Some newbie questions

G-Money

Hello,

So I guess like a lot of people I've considered going to some sort of Martial Arts class. I do have a few questions though.

I'm trying to lose weight at the moment and I'm wondering do the clubs have any kind of fitness requirements that you have to reach before you can join? Unfortunately I've about 6 stone to lose.

I don't have much in the way of MA experience. I did Karate when I was a teenager (I'm 33 now) and I think I got as far as an orange belt. It's hard to remember though, it was the one after the yellow belt I think. Which isn't very far from what I can remember.

Also when you join a club, what is expected of a member? Are you supposed to take part in competitions? Is the sparring during training full force/contact? I remember during our karate classes we'd do sparring but I never quite liked it. It was very light contact but for some reason I didn't enjoy it. It felt like they kept trying to take me off my feet and while that's to be expected, I'd always breathe a sigh of relief and be glad the sparring section was over.

I suppose that's making me wonder if I'd just be wasting my time joining some club again now.

Sorry for the newbie questions, I don't know much about MA to be honest.

Thanks.

arybvtcw0eolkf

With a username like your's you'll be killing us all in no time

Btw (can't be bothered searching - I'm off to bed) did you not ask the same Q's here before (or was that the fitness forum?).

Anyway..

No, there's no fitness requirement as such. However your over thirty & very over weight so you'd probably be best advised to seek medical advice before starting any sort of physical activity.

Having said that, if you do decide to take up Martial Arts your instructors should really let you go at your own pace until the weight is down and your fitness levels are up to scratch - however thats (sadly) not always the case so choose your club wisely.

Sparring & Competition, well at 33 your in a different place than you were when you last tried Karate so don't look back at how things were then.

Your certainly not too old to be good, and competitive at almost any style you choose but you probably won't make the 2012 olympics (no more than the rest of us here, although I hope to spectate!).

Are you interested in a striking style, or maybe a wrestling/grappling style like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo etc or is striking still your thing?.

Whats expected of you as a member...

Well apart from showing the club and its members respect by turning up on clean, on time and following your instructors guidence the rest is really common sense.

Competition.. Well some style's are very competitive - like Judo (where you can not grade past green without fighting). But by the time your ready for competition any lingering questions you may havbe had in yourself will be put to the back of your mind and you'll be iching to go - competiton is really (for me) the highlight of my training. You'll be grand, and you'll never be alone.

Finally, where are you located - the lads will be better placed to help you choosing the right club if they know where you are.

G-Money

Halle Mysterious Jeep wrote: »

With a username like your's you'll be killing us all in no time

Btw (can't be bothered searching - I'm off to bed) did you not ask the same Q's here before (or was that the fitness forum?).

Anyway..

No, there's no fitness requirement as such. However your over thirty & very over weight so you'd probably be best advised to seek medical advice before starting any sort of physical activity.

Having said that, if you do decide to take up Martial Arts your instructors should really let you go at your own pace until the weight is down and your fitness levels are up to scratch - however thats (sadly) not always the case so choose your club wisely.

Sparring & Competition, well at 33 your in a different place than you were when you last tried Karate so don't look back at how things were then.

Your certainly not too old to be good, and competitive at almost any style you choose but you probably won't make the 2012 olympics (no more than the rest of us here, although I hope to spectate!).

Are you interested in a striking style, or maybe a wrestling/grappling style like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo etc or is striking still your thing?.

Finally, where are you located - the lads will be better placed to help you choosing the right club if they know where you are.

Thanks for this. I did post something similar a number of months ago, although I think I was perhaps looking for advice on a particular style of MA.

I'm located in South County Dublin.

arybvtcw0eolkf

grandmaster wrote: »

I'm located in South County Dublin.

Well I'm a northsider and not overly familiar with clubs on the southside.

Is there a particular style you'd like?.

You could also look through the clubs thread in the stickies or get yourself a copy of Irish Fighter magazine (available from Eason's bi-monthly) where there is no shortage of clubs advertising.

Zen65

grandmaster wrote: »

Thanks for this. I did post something similar a number of months ago, although I think I was perhaps looking for advice on a particular style of MA.

I'm located in South County Dublin.

Hi Grandmaster,

You asked this same question about 6 months ago...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=63111626&postcount=1

.. and as you don't appear to have made much progress with your weight (based on your comments, it's not my place to advise or judge in this respect) can I suggest that my previous answer is still relevant? So are all the other answers I'm sure. The question for you now is, are you serious about doing something about it?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=63134012&postcount=4

If you're on Dublin's southside why not try this club for a start? Classes are small, plenty of personal attention, they don't do much sparring and they never do competitions, but the training is top class and it's a good facility.

Best of luck,


Z

paul moran

Hello 'Grandmaster',

The best thing for you to do, is to visit and tryout as many of the clubs in your area as possible, get a feel for the club, the style, the instructors and the students/fighters.

We have a couple of clubs that cater for adults and you are more than welcome to take a free trail weekn with us to get you started on your journey. Once you visit a few of the other clubs around you will then be wise enough (to a degree) to make an informed decision.

We are based in Deansgrange business park and we teach Shaolin Kung Fu and San shou (chinese kickboxing) to adults.

Contact me if you are interested in coming along and best of luck with the search.

G-Money

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.

One other thing, the name Grandmaster has nothing at all to do with martial arts. It's actually a name of a WWF wrestler from the early 2000's

arybvtcw0eolkf

grandmaster wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.

One other thing, the name Grandmaster has nothing at all to do with martial arts. It's actually a name of a WWF wrestler from the early 2000's

Don't worry, we're only having a laugh about the name!.

And don't worry if you want to come back with more questions anytime, a lot of adults will 'tip toe' around the idea of beginning martial arts before taking the leap and we're always here to help.