Style Switching thoughts

[BigMike]

Just wanted to see what people thought about this. I've moved a few times, and a couple of times I couldn't find my old art, or the best quality of my old art, and have changed arts. (Better to start over with quality training than stagnate with sub-standard training)

I did 3ish years of Shotokan, then 3ish years of Kenpo. I've moved somewhere where neither art is available to me. I've hopped around and done about a month of Ninjitsu, 1-2 months of light Jiu Jitsu. And single classes here and there of other stuff. I've found a place that looks right for me that I'll be checking out in a couple of weeks. They teach Gracie BJJ and Escrima.

So anyway, my question is: What advice would people give to someone like me about going into yet another art? Staying in the old art(s) would be preferable but isn't an option. I'm not doing myself any favors practicing in my backyard with no instruction. In the here and there classes I've taken I've found it pretty hard to toss out my Kenpo mentality which makes it harder to learn what they've got to teach.

So, any previous style-switchers have any thoughts?

Big Mike

 

[Danjo]

Just wanted to see what people thought about this. I've moved a few times, and a couple of times I couldn't find my old art, or the best quality of my old art, and have changed arts. (Better to start over with quality training than stagnate with sub-standard training)

I did 3ish years of Shotokan, then 3ish years of Kenpo. I've moved somewhere where neither art is available to me. I've hopped around and done about a month of Ninjitsu, 1-2 months of light Jiu Jitsu. And single classes here and there of other stuff. I've found a place that looks right for me that I'll be checking out in a couple of weeks. They teach Gracie BJJ and Escrima.

So anyway, my question is: What advice would people give to someone like me about going into yet another art? Staying in the old art(s) would be preferable but isn't an option. I'm not doing myself any favors practicing in my backyard with no instruction. In the here and there classes I've taken I've found it pretty hard to toss out my Kenpo mentality which makes it harder to learn what they've got to teach.

So, any previous style-switchers have any thoughts?

Big Mike

I've done this a lot for much the same reason that you give. I started in Shotokan, then Excrima, then I took up boxing, then Jeet Kun Do Concepts, then Ninjitsu, then Aikido then a layoff of 6 years then Shaolin Kempo, then Gracie JJ, and now I study Kajukenbo. The thing to do is to approach it like any new athletic endeavor. It's not to hard to do if the arts are different enough, i.e., Kenpo and BJJ and Excrima are suficiently different that you should just be able to learn the new stuff without worrying about falling into old habits. The problems come from going from one punch-kick art to another. Then you have to "Empty your cup" as the saying goes. It's pretty easy to do when the art you are currently studying, or the training you are getting is superior to the previous one (i.e. I far prefer Kajukenbo to Shaolin Kempo), however, if it's the other way around and you can't figure out why it's done differently and it doesn't seem to work as well as the previous art did, then it's tough (i.e. When I went from Shotokan to Shaolin Kempo very few of the changes SKK made made any sense). Again, this is just my own experience with the above mentioned arts. There may be some really great SKK schools out there that would have left me with a different impression, but I didn't see any.

The big thing is to keep training. I would rather go to a so-so TKD school if it was affordable than go back to solo training if I found myself in your situation. Gracie JJ and Escrima are good arts and I've been very impressed with both of them, so I'd go for it if your preferred art isn't availible.

 

[Carol]

Agree with Danjo. Keep training any way you can.

Personally, I think the instructor and the school are more important than the specific art. I look for how good of a teacher *of me* that person will be and what kind of vibe that I get from the class.

Good luck! Hope you find a school soon.

 

[KOROHO]

Switching styles is a tough decsion some times. But I have been forced to for the same reasons.

If you are a serious martial artist, and there is not the highest qiality of training around in your favorite art, then you should just find the best martial arts teacher in town and train with him regardless of style.

A mix of BJJ and Escrima will be good and will compliment the Kenpo that you have.

 

[MJS]

Personally, I think the instructor and the school are more important than the specific art.

Agreed! IMHO, if you're not happy with something, you're not going to give it 110%.

I think BigMike, that you should first decide what goals you have and what exactly it is that you're looking to get out of your training. Definately check out some schools in your area and see what best suits your needs.

Mike