Online training?

OldManJim

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So with my dojo shut down and the Covid running wild, I was wondering if there’s any reputable online training out there? I cant find anything local. I’ve been noticing a lot of ads for something called mychowgar. I was also wondering about Gracie University. Is it worth it? Any others I haven’t heard about?
 

dvcochran

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I have no direct experience with either. However, Mychowgar appears to be out of Hungary and is Kung Fu in nature. Again, I have no direct experience but the website and other internet entities have indication of being a scam.

The Gracie training system is very well known. As long as you understand the commitment (financial and otherwise) I would think of it as a safe way to to compared to the other.

FWIW, I hope I am totally wrong about MyChowGar. The Martial Arts surely do not need help in getting a bad rap.
 
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OldManJim

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I was kind of wondering about mychowgar as well. I started seeing FB ads for it. GU is having a sale right now. Like $60 off. Is it possible to learn their curriculum by yourself? Hmm
 
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OldManJim

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I don’t recommend it. Practice what you have learned. Time to stand on your own two feet.
The problem is I was only studying for a month in Kendo and Aikido. Other than a couple of videos my Sensei has sent me I haven’t heard from him. I know he moved into a new house. I text him 2 weeks ago and h said he was busy working etc. I dont know what to do. I’m high risk due to diabetes with Covid so I’m unsure where to go from here.
 

Tony Dismukes

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I was kind of wondering about mychowgar as well. I started seeing FB ads for it. GU is having a sale right now. Like $60 off. Is it possible to learn their curriculum by yourself? Hmm
Learning the Gracie University curriculum requires at the absolute minimum one dedicated, consistent, good quality training partner who will work through the lessons and training exercises with you. You can’t do it by yourself.
 
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OldManJim

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Learning the Gracie University curriculum requires at the absolute minimum one dedicated, consistent, good quality training partner who will work through the lessons and training exercises with you. You can’t do it by yourself.
Yeah I did some research. I don’t even think it’d be possible with a grappling dummy.
 

dancingalone

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The problem is I was only studying for a month in Kendo and Aikido. Other than a couple of videos my Sensei has sent me I haven’t heard from him. I know he moved into a new house. I text him 2 weeks ago and h said he was busy working etc. I dont know what to do. I’m high risk due to diabetes with Covid so I’m unsure where to go from here.

How much martial arts experience do you have? Why not just train the material you know already? Add to it some stretching, physical conditioning, and shadow boxing/bag work, and you have plenty to keep busy until you feel comfortable seeking new instruction. There is a plethora of videos on YouTube in a myriad of arts if you think video learning might be useful to you.
 
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OldManJim

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Well. I have an advanced rank belt in Chuck Norris Style. 6 months of bjj. And one month of Aikido and Kendo. But the CNS and bjj was many years ago.
 

dancingalone

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Well. I have an advanced rank belt in Chuck Norris Style. 6 months of bjj. And one month of Aikido and Kendo. But the CNS and bjj was many years ago.
Then you know plenty already to practice by yourself. Just do that until you feel it is less risky to find a new teacher.
 

oneoftheherd80

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I don’t recommend it. Practice what you have learned. Time to stand on your own two feet.
I agree. At least in the Hapkido I studied there are a lot of subtleties that are easy to miss, and the techniques will not work the way they should and you may never learn why. I expect other martial arts are the same.
 

Gerry Seymour

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Yeah I did some research. I don’t even think it’d be possible with a grappling dummy.
It would not. You need the movement and appropriate resistance of a training partner.

My view of online training is that it is best suited to expanding what you already know. So the Gracie stuff is best for someone with some kind of foundation in grappling (even standing grappling) to build upon. So look at what you already know, and look for something that shares some principles if you want to do some online/virtual stuff.
 

Gerry Seymour

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The problem is I was only studying for a month in Kendo and Aikido. Other than a couple of videos my Sensei has sent me I haven’t heard from him. I know he moved into a new house. I text him 2 weeks ago and h said he was busy working etc. I dont know what to do. I’m high risk due to diabetes with Covid so I’m unsure where to go from here.
You have a foundation in CNS, even if it was a while ago, and should be able to find some similar style to work with. Think of it as using the online material to build that old experience back up.
 

Hanzou

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If you have 6 months of BJJ training, you can do solo drills.

If you can find a buddy, you can practice the fundamentals as well. Additionally, I find some of the videos on youtube to actually be pretty good with showing and explaining BJJ techniques. Obviously I would recommend that you be VERY careful if you decide to go that route, and stick to the very basic stuff.
 

JowGaWolf

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I've done an online class before and I enjoyed it. Had homework and everything. The only thing is that you have to be super dedicated. When given an assignment to go train a technique or do an exercise then you have to do it. You have to be able to put aside any dislike of not being able to do something well as the only goal is to do it and to show it on video for the instructor and other students to look at it. It's uncomfortable at first but you have to brush that aside. I took an online course for kung fu. I enjoyed. But I think I enjoyed it because I already had experience in the system and the instructor knew that he was teaching people who already trained the system. I don't think I would have enjoyed it if I was a beginner.

I think the instructor has to be really aware of the extra details that may affect how it's taught. Watching exercise videos on tape works and it's successful. We have decades of proof that it can be done. So I think it's a good thing if your goal is to stay in shape and learn martial arts as a way to stay fit and as a way train in a martial arts system. However, if you are training martial arts because you want to use it, then there is going to be some limitations.

After many years of talking about martial arts and hearing different views. I have come to this conclusion

Online martial arts training is good for learning a martial arts system and some basic functions. This is a changed mindset for me because not everyone takes martial arts so they can learn to fight with it. There are some attack and defense basics that can be taught online and people can do those fairly well. Front kick+ front kick variations can be taught online. And you can get a lot of mileage out of it. Forms can be taught online. Applications training can be taught to a certain point, there's a lot of key stuff that comes with applications training that I would recommend doing offline with the instructor. There are some things you can do with friends and you'll be fine. There are other things that you'll learn quicker and better if you have someone experience perform the technique on you, so that you can understand better what you should be trying to accomplish with a technique.

If training in person ranks 10 in quality then training online is about a 6 or 7. I think most people who train at a school in person are around 6 or 7. They are either training to stay in shape, training to do forms competition, or training just to say they have a black belt in a martial arts. They aren't really training application for use. The application that they train is more like application knowledge and not application function.

For me personally I could live with a 6 or 7 for a new martial arts, but that's only because Jow Ga kung fu is my applications martial arts. It's the one I fight with. I could also see myself take an online martial arts class as a compromise. For example, If I never took Jow Ga kung fu before. I would take an online class as a beginner, with the mindset that hopefully in the future I'll be able to take an in person class. In this scenario. I could start learning some Jow Ga kung fu or spend years not learning a little of it, not being exposed to it, and not training it. Or I can just not take it and wait for a school to come in my area which only happened once in the 17 years, I've been living in my location.

Is having a little better than having none? The answer may be different depending on your goals. If you are going to actually use a martial arts to fight with then at the minimum, you'll need a sparring partner and some in person instruction for certain techniques. If you happy with what most people get out of martial arts at that 6 and 7. Then an online class may be good for you. Especially if it's a live class. The online class that I took wasn't a live online class. It didn't like that part.
 

JowGaWolf

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The problem is I was only studying for a month in Kendo and Aikido. Other than a couple of videos my Sensei has sent me I haven’t heard from him. I know he moved into a new house. I text him 2 weeks ago and h said he was busy working etc. I dont know what to do. I’m high risk due to diabetes with Covid so I’m unsure where to go from here.
Online class will probably be your best choice due to your concern for Covid.

If you have already have some martial arts foundations then that's a good thing. An online class may be able to help open your mind to some functionality of the basics that you may not be aware of yet.
 

JowGaWolf

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I'm not a fan of online training in general.
In a world of Covid it may be the next best thing. Especially since scientist think the next worst than Delta variant is already here. So far we are 12 known variants of this pandemic. It may be a while before martial arts classes are the same as they were.
 

Bill Mattocks

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In a world of Covid it may be the next best thing. Especially since scientist think the next worst than Delta variant is already here. So far we are 12 known variants of this pandemic. It may be a while before martial arts classes are the same as they were.
Next best, yes. Doesn't change my opinion of it. I appreciate the difficulties we're experiencing, and how it may get worse.
 

Mider

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Can one train online without sparring and having a teacher to correct them?
 

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