Question for beginners

SBG Ireland

curious to know when you were joining a martial arts/mma gym how would you rate the following in order of importance

1. success of coach in competition
2. success of team/students in competition
3. gym cleanliness
4. gym equipment
5. level of coaching
6. friendliness of coaches/students
7. what you heard from a mate/word of mouth.
8. price
9. number of classes available per week

so put these in order of importance to you when you were picking a school to join, thanks

Gorey_R

SBG Ireland wrote: »

curious to know when you were joining a martial arts/mma gym how would you rate the following in order of importance



so put these in order of importance to you when you were picking a school to join, thanks

1. success of team/students in competition
2. what you heard from a mate/word of mouth/reputation.
3. level of coaching
4. success of coach in competition
5. friendliness of coaches/students
6. number of classes available per week
7. gym equipment
8. gym cleanliness
9. price

I'm not saying gym cleanliness or price isn't important but if i was to ask those 9 questions that would probably be the order i'd ask them in. Roughly.

paulmclaughlin

level of coaching [how much you learn]
friendliness of coaches/students [hard to learn if everyone is ignorant]
number of classes available per week [flexibility]
success of team/students in competition [something has to be being done right]
price [recession]
gym cleanliness [make sure you keep yourself clean, before and after]
gym equipment [all you need is mats]
success of coach in competition [could be good teacher, bad practitioner]
what you heard from a mate/word of mouth [rumours, rumours]

Kieran81

SBG Ireland wrote: »

curious to know when you were joining a martial arts/mma gym how would you rate the following in order of importance

1. success of coach in competition
2. success of team/students in competition
3. gym cleanliness
4. gym equipment
5. level of coaching
6. friendliness of coaches/students
7. what you heard from a mate/word of mouth.
8. price
9. number of classes available per week

so put these in order of importance to you when you were picking a school to join, thanks

when i was a beginner the only thing i asked was how many classes and how many attend and if i would be insured

da-bres

1. level of coaching
2. number of classes available per week
3. success of team/students in competition
4. friendliness of coaches/students
5. success of coach in competition
6. gym cleanliness
7. price
8. gym equipment
9. what you heard from a mate/word of mouth.

_oveless

1. friendliness of coaches/students
2. success of team/students in competition
3. level of coaching
4. gym cleanliness
5. price
6. number of classes available per week
7. gym equipment
8. success of coach in competition
9. what you heard from a mate/word of mouth.

Killme00

Important:
1: Level of coaching. Breaking down techniques into little learning segments and then putting them all together is a skill.
2: Number of classes available per week. I have a busy work schedule and class flexibility is important to me because it means if i miss a class due to work there is another one available.
3: Friendliness of coaches/students. It's a hobby for me and i want to have fun training. The people around you have an impact on that.

Advantageous:
4: Price/location. Both are equaly important. There's no point charging €5 per class in Blackrock because i cant get to it. Similarly there's no point charging €200 in Glasnevin because i cant afford it.
5: Gym cleanliness. This is actually quite important as no-one wants staph/mrsa/impetigo.
6: Success of team/students in competition. It's great to train to compete and everyone loves winning.

Not relevant (but a bonus):
7: Success of coach in competition. One coach could be beast in competition but couldnt teach the timestables, another could be okay in competition and teach me how to weigh the earth, i prefer to learn and how someone does in competition isnt an important factor.
8: Gym equipment.
9. Word of mouth.

SBG Ireland

interesting...thanks for replies

anybody else?

DavidPhelan

da-bres wrote: »

1. level of coaching
2. number of classes available per week
3. success of team/students in competition
4. friendliness of coaches/students
5. success of coach in competition
6. gym cleanliness
7. price
8. gym equipment
9. what you heard from a mate/word of mouth.

Agree with Joey

Richy06

Killme00 wrote: »

Important:
1: Level of coaching. Breaking down techniques into little learning segments and then putting them all together is a skill.
2: Number of classes available per week. I have a busy work schedule and class flexibility is important to me because it means if i miss a class due to work there is another one available.
3: Friendliness of coaches/students. It's a hobby for me and i want to have fun training. The people around you have an impact on that.

Advantageous:
4: Price/location. Both are equaly important. There's no point charging €5 per class in Blackrock because i cant get to it. Similarly there's no point charging €200 in Glasnevin because i cant afford it.
5: Gym cleanliness. This is actually quite important as no-one wants staph/mrsa/impetigo.
6: Success of team/students in competition. It's great to train to compete and everyone loves winning.

Not relevant (but a bonus):
7: Success of coach in competition. One coach could be beast in competition but couldnt teach the timestables, another could be okay in competition and teach me how to weigh the earth, i prefer to learn and how someone does in competition isnt an important factor.
8: Gym equipment.
9. Word of mouth.

Couldn't have put it better myself!

Andrew H

1. level of coaching
2. number of classes available per week
3. friendliness of coaches/students
4. price
5. gym equipment
6. success of team/students in competition
7. gym cleanliness
8. success of coach in competition
9. what you heard from a mate/word of mouth

wingnut4

1. friendliness of coaches/students
2. level of coaching
3. success of team/students in competition
4. number of classes available per week
5. gym cleanliness
6. gym equipment
7. what you heard from a mate/word of mouth.
8. price
9. success of coach in competition

if6was9

For me it goes

1. level of coaching
2. friendliness of coaches/students
3. number of classes available per week
4. price
5. what you heard from a mate/word of mouth.
6. gym cleanliness
7. gym equipment
8. success of team/students in competition
9. success of coach in competition

I don't rate the coach/students competition records that highly. Having a good competition record doesn't mean they're good training partners or that the coach is able to impart that knowledge to the students. The level of coaching is a huge thing.

Friendliness of the other students/coaches means alot to me as it makes the training that much more enjoyable. If I didn't enjoy the training I wouldn't do it. As a beginner it made a huge difference in the first few weeks for the higher belts to start saying hello and talking to us beginners and showing us things in class.

Number of classes/price are kind of tied together with value. If the training was very expensive I wouldn't be able to do it as I live on a very small budget, I also work weird hours/days when I do get the work so it means alot to me to have some different times of classes available during the week.

Equipment is obviously important but for BJJ once there's a decent amount of mat space and the mats are good I'm happy.

Word of mouth is important enough for starting out. If I kept hearing bad things about the gym from past members I mightn't be too inclined to keep going! I got started in the gym I'm in now because I heard from mates that it was a great place to learn and that they were nice guys.

Good thread, kinda makes me think about how I ended up training in the first place!

terry_s

wingnut4 wrote: »

1. friendliness of coaches/students
2. level of coaching
3. success of team/students in competition
4. number of classes available per week
5. gym cleanliness
6. gym equipment
7. what you heard from a mate/word of mouth.
8. price
9. success of coach in competition

Agree.

Regarding point 1 if the atmosphere is bad and people are not friendly its very hard to motivate yourself to go back. My opinion anyway.

Dyr

1) Level of coaching
2) Level of coaching
3) Level of coaching
2) Students
3) Distance to travel
4) Cool Uniforms

lukeyjudo

SBG Ireland wrote: »

curious to know when you were joining a martial arts/mma gym how would you rate the following in order of importance

1. success of coach in competition
2. success of team/students in competition
3. gym cleanliness
4. gym equipment
5. level of coaching
6. friendliness of coaches/students
7. what you heard from a mate/word of mouth.
8. price
9. number of classes available per week

so put these in order of importance to you when you were picking a school to join, thanks

Not a beginner anymore but I would rate the following three as equally important and all I need in a gym. If you are lucky enough to have these three (not all Gyms do) let alone 9 then you're golden.

1. level of coaching
1. success of team/students in competition
1. friendliness of coaches/students

Outstanding coaching, outstanding students in an outstanding atmosphere, these are the signs of a great dojo.

Barry.Oglesby

Thanks for this interesting piece of market research John . Just wondering though a lot of the people answering aren't beginners. Are the answers you guys are giving what you would base a decision on today with the knowledge you have of your chosen martial arts, or what you actually based your decision on when you started?

For me (long ago as it was) location was massive. I started with my local club because it was a short cycle/bus journey away.

Hanley

For the average beginner I'd say Location > what your mates say > the coach> what the club looks like. Just because inexpereienced people have nothing better to base it off.

Chris89

Id say a beginner wont really know or care much about the coaches competition record or how the members do in competition, unless they have a friend training there who has been singing the clubs praises.

But i think these are the two most important things, before gym cleanliness and number of classes per week. Gym cleanliness is unbelievably important in my opinion, Ive trained in a few gyms where ive been sure to scrub extra hard when i got home!!

I think the friendliness of the coaches and students is usually a byproduct of all the above.

HammerHeadGym

For me word of mouth would be the most important factor. If someone whose opinion I trust say x is a good gym and y is the best coach there, well thats good enough for me.
If I dont know anyone in the place then it's;

1. level of coaching (I'm there to learn after all)
2. success of team/students in competition (usually a good reflection of the level of coaching)
3. friendliness of coaches/students (very hard to learn in a cliquey place)
4. success of coach in competition (this isn't really that important to me as a good fighter does not mean a good coach necessarily. Take Cus D'amato as an example)

I left out the following, for the reasons given,
Word of mouth: (explained already)

Price: If its worth it, I'll pay the price.

Number of classes available per week: I have a flexible schedule so I can work around most time tables. If it was a monthly priced place, then it would become a factor as I'd basically be paying for two gyms and attending one.

Gym cleanliness: while I appereciate a clean gym, mouldy walls, smelly carpet etc. wouldn't be enough to keep me away from a great coach. I have lived in a gym in the mountains with 4 dogs and a dozen chickens, daily occurences of roaches, mice, rats, snakes and a million unidentified insects. And worth every minute of it to train daily with 2 Lumpinee veterans.

Gym equipment: To be honest, I've given up on combat sport gyms having decent equipment. It always looks like it was bought from Argos or some other bargain basement dump, as an after thought, with whatever change the gym had left. I have bought all the equipment I need (except a concept II rower, if anyone's feeling generous ) and do my S&C training at home.

Doug Cartel

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

Thanks for this interesting piece of market research John . Just wondering though a lot of the people answering aren't beginners. Are the answers you guys are giving what you would base a decision on today with the knowledge you have of your chosen martial arts, or what you actually based your decision on when you started?

For me (long ago as it was) location was massive. I started with my local club because it was a short cycle/bus journey away.

I was about to post pretty much the same thing. When I was starting out I didn't have a clue what to look for in a club. A lot of the time when beginners post on here they give me the impression that they don't really know what they're looking for.

When I started, I got the idea on a Sunday that I should try to be more active, I decided that martial arts might be fun (pretty much every other physical activity I'd tried was a no-go) and I found a class on Monday. That was my entire decision process - close and convenient. The people were friendly, so I stayed. If they hadn't been friendly, I probably would have left after a few classes.

Dyr

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

Just wondering though a lot of the people answering aren't beginners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIaORknS1Dk

RoboRat

1. number of classes available per week: This was a big stumbling point when I went back to MA and was one of the biggest factor as to why I went with my current club. Being recently married and having to work long hours I wanted a club where I can maximise my time and not have to wait around for a class.

2. friendliness of coaches/students. Very important, If you are a beginner its already very intimidating walking into a club where everyone knows each other, it makes it so much easier if people are friendly and patient.

3. level of coaching. Im there to learn so a good coach is essential. There is a vast difference between someone who has won it all and someone who can teach.

4. success of team/students in competition. Not essential but its a good reflection on the trainer and club.

5. price. Again not a gamebreaker but I think a few options for payment plans is essential.

6. gym cleanliness. I have trained in some sh*tholes and I would definitely prefer to train somewhere clean.

7. gym equipment. I focus on my own S&C but a few weights is helpful, not essential.

8. what you heard from a mate/word of mouth. I like to make my own mind up so this is not important.

9. success of coach in competition. As above, a coaches sucess does not translate to a good coach. Some of the best football managers in the world weren't successful players.

nino1

I think price is the most important thing for a lot of people, especially these days. I know a good few lads who would love to train but who just cannot afford it.
I realize there are rents to be paid etc but if you are struggling financially you are going to pick a sport like football or soccer where you don't have to pay €65+ per month or €10-€15 per class.
I'm not complaining about the prices because i can afford it, i'm just saying many people cannot.

next is location. If you are a beginner you are not going to trek long distances.

then friendliness of coaches.

coaches success means nothing to me. sometimes a coach can be so good he is very much removed from a beginners mentality and not be able to relate.

CIARAN_BOYLE

I started Karate last september. I just joined the club because it was the college club. That said the things I weighed in order of importance was

Friendly group from the college
Price (college club is just €1-€2 a class)
Class times and availability of classes
Level of coaches
Number of coaches (5 blackbelts were regulars in the club. Having different coaches different times means you could pick up slightly different things.)
Equipment
Word of mouth
gym cleanliness

Madman08

As someone who hasn't even starting training yet....until tomorrow night that is, for me first and foremost was location.

I spent alot of time trying to find a club that seems to have a good reputation, seems to be active and stable, and seems to have friendly folk both coaching and rolling in the classes.

This is, to be fair, difficult to glean over the internet - on message boards and the like, hence why I've said seemed in italics above !!

Personable videos of the clubs on YouTube I would say are a big plus for any club trying to get their name out there !!

Cheers,

Luke.

dave80

Madman08 wrote: »

As someone who hasn't even starting training yet....until tomorrow night that is, for me first and foremost was location.

I spent alot of time trying to find a club that seems to have a good reputation, seems to be active and stable, and seems to have friendly folk both coaching and rolling in the classes.

This is, to be fair, difficult to glean over the internet - on message boards and the like, hence why I've said seemed in italics above !!

Personable videos of the clubs on YouTube I would say are a big plus for any club trying to get their name out there !!

Cheers,

Luke.

Looking for a club myself, where hav u decided to go?

El Guapo!

I haven't even started training yet either but I will be soon. I'm heading off on hols next week and I'll be starting training hopefully late August.

I still haven't fully made up my mind on which club to join (I'm torn between 2), but the main factors for me are (in no particular order):

Location.- I work on the North Circular road and don't finish work till between 5.45-6.00pm so I need a place that's relatively close so I can make it on time for classes.

Price- Things are a bit tight lately and I'll have to sacrifice some things if I want to train. So value for money is important at the minute.

Standard of Coaching- This is one of the main things. At the end of the day I'll be there to learn and eventually compete so a good coach is a must. The success of the students would be an indicator of this I think.

Class times- Because of working hours, the class schedule would be an influencing factor.

Friendliness of Coaches/Students- Its always hard being the new guy so if the people at the gym are friendly and welcoming then it'll be easier to get over the initial awkwardness.

Reputation The 2 clubs I'm considering both have great reputations and people generally only have good things to say about them, which is important. And the coaches both post on here too!

Doug Cartel

One other thing, having up to date contact details/timetables prominently displayed on your website, and in listings is really important. There's been plenty of times where I've found information about a club, but it looks like it was posted in 2003 and then forgotten about since then. For somebody who's only kind of half thinking of starting out, that could really put them off.

Madman08

dave80 wrote: »

Looking for a club myself, where hav u decided to go?

Seeing as I'm based up in Mullingar, I tried to get somewhere close to home. That said if I felt the clubs close by weren't of a decent enough standard, I would've debated about travelling to Dublin. (I commute 3 days a week anyhow).

The club I'm heading off to tomorrow is Athlone Budokan. They're a splinter of SBGi who are probably one of the most well known BJJ/MMA clubs in Ireland and have an excellent record from what I've seen.

dave80

Madman08 wrote: »

Seeing as I'm based up in Mullingar, I tried to get somewhere close to home. That said if I felt the clubs close by weren't of a decent enough standard, I would've debated about travelling to Dublin. (I commute 3 days a week anyhow).

The club I'm heading off to tomorrow is Athlone Budokan. They're a splinter of SBGi who are probably one of the most well known BJJ/MMA clubs in Ireland and have an excellent record from what I've seen.

Cheers for tat, been think off Sbg cc as iam not too far from it just need to get bit of cash together

BobbyOLeary

I'm not a beginner anymore (well at least I like to think I'm not:pac:) but I can give you what I'd like in a gym now and what I wanted in a gym then.

Then:


1/ Location

I started off in UCD MMA and to be honest the only reason I started was due to it being on my doorstep. Had it been in Finglas I wouldn't have gone. When it's a new sport that you don't know if you'll even like then it seemed very important that it was close to me.

2/ Class times

College ebs and flows for me so I needed a schedule that suited. Thankfully both the class times available back in the day suited me so I was set. I wouldn't have taken time off college to try it, nor would I have taken time off work.

3/ Price

Again, a new sport, why would I spend a fortune on something that I'm not sure of?

4+/

I never even thought about the rest tbh, it never even popped into my head as a beginner. I just assumed everywhere was the same!


Now:


1/ Friendliness of the coaches/students

I can't understand how anyone doesn't put this first. As someone already mentioned, for most of us this is a hobby. Why would you engage in a hobby with a pack of arseholes? Thankfully at this point I'm in contact of at least one student in all the big MMA clubs, or at least only one degree of separation from them all. I suppose this ties into word of mouth etc. but it's just for me to find out how friendly the place is. I like to train hard but I also like jokes and a bit of fun thrown in. If I don't have the latter I'd rather go to the gym and lift weights frankly.

2/ Location

Recession and all that I had to get rid of my car so I'm currently relying on my bike to get me around. So I'm stuck to a small radius from my house. I would love to still be training in my old place but a lack of transport has cut me off. So yeah, location is a huge issue for me.

3/ Standard of coaching

This is an odd one. It's obviously very important but I don't know how I can measure this before going to classes? Though if I started in a place that had an atrocious coach I'd more than likely pack it in. That being said, I don't know of any of the clubs in Dublin which satisfy the above criteria which have bad coaching standards so I guess I'm safe!

4+/

I'm not too worried by the rest really. I'd obviously prefer the place that pushes out 100 champions a year but if they're dicks I'm not going to go. I can make any of Dublin's MMA clubs membership prices work as long as I cut a few nights on the booze so that's not a huge issue for me personally.

Maybe my preferences are different as I'm not that stressed about competing? I figure if I wanted to be the best I can be (I can't for the life of me remember what ad that's from) I would go to the club which pushes out the most champions. If I want something to enjoy around my hectic hospital schedule then I'm going to the guys who are a laugh and close to my house.

I'd say I'll be choosing clubs based on the latter for the forseable future.

Dyr

I can't understand how anyone doesn't put this first. As someone already mentioned, for most of us this is a hobby. Why would you engage in a hobby with a pack of arseholes?

Because they're not looking for happy tree house club friends? I'd train with someone I didn't like if I thought they were a good teacher. Most of us will train with people that we don't like in classes or whatever, it's an important life lesson: Not everyone is your cup of tea and vice versa.

Actually every time I see something in the club thread along the lines "the lads are all sound" I frown a little inside, so what if "the lads" are sound? I dont want to spend the day buzzing around on BMX's with them.

da-bres

The bulk of BJJ people are fairly sound regardless:)

Richy06

I find that you'll always make a couple of good buddies and a lot of people you always have afew words for at any of the 3 clubs I've trained at. Sure some of ye are all from different walks of life, but ye bond over your chosen sport and go from there. Plus, arseholes don't tend to last very long in most gyms.

developing

I would agree totally with bobby. Friendliness would be my number one thing that I would look for when joining a club. Because, although I do want to compete, it still is essentially a hobby for me and I don't want to go to place which is full of cliques that ignore or turn their noses up at new people.

The standard of coaching and whether the students are winning medals would follow after this the rest wouldn't really bother me that much.

Location would actually be a key factor as well. I'm gonna join SBG city centre in a few weeks with a mate when both our thesis are out of the way but if SBG hadn't of opened in the city centre there would have no realistic way for me to regularly attend training in SBG HQ as I'm from the northside and don't drive.

RoboRat

Bambi wrote: »

Because they're not looking for happy tree house club friends? I'd train with someone I didn't like if I thought they were a good teacher. Most of us will train with people that we don't like in classes or whatever, it's an important life lesson: Not everyone is your cup of tea and vice versa.

Actually every time I see something in the club thread along the lines "the lads are all sound" I frown a little inside, so what if "the lads" are sound? I dont want to spend the day buzzing around on BMX's with them.

I don't think people are saying that they want to meet their new 'BFF' or lifelong buddy when they say the lads are sound or they look for friendliness in a club. Personally, I think friendliness is quite important as its hard for a beginner to integrate into a club when they are being ignored by the older members or looked down upon, and there is more chance that they won't bother staying if this is the case. It doesn't take much for established club members to be civil and patient... we all started somewhere.

Doug Cartel

I trained for a while at a place where people weren't that friendly. They weren't bad or anything, just kind of cliquey and I never quite felt like I belonged there. I kept going because I wanted to train, but it really killed my motivation, turning the whole thing into a massive chore.

BobbyOLeary

Bambi wrote: »

Because they're not looking for happy tree house club friends? I'd train with someone I didn't like if I thought they were a good teacher. Most of us will train with people that we don't like in classes or whatever, it's an important life lesson: Not everyone is your cup of tea and vice versa.

An important life lesson? Ah come here, you're not actually serious with that bit are you? It's grand if you're happy to train with people who aren't friendly. Personally I'm not, I train in BJJ because I enjoy the sport and it's a good larf.

EDIT: Just read over things there for a second. I'm not talking about guys who aren't your mates, I'm talking about people who are a proper pain in the arse to train with and are just bad training partners overall. Not just Jimbo who supports City while I support United.

Bambi wrote: »

Actually every time I see something in the club thread along the lines "the lads are all sound" I frown a little inside, so what if "the lads" are sound? I dont want to spend the day buzzing around on BMX's with them.

I don't see how the lads being sound is a bad thing? Can you not be sound and a good coach?

The bulk of BJJ people are fairly sound regardless

True story thankfully, making this is all just academic really.

Barry.Oglesby

I think having a good relationship with your coach/fellow trainees is important. If you don't like people much you're hardly going to go out of your way to train with them and vice versa. I don't meant that you go for beers after training, just that you have a good professional relationship with your coach inasmuch as he/she is approachable and you get along well enough with guys in your gym that you can ask questions and help each other out.

That said, having a good community/team atmosphere helps everybody improve. When you're all helping one another, you drag each other up. Unfortunately the reverse is true too.

Doug Cartel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnbHLmyUJhg

Saw this video a while ago, and it was one of the first things I thought of when I saw this thread, only I couldn't find it at the time. Anyway, check it out, most of the stuff he says gels with me when I think of the differences between the places I liked to train and the ones where I didn't.