The Importance a Newbie-Friendly Gym!
Whether you’re sharpening yourself up for competition or learning your first takedown, make sure that you’re training with a fellow technician who can keep your spirits up!
Have you ever had to teach or ‘coach’ someone to do a task? Maybe it was a new coworker who didn’t quite know how your computer system works. Maybe it was a friend who needed help with a maintenance job around the house, or even a younger family member who needed your help with some facet of adult life. When things like that happen, you probably don’t feel smug or inclined to lord your knowledge over these people (at least I hope not!). After all, nobody wants to deal with a Nick Burns in the workforce, in the ring, or on the mat! However, when lots of people start-up a martial art, they feel intimidated that something demeaning (directly or indirectly) may happen to them. Regardless, please keep this in mind when considering donning a jiu-jitsu kimono or Muay Thai / boxing gloves:
Even our instructors and seasoned veterans will be happy to tell you their martial arts origin-stories from times in their lives when they were first starting!
Practicing martial arts is not humiliating, but it is absolutely humbling. You will be amazed at how fit and knowledgeable you can become in a remarkably short time . . . but you will also be awed at how much unexplored depth awaits you.
I find that another misconception people have about starting a martial art is the idea that the students or trainers are either seasoned professionals who don’t want to train with ‘noobs,’ or people who have been training a martial art their whole lives. Well I can’t speak for all schools everywhere, but I can say that if it weren’t for the accepting and welcoming vibe I get from NJ United MMA and our affiliate academies, I probably wouldn’t be training today. Our fight-toughened students and the veteran trainers all have humble origin-stories, and we treat others the way we’d want to be treated if we were just starting-out.
The bottom line is that nobody here at practice is going to be critical of your inexperience about technique or fight-jargon. Heck, they’ll probably lend you their spare pair of gloves if they have some in a gear-bag (and if they don’t have any, just ask for Mike at the front desk, because I do :P). So, since the weather is getting better and all, consider giving yourself a spring break of sorts at NJU, and enjoy your first free day of training!
JJ Mike
Come train at NJ United Mixed Martial Arts and take advantage of our 7-day free trial offer! Whether you’re an aspiring competitor or casual student, you will benefit from training in our friendly, professional, and ego-free environment. Call us at 973-638-1570 to schedule your first class, and visit us on the web at http://www.njunitedmma.com/ for more info.
Come take a look over my shoulder and get a sneak peak at what's going on at our Academy in Totowa, New Jersey on a daily basis..