevent a situation from escalating past its initial stages altogether.

I do a great deal of this mental rehearsal due to my professional role.  It has prevented situations from escalated more times than I can count.  I’ve used Jiu Jitsu successfully on several occasions, and I’ve also had it not work.  It didn’t really matter though, as losing was not an option for me.  Nor should it be for you.

Training to survive a violent encounter is really a 3 step process.

• Awareness
• Mental Preparation
• Training

The actual practicing of the physical skills is the smallest part of preparing for violence.  It’s a very important part, mind you, but it should be what you spend the least amount of time on, even if you train every day.

If I could give you the mental fortitude and the will to win, I’d be a rich guy.  But I can’t.  No one but you can do this.

Now that we’ve discussed what you need to bring to the table, you can hopefully more accurately assess what, if anything is lacking in your martial art or your teacher, or in you.  You can decide if you’re getting ‘translatable’ skills.  By this I mean skills or techniques that make sense to you, ones that you think you could actually apply, taking into account the most likely kind of attacks you might face, as well as the most likely kinds of attackers.  This will be influenced by where you live, what kind of work you do, what you do is your spare time and the hours you keep, to name just a few.

Now that you’ve made an assessment of what your training does or doesn’t need,  we can move on to touch on winning, long term effects, and the healing process.  

"Gimme that kime" - Overcoming common training mistakes

I’ve been thinking a lot about timing, focus and energy work lately.  A few weekends ago, I attended a great martial arts seminar.  There were 5 Sensei in attendance, one of them being mine.  Each did an hour or so session on the mats.  Anyone who gets this type of exposure is lucky.  Each Sensei and style was different, so lots of new ideas and different techniques were explored.  It was a great experience. 

I had the opportunity to work with a bunch of people, many of which I had just met that day.  I worked with guys and gals, big people, small, short people, tall, young and old and even some with physical limitations.  They came from different clubs and styles.

I got to train in Jiu Jitsu, Karate, Aikido and a bit of Kung Fu and some Tai Chi thrown in for good measure.

I was honoured to be uke for my Sensei.  While I’ve gone to some seminars to be my Sensei’s uke in the past, usually I know the type of material he is going to demonstrate.  This time I did not.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but he beat the Sh_ _! out of me.  Actually, he didn't injure me, but for the first time in a long time, he demonstrated at much closer to full speed.  Not knowing what was coming, I realized just how vulnerable I was in the hands of my teacher.

Normally in training, he is far easier on me, no doubt to keep me injury free.  It was amazing to experience the technique fast.  I barely had time to break fall when I was taken down.  I didn’t feel any danger, but it was a real demonstration of the speed and effectiveness of the technique.  It was also a way to show the smaller and more timid attendees that Jiu Jitsu is the great equalizer when it comes to size and strength.  I am much bigger than my Sensei, but you’d never know it by the way he tossed me around.  I saw some light bulbs come on with some of the smaller and/or newer students.

Some of the general observations I made from watching a few dozen students of varying rank were:

1. Most martial artists aren’t accustomed to pain or contact  

There were audible gasps in the audience when my Sensei connected with me, usually as a set up or softening technique.  We practice extensively on the importance of the disruption techniques.  If someone attacks you, simply blocking or evading may not be enough to allow you to really 'sink a technique'.  You must change your opponent's thought pattern and focus so that you can move on to your next technique.  They can’t be thinking about what you’re about to do next, or what they're about to do next.  The best way is to overload their senses with blinding pain.

We also make sure that techniques are applied effectively and to the maximum level without causing injury.  As I was up on my toes, or racing to tap since the pain was exquisite, you could see some startled eyes.  You have to know that any technique you apply really has the ability to disable, control or stop your opponent.  Going through the motions without discomfort will not give you the confidence to know that your stuff will work in a real encounter.

2. Most martial artists do not understand movement and the body’s reaction to pain

This is a biggie.  I’ve written previously about being a good uke and how important it is to understand the body’s reaction to pain.  It’s equally important to understand that attacks are not static.  Attackers are moving when they are attacking.  They are also moving when you are defending, in response to what you are doing or to get away or to continue to attack.  You cannot just stand there assuming a single static attack is coming.  You must train to adjust to, or anticipate movement.  Your technique must be flexible.  What if your attacker doesn’t react as planned?  You can’t just stand doing nothing, especially if your intended defense didn’t work.  Remember, they’re still attacking.  They are still focused on hurting you.  When you train, understand that your technique may or may not work, and it will likely have to be adjusted as you go.  Decent training gives you options. 

As the attacker, make sure you attack realistically as well.  I’ve written about this previously, read here for one of the posts.

One way to improve this area is to experience actual pain (see point #1).  Used safely and responsibly, pain is a great teacher.  You’ll learn how your technique will work and your uke will learn just as much.  This way the uke you used to simulate punching in the stomach might actually double over somewhat instead of standing straight while you try to get to the next part.

3. Most martial artist lack focus, or kime

There are the mechanical aspects of technique, but there other factors which can make or break a technique.  In any throwing or take down techniques, you need to focus on where you want the body to go.  Your movements, big or small, must direct, lead or force your opponent to where you want then.  The same applies to other techniques as well.  My style is heavily influenced by the small circle theory, and quite frankly, almost all our techniques contain some sort of circle, or a circular movement. 

The difference between average technique and technique that is really effective is focus.  Focus on completing the circle.  In a z-lock wrist lock, one hand pushes while the other pulls.  A common mistake is just to push.  This results in your opponent moving straight back.  It still hurts, but he/she gets away from you.  When you focus on pushing out with one hand and pulling in with the other, you complete the circle and your opponent ends up going down instead of back.  The pain is also intensified greatly. 

And when throwing, don’t just throw your opponent, complete the circle and drive them down into the ground at your feet, right where you want them.

This concept doesn’t only apply to Jiu Jitsu technique.  It can apply to striking arts as well.  Focus on direction, power and penetration.  For circular blocks, block and continue the block around and down, taking your opponent’s balance.

Personally I’m a believer of energy work. Projecting your energy into the technique. Around and down, in the example of the z-lock, increases the effectiveness as well.  Now whether or not using energy work is actually just a method of improving my timing and focus doesn’t really matter because it works. My technique is better when I project my chi.  (I don’t care if I take an aspirin or a placebo, as long as my headache goes away)

4. Most martial artists don't know how to put it all together 

When we learn techniques, we break them down into their separate parts.  Once you’ve been doing it for a while, you need to put it all back together.  Your stance, low or high, your grab, your distraction, or your technique itself needs to be done as one.  You can’t have someone throw a punch at you and then:

Step #1 – Block

Step #2 – Grab

Step #3 – Distraction

Step #4 - Step in, drop into stance

Step #4 – Apply technique

Sadly, this often happens.  And it doesn’t take into account #2 in my list of observations.  It ignores movement.  You’ll also eat the next punch while your trying to complete each step.

Things have to be done together.  The block and grab or block and distract need to happen at the same time.  The stance and the technique sink and go on at the same time, using the stance (even a very high one) adds to the technique.  When you focus on it as one fluid movement, your skill will increase by leaps and bounds.  Focus and flow are two essential elements of effective martial arts technique.

It is not my intention for this article to be purely negative or to criticize anyone who was at the seminar.  I had a great time, learned a lot and worked with a bunch of talented martial artists.  I am only referring to what I see as trends or widespread issues in the world of martial arts.  I have, and still do, suffer from some of these issues myself.  Most often it’s a matter of losing focus so whenever I get sloppy, I remind myself to “Gimme the kime”.

Food for thought.

Train well.