How Do You Train at a New Martial Arts School Or Gym?

How Do You Train at a New Martial Arts School Or Gym?

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So you're off to a new martial arts school or gym for the first time. But you're not sure how to act or what to expect. Before we take a look at what you should do, let's make a couple assumptions:

You visited the school only once or twice before.
You spoke to the teacher and maybe to to some of the students.
Other than that, your don't know all that much about the school.

The last part is key here: when you go to that new school, you have only limited information of how it works. Sure,  the teacher and perhaps a couple students gave you some information but that's only the tip of the iceberg. Everything that's hidden under the surface is what you actually need to know; the group dynamics and local customs. The teacher won't tell you in your first class that such and such is a good student but he tends to crank on joint locks too hard. Or that he can't stand it when students show off and makes sure they pay for it later.

However, this is crucial information as you come into the school: You already have a martial arts background, you have training and because of that you're used to the way things work in your own school. You know how to handle these things within your own environment. Either you learned it the hard way (by getting slapped around a bit) or you paid attention to what others were doing. But now, you're somewhere else and they do things differently. There are too many possibilities for somebody to hurt you, so you have to figure out what's the score in this school.

Here are a some ideas to get you started:

Learn the customs. Bow or salute when everybody else does, show respect. If long-time students or fighters get certain benefits, don't complain or demand you get them too. Stand in line with the other students. In short, try to blend in.
Ask questions. Before class starts, ask the teacher or a fellow student for more information: where should you be during the salutation? How exactly do you do that ritual? Is something else expected of you? With just a handful of questions, you show good will and respect.
Don't give advice. People usually don't like to get unsolicited advice and martial artists, especially competitors, are no different. Remember that you're the new guy. Nobody knows you yet and you don't really know what the other students can do. Your might mean well but they can see it as criticism or think you want to show off.
Don't criticize what they do. It's OK if you disagree with some of their training or you think a technique should be done differently but don't say that out loud. The teacher might not have finished explaining everything just yet. Or perhaps there are certain factors everybody knows already but you haven't learned yet. It is your first class after all...
Show genuine interest. Not criticizing is passive; you don't do something. Showing an interest is active, you consciously engage in an action. When you ask details about a technique (without going overboard), saying "This is a cool technique." or something similar, it goes a long way in showing you want to learn and are not there to cause problems.
Don't stand out. When you're new in a group and the first thing you do is acting all over-the-top, forcing people to notice you, perhaps they won't beat you up to make you calm down a bit. But the odds of somebody thinking "Somebody needs to take that guy down a peg." and acting upon it go up. If you don't stand out too much, the others won't take offense at your enthusiasm.

If you use these tips, you can usually avoid a lot of confrontations and problems with the other students. Especially in muay Thai or MMA gyms where testosterone levels rise pretty high, you'll want to use them. However, there is a condition for it to work: you have to be real. If you fake it, people eventually pick up on it or spot it right away. Instead, just be yourself, be real and remember why you enrolled in that class to begin with: to learn something new that you think is cool. Show some respect and have an open mind so the group can accept you as one of theirs. You'll have tons of fun training with them.