Training in more than one style?

[Cagekicker]

I'm about to join an Aiki Jujutsu dojo. However I'm really interested in cross training in Maui Thai. I really feel if you don't actually have somebody try to really punch you in the face it won't prepare you for reality. I'm a lover of the striking arts. It's where I started. The Jujutsu school does practice strikes but very minimal. My issue is the rules state training in any other school without permission is grounds for immediate dismissal. How do you feel about a rule like that? Before I join I'm going to speak to the instructor about it.

 

[oftheherd1]

I'm not sure I understand the need for that rule, so I can't agree or disagree.

But the bottom line is that if the instructor says you cannot continue with your current training, you should give it up, or not train at that school.

 

[Xue Sheng]

If your new to both....rules be damned.... it is not a good idea IMO to do both. Very different approaches to a confrontation..... do one for awhile and either get comfortable or decide you don't like it and go elsewhere

As far as the rule....its their house...you want to go there...you need to play by their rules

 

[Hanzou]

I'm about to join an Aiki Jujutsu dojo. However I'm really interested in cross training in Maui Thai. I really feel if you don't actually have somebody try to really punch you in the face it won't prepare you for reality. I'm a lover of the striking arts. It's where I started. The Jujutsu school does practice strikes but very minimal. My issue is the rules state training in any other school without permission is grounds for immediate dismissal. How do you feel about a rule like that? Before I join I'm going to speak to the instructor about it.

Time to find a new school. You're paying THEM for instruction, not the other way around.

There should be plenty of JJ schools out there that will allow you to train where you want. Modern styles like Judo and Bjj schools will definitely allow it.

Muay Thai (sp?) compliments Judo and/or Bjj very well.

 

[Danny T]

I am a proponent of training multiple systems. If you are of average intelligence or higher you will grow faster and have a much greater understanding of the martial arts by doing so. Many say the opposite. I have trained hundreds in multiple methods simultaneously with excellent results. As to the rule of training in any other school without permission: I have the same clause but have never denied someone to train else where. The reason I have it is to be able to consult with the student and to direct them to schools I know will be best for them not to prevent them from training elsewhere. In fact I encourage all my students to visit other schools and get some training with them. The best is to speak with the management and be open with your goals and desires.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

I'm really not a fan of instructors making rules against cross-training and I wouldn't attend a school that had such a rule. That said, Muay Thai and Aiki Jujutsu are different enough that I think it would be hard for a beginner to integrate the two in a useful way. I would probably either stick to one or the other for the time being or else find two arts that are a little more complementary.

 

[wingchun100]

I could understand it if there was a reason for it...for example, maybe you go to the muay thai school and show them how to do some aiki jujutsu moves. By doing that, you are taking money out of the school's hands. Then again you have to wonder how many times someone has done that to them...and how would they find out anyway?

At the end of the day, I think you should find another aiki jujutsu school WITHOUT that rule. Odds are you are not likely to change the head instructor's mind.

 

[MJS]

I'm about to join an Aiki Jujutsu dojo. However I'm really interested in cross training in Maui Thai. I really feel if you don't actually have somebody try to really punch you in the face it won't prepare you for reality. I'm a lover of the striking arts. It's where I started. The Jujutsu school does practice strikes but very minimal. My issue is the rules state training in any other school without permission is grounds for immediate dismissal. How do you feel about a rule like that? Before I join I'm going to speak to the instructor about it.

Well, I'm a big fan of cross training. Sure, some will say that it takes a lifetime to learn 1 art, so how can you learn 2? Well, that may be true, but then again, why is it taking so long to learn in the first place? But that's another thread. As for cross training...while I'm a fan of it, I feel that the student should have a solid base in 1 art first, before taking on something else. I was a Brown Belt in Kenpo, before I started to dabble in other things.

As far as the rule of not training in something w/o the permission of the teacher....well, I disagree with that. What I do outside of the dojo, is my business. IMO, as long as I'm not teaching anything from the other school, or as long as it's not interfering with my initial art, (thus why I said it's important to have a SOLID base FIRST) then if I want to train BJJ to supplement my stand up art, then that's what I'm going to do. Sorry, but while I have the utmost respect for the teachers that I currently train with, this isn't a cult. I'm not going to let someone dictate my personal life. If they try, then its simple....I'll no longer train under them.

Yeah, I understand tradition. My current teacher is very traditional. He's from Japan, and he runs a traditional school. He has never said anything to anyone, that I've heard of, regarding the no training elsewhere rule. Of course, I've also never mentioned to him, that I still do Arnis. He knows, obviously, that I no longer do Kenpo.

The above is just my opinion. Others will have theirs, and that's fine. Do what you feel is best. Good luck.

 

[wingchun100]

MJS,

Yes, I don't see how it is the school's concern unless, as you said, you started trying to teach that style at the other school or to any practitioner of another style.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I think being a beginner in two widely disparate arts at the same time is a recipe for learning neither as well as you could. It's far better to have a solid grounding in A before adding on B.

But while your instructors may have opinions on the subject, they don't really get to tell you what you can and can't do. I personally think that smoking is an incredibly stupid thing to do. But I do not have the right to forbid people from indulging.

 

[Buka]

I'm with everyone on the rule being less than ideal. I always encouraged my students to train everywhere they could (I still do).
That being said - his dojo, his rules. But if I read your OP correctly, he hasn't said no yet.

Also, as the others have said, those two styles don't exactly blend well. Especially at a beginners level.
Best of luck, I hope it all works out for you. Keep us posted as to what he says to your request.

 

[jks9199]

I'm about to join an Aiki Jujutsu dojo. However I'm really interested in cross training in Maui Thai. I really feel if you don't actually have somebody try to really punch you in the face it won't prepare you for reality. I'm a lover of the striking arts. It's where I started. The Jujutsu school does practice strikes but very minimal. My issue is the rules state training in any other school without permission is grounds for immediate dismissal. How do you feel about a rule like that? Before I join I'm going to speak to the instructor about it.

Some of the more traditional schools may have a rule like that. They generally view the relationship between student and teacher and within the dojo as something deeper than a mere coach/athlete relationship. Some do this with what I'll call (slightly cynically) pure intent. Some do it because they're a personality cult. Others simply want to be sure that any cross training you do is compatible and with a reputable program. Sometimes, also, there may a simple question of loyalty.

Personally, I don't forbid my students from cross training, but I'd hope they'd discuss it with me.

 

[MJS]

MJS,

Yes, I don't see how it is the school's concern unless, as you said, you started trying to teach that style at the other school or to any practitioner of another style.

Which of course I would never do. Now, when I was teaching Kenpo, sometimes, just to give the class a little break from the usual, I'd do them a little Arnis. Now, this was usually done towards the end of the class. They still got what they initially came for, which was Kenpo. I would also be sure to tell them that what I was doing was Arnis, and not Kenpo. It was usually just to show the differences between the two arts.

This usually wasn't an issue, mainly because many of the other Black Belts at the school, were also doing Arnis. Now, were this not the case, or if an Arnis class wasn't already being taught 1 day a week already, I wouldn't have done any of that, unless I cleared it first, or just would have just kept it strictly Kenpo.

 

[drop bear]

Learning the two different styles is simply a case of not trying to cheat one into the other. The confusion is that you will be more proficient at a style you are used to so you will find one style you will be better even if it is technically incorrect.

Ignore that train what you you need to train in that style. Then after a while you will be able to separate them because you have learned them independently.

In other words be present in the moment.

Otherwise this idea that you are allowed to train only one style is pretty silly and considering the amount of good training that is out there is not worth llimiting yourself.

 

[Blindside]

I'm about to join an Aiki Jujutsu dojo. However I'm really interested in cross training in Maui Thai. I really feel if you don't actually have somebody try to really punch you in the face it won't prepare you for reality. I'm a lover of the striking arts. It's where I started. The Jujutsu school does practice strikes but very minimal. My issue is the rules state training in any other school without permission is grounds for immediate dismissal. How do you feel about a rule like that? Before I join I'm going to speak to the instructor about it.

The only school that I have run into that demanded this was complete and utter crap, so I'd be a bit suspicious. I do think that the instructor is welcome to have that training approach, but it isn't one that I would participate in.

I don't think you would have much of an issue with conflicts between the MT and the jujutsu class, we aren't talking about taking Shotokan and Tae Kwon Do here, the fundamentals are pretty different.

 

[Cagekicker]

Well I brought it up to the senior student. His first question was why. I really wanted to say it is my business. However I just said because I want to fine tune my striking abilities. I told him that I like to strike. His response was they have the rule because they got tired of people saying things such as: well this is the way we do it ect. My response was you will not here that from me. The conversation ended with the senior student saying I have no problem with it but I'll have to check with the head instructor. I've made my decision if they tell me no, I'm going to take my money somewhere else. I get the impression they may be the type of people who think there way is the only way. I hope I'm wrong but we will see.

 

[Nick Soapdish]

Well I brought it up to the senior student. His first question was why. I really wanted to say it is my business. However I just said because I want to fine tune my striking abilities. I told him that I like to strike. His response was they have the rule because they got tired of people saying things such as: well this is the way we do it ect. My response was you will not here that from me. The conversation ended with the senior student saying I have no problem with it but I'll have to check with the head instructor. I've made my decision if they tell me no, I'm going to take my money somewhere else. I get the impression they may be the type of people who think there way is the only way. I hope I'm wrong but we will see.

I think the rule is kind of silly, but I understand where they are coming from. I've had students talk about how they do stuff in their martial art while I'm trying to teach, and it does nothing to help the other students who are trying to learn. It's pretty distracting. Of course, there are things in different martial arts that are going to be at odds with each other, and there's rarely a right answer, so there's no amount of discussion that will help the situation. Even if you don't say that in class, make sure you practice what they're teaching while you're training there.

On the other hand, I also agree that if you're a beginner, training in two very disparate martial arts is more likely to confuse you than to help you. It's better to get a good foundation in one martial art and then let the second martial art show you a different viewpoint, than to try to see both angles when you understand neither.

Either way, let us know what the head instructor says.

Cheers!

 

[Blindside]

Well I brought it up to the senior student. His first question was why. I really wanted to say it is my business. However I just said because I want to fine tune my striking abilities. I told him that I like to strike. His response was they have the rule because they got tired of people saying things such as: well this is the way we do it ect.

So what if the student had studied something else previously? What if they had seen something in a movie? What if they watched youtube? Did they really have so many people cross training that banning the practice was the solution to answering some questions from students? It sounds more like they don't like people questioning their training method.

 

[hussaf]

yeah at my aikido dojo, if the teacher finds out you trained somewhere else or attended a seminar of a different art or group, you'll be expected to teach at least one thing you learned from there.

 

[Nick Soapdish]

So what if the student had studied something else previously? What if they had seen something in a movie? What if they watched youtube? Did they really have so many people cross training that banning the practice was the solution to answering some questions from students? It sounds more like they don't like people questioning their training method.

That's a good point, too.

I think it depends on when and by whom the question is asked. Students who have been training a long time who have trained in other martial arts who ask questions that are pertinent to the training is not a problem. Students who are new to the school and art, who ask questions that don't really apply to the training or want to talk about their other training so people know they train can be a problem, and can be fairly disruptive during class.
Post class questions are welcome from anyone, but during class it can be a bit of a distraction. That being said, I think banning other training in a dojo is not the way to go.