Dedication and Loyalty

[Dinkydoo]

I have cross trained quite a bit and totally changed clubs/styles a number of times over the past 4 years and this is my formula:

1) Make a list of things that you are looking to achieve through training in martial arts

2) Break these down into the types of training/tuition that will help you achieve this

3) If your current club don't offer this then speak to your instructor

4) If after a few conversations and a little time things don't improve (or look to change), take a look at some other clubs and if possible, cross train for a while

5) If you find that the new club offers you pretty much everything that you were getting at your old club, plus it helps you to more effectively reach the goals listed at step 1); rethink why you are putting a lot of time, money and effort into training in/at the original club/style

6) Move on if required - stop training in/at the original club/style

Remember: you are paying for this and you are sacrificing free time every week to put the necessary hours into training

Today I competed in my first Kickboxing Open and won a couple of medals. Rewind 4 years and I'd never have believed you if you told me I'd practically given up Kung Fu to train in a 'sport art'.....however I'm now enjoying my training with a great bunch of friends more than ever; we train as a team in class and develop as individual fighters during any cross training and solo practice we do (boxing and mma mostly). In a couple of months time I will be moving to another city where I hope to start training at a club offering JKD, Muay Thai and BJJ - which combines elements from what first made me fall in love with martial arts with styles that train the way I want to train in order to become the rounded fighter I want to be.

 

[TrueJim]

It's interesting you say "train as a team"...at the school my son and I attend, there are three teams: a sparring team, a demo team, and a poomsae team. Most -- but not all -- of the team members are young teenagers. The school has a couple hundred students (counting the students in the after-school programs) so it's quite a large school. We have three other Kukkiwon/WTF-style schools in my same neighborhood (that's northern Virginia for you...you can't swing a cat without hitting a taekwondo school) and having talked to students and parents at those schools, those schools are also quite good -- but they're small. Over time, we get a fair number of refuges from other local schools who are looking to join teams...i.e., students who want to join a larger school that has teams. In some cases the head of our school lets them remain at their home school while also joining our teams (for instance, if he's friends with the head of their school). When initially looking for a taekwondo school, I would have thought that a smaller school would be more interesting to me (presumably thereby receiving more personalized instruction) but in retrospect it turns out being at a larger school has worked out really well for my son and I.

Two points to that story: at least in my area, it's not uncommon for students to switch schools, and not even necessarily because their old school wasn't good enough for them...it just didn't have everything they were looking for. The second point is: I find it interesting how much our teenagers enjoy being on teams. For teenagers, it seems like they really enjoy taekwondo as a social experience, on top of all its other benefits. Being on teams really seems to do a lot for some teenagers in terms of building up their confidence and self-esteem.

 

[Gwai Lo Dan]

In some cases the head of our school lets them remain at their home school while also joining our teams (for instance, if he's friends with the head of their school).

Do you think that is for the student's benefit, or for good relations between Masters? Would the student be discouraged from switching?

 

[TrueJim]

Do you think that is for the student's benefit, or for good relations between Masters? Would the student be discouraged from switching?

I suspect it's both: I think the head of our school respects the good instruction of many of our neighboring schools. That having been said, locally, I think the less-good schools are also known via word of mouth as being less-good. We parents do talk after all. I conjecture that the same courtesy might not be extended to those less-good schools.

 

[MissMoo]

I'm a little envious of the amount of freedom and choice some of you have(@TrueJim), I must admit. I do find there is certainly a social element to my taekwondo, although I'm 40..ahem..something, so no spring chicken, and not especially concerned with being part of the 'team'

I had a long chat with one of the black belts from my old school last night and he really put my mind at rest. He's had a lot of the same discussions with the master that I've never gotten around to having and all to no avail. He continues where he is because of his young son, who IS very concerned with the social aspect and idea of his peers being part of a team, but he doesn't see himself doing too much more there. He said he thought I could make much more of myself with the new school, get established using my fitness experience to help others and drive myself to achieve higher standards in poomsae through having to begin teaching it, in the knowledge that I wouldn't want to do to others that which was done to me (i.e. be taught a lot of incorrect moves/technique in the first place, only to have to re-learn it the right way!!)

The time to tough it out is now, get off easy street and start doing the hard yards I reckon.

 

[tshadowchaser]

I am not in any TKD association but I train to improve my knowledge, keep somewhat in shape, and because I have some great friends in the arts that I enjoy being with and exchanging stories and knowledge with

 

[Dinkydoo]

Just for a quick clarification; we don't really have official teams, although it is appreciated that some of us are training to compete whilst others just want to get good at the style and fitness drills in class. When I say train as a team I meant as in collectively pushing each other towards the common goal of being as good as we can be. A side effect of finding a club that matches what I am looking to achieve (as identified in step 1) of my formula) is that there are lots of other students who are of a similar mindset as myself, who train hard at home and with other people/clubs every week. When we come together outside of class or at our common kickboxing club there is a genuine enthusiasm to coach each other into becomming better fighters and, if appropriate, share some of the things we've learned elsewhere amongst ourselves - which obviously, is secondary to anything our instructors are trying to teach us that night. That is what I meant by 'team' - and of course, this isn't exclusive to any style or club, I'm just really happy that we've got such a tight group and believe that it isn't a coincidence that we've all gravitated towards this kickboxing academy over the past 12 months or so, from a variety of backgrounds.

Likewise @TrueJim, I don't think it is a coincidence that students from smaller clubs with arguably better access to personalised instruction frequently come to your larger club, the 'team' environment is a productive and enjoyable one, particularly for those who enjoy really pushing themselves and coaching peers. There is a certain sense of comradery that comes with collectively training towards a common goal, getting through a really intense session and competing for honours against each other and other clubs.

 

[Dinkydoo]

So after a somewhat lengthy detour into my personal situation, to answer the OP, I value dedication and loyalty to my current clubs and styles....however, not over my own personal training goals. I've trained 'half assed' in a couple of styles for a few months due to being overly loyal to the club/style and it is a time wasting exercise that I do not wish to revisit.

 

[Drose427]

So after a somewhat lengthy detour into my personal situation, to answer the OP, I value dedication and loyalty to my current clubs and styles....however, not over my own personal training goals. I've trained 'half assed' in a couple of styles for a few months due to being overly loyal to the club/style and it is a time wasting exercise that I do not wish to revisit.

This is where Im at now

I test for my BB sometime in the next month, after that milestone I've always wanted to pick up a secodn style (or school)

So Im looking at Boxing and kickboxing because well, I just enjoy striking more than Grappling XD

My root style is TSD, a good sparring translation to modern kickboxing. But we dont own our facility or all the equipment the boxing gym does, plus their Coach has fought in K-1 so he has a good grasp on competitions especially.

Ideally, i'll be spending 2 days at the boxing gym, and 2 days at TSD doing the same kinds of drills and workout (at least for first class, this is how it was for our junior olympian and state level competitors when we competed in the USTU)

Should be a pretty easy thing

Well, the politics are complicated...

KJN isnt a fan of focusing on comps (any comps), he likes them, but thinks they shouldnt be a guys focus. But, School head instructors still mostly get the final say on their students.

KJn doesnt have anything agains cross training (again as long as Im not wearing his name) and my sambumnims always encouraged it. We've had several guys cross train and KJN didnt care, but one guy at a nearby branch school entered the local Toughman and his instructor heard some words.

So I'll be talking to my instructor to find the exact ins and outs this week.

That said, KJN has all but announced his retirement. In which case, we'd have the blank check (theres a tiny chance we wont, but the association wide consensus is people should be able to compete. The issues among Korean GM's shouldnt trickle down to us).

So even if I have to leave for a few months, I could easily come back.

Heck, one of my Sahbumnims may even agree to train me independently until I can come back to formal class. One of the 6th Dans at my school has done this several times.

Its also important to remember that leaving a school, isnt the same as leaving the style or system.

WHile theres a chance I may have to leave to compete(i simply wont know till I ask, my SBM has ALWAYS encouraged me to seek whatever outside knowledge I could) theres no reason for me to stop practicing hyung.

They dont take very long, and the conditioning, focus, and flexibility training they entail would compliment kickboxing the same way they compliment free-sparring.

In terms of dedication and loyalty, I like to look at this as being dedication and loyalty to my style, not necessarily the instructors or school