6 Signs Of a Good Martial Art School
Let’s assume you have decided to get off the couch, pack the bag, and join a martial art school. This decision will change your life in many different ways as there are so many physical and mental benefits to martial art training. But bear in mind that this awesome experience might end up being the total opposite if you are not careful and end up in a bad dojo, or “McDojo”.
But instead of talking about the bad signs, which we already did HERE, in this article we are looking for the positive signs. Signs that will tell you that the place you train in is good and that you should stay there.
Dojo has strict promotional criteria
Martial arts training is all about hard work, patience, and for most people, it is a life long journey of learning and improving. But in this day and age, a lot of schools try to promote their dojo as a place where you can learn how to fight in a very short time span. And even worse, reach a black belt in a “record breaking” time.
The truth is, yes, you will earn a black belt in a very short time span in this dojo. But you won’t learn a thing about fighting, which makes the black belt around your waist completely irrelevant. If you join the gym and see a bunch of black belts proudly walking around, be sure that you are in a “belt factory”.
A good martial art school has strict promotional criteria where you won’t make a progress or achieve anything without showing improvements in practice. When you see people training for a year or two and still wearing a blue belt, for instance, you know that the school is focusing on the quality, not on the quantity. In the end, you have signed up to learn how to perform the right way and become a skillful martial artist, not to brag about the rank you have reached or how you got there in a short time.
Becoming proficient in any martial art requires a lot of time, years of hard work, dedication, passion, blood, sweat, and even tears.
The instructor is fully focused on their job
A passionate and fully focused instructor is the key element of every good dojo. A person who loves spreading the knowledge on to other people, and knows how to separate private life from their work. You won’t see them chatting with each other, checking their phone every minute, or even texting or talking as they are leading the class. These things are not acceptable.
A good instructor will always make circles around the gym and give their best to dedicate as much time as possible to every student. A good instructor is a busy instructor, always paying attention to whether students are doing the exercise as thought.
When it comes to skills, they know each student like the back of their pocket and are always there to give them a unique piece of advice or suggestions.
For example, it may feel awkward to hear your instructor giving you lessons and correcting you multiple times while you are working on the heavy bag. You might even think that they don’t like you for some reason. But later on in your martial art journey, you will realize how important these suggestions were, and you will be grateful that you stayed in that dojo.
Zero bullying tolerance
No bullies in classes is the best indicator that you are training in the right gym. Martial arts is the total opposite of any type of physical and mental bullying, and if you spot this type of behavior in training, be sure to never come back to another class. As soon as you walk out, start searching for another school. But remember that tough training can seem like bullying as well, so know the difference.
Even if you see bullying, the actions of the instructor are crucial here. If he/she steps in, pulls a bully aside to give them a verbal warning, or even kicks them out, that’s a good school.
If the bullying continues, that is the instructors’ fault. They are the ones who must keep the students safe, prevent bullying, and encourage respect. They are the leaders who have the authority to do so, not you or any other student.
When you see bullying, just remember that tomorrow, you can end up being the next victim. To prevent this, realize that you are in a terrible dojo, among the worst ones, pack your bag and go home.
A positive and respectful atmosphere
Martial art dojo is one big family where people are sharing the same passion and push and help each other in achieving similar goals. It is a place full of smiles, respect between open-minded people where there is no such thing as a big ego. You can come to classes frustrated, anxious, or stressed, but the main goal is to get back home with a smile on your face.
In practice, this means that people have a lot of empathy for each other, and truly care about their progress or struggles. Instead of mean faces, you will see smiles and hear jokes. And last but not least, instead of bullying, you will see people talking and giving advice to each other.
You are moving forward
A good dojo is the one that makes you a better martial artist each day, and a better person as well. Each student has their own goals they are trying to achieve, and as long as you have the feeling of moving forward, you are in the right dojo.
Of course, there is no exact formula to measure personal improvement. Above all, you need to have a healthy ego and an objective view of yourself to see the changes. One of the best ways is to compare yourself with other students who have started at around the same time as you are. Although some of them will always be ahead due to various factors, there should never be too many differences in skills as long as you are spending around the same time on the mats. The other great indicator is when new students start catching up on you.
Yes, it is ok to get stuck at a certain level and feel like you are not making any progress. In that case, the best thing you can do is to talk with your instructor about it. A good instructor will pay more attention, give you new exercises, drills, or suggestions on how you can improve, and they will make sure that you are on the right track.
Dojo maintains a high level of hygiene
This may sound cliche but bear in mind that a lot of dojos do not maintain a high standard when it comes to cleaning. This not only shows you how they treat their own facility, but that they also do not care much about the health of their students. A good martial art school is regularly cleaning its facility and the health of its students is always the number one priority.
Training in a dirty facility is dangerous regardless of the sport. Most martial arts include a lot of hand to hand fighting between two sweaty students and rolling on the ground. Dirty mats can easily become contaminated with various bacteria which can seriously harm your health and here is one example of how.
In BJJ classes, for instance, the skin is always in contact with the mats which often results in first degree burns called “mat burns”. The combination of mat burns and dirty mats often results in a student getting a staph infection for example.
Before you sign the papers, be sure to check the toilet, dressing room, see whether the mats are clean or not. Don’t be shy to do that because a high level of hygiene is the best indicator the school is good.
