Your ideal club

So...I've trained at quite a few clubs over the years.
But I've never found a club I was 100% happy with. Maybe the venue was poor, or the equipment lacking or maybe it was too focused on one thing and missed out some others.
Don't get me wrong...I've trained at some great clubs...but I could always find something lacking.

So what would your ideal club be like if you could make one?
Perhaps try and keep it in the realms of possibility?
So no "Bruce Lee/Helio Gracie/Mas Oyama would teach there" type things.

Type of venue, arts offered perhaps, atmosphere, ethos, level of equipment, training times, etc etc.
Maybe you already train at, or even run, your ideal club? If so, what's it like and what makes it ideal for you?

Here are some of my wish list items...

Properly matted. Gotta have mats so you can strike, grapple, throw etc, without having to get some extra mats out or plan it before hand. Some places we had to "signify" takedowns because we didn't have mats.

Dedicated space. I'd like a space specifically for martial arts. I wouldn't want to be training with the sound of some old biddy's playing badminton the next court over. A few places I've trained at we had to kick footballs back over because the next space had 5 a-side going on.

Adult and kids training separate. I love kids doing martial arts. But not when I'm trying to train too.

Plenty of pads and hanging bags. A good variety for different drills.

Japanese styling. I don't know what it is but I just love the look of shoji walls in nice understated colours. Somewhere you could meditate as well as train. It's brain washing perhaps but that look says "martial arts" to me that a more modern gym type place doesn't.

Everyone wearing tough gi's. Again, like matting, I want to be able to grab and throw and grapple without having to make sure people bring in the right clothing. Plus everyone looks nice and smart.

A progressive syllabus that starts very simple and easy but then builds over time so that anyone getting a black belt ends up being a tough fighter. Something well thought out and easy to follow that makes sense.

Late training times. Anything starting before 7 on a weekday is a no-go for me due to work.

Has a self defence element and under-pinning but didn't lose sight of the fact that most people will never need such skills and so training for fun and improvement (physical and mental) was the main priority. You'd still learn to jump spin back kick but you'd know when, where and why you were learning it.

 

Thats a MAP meet defined ...

 

Hmm, let's see:

A large area for a good quality mats, much like the one at the High Wycombe Judo centre actually. They were ridiculously comfortable.

A mirrored wall. So people could actually see what they were doing.

A large area off the mats for makiwara, heavy bags and a variety of training equipment for practising supplementary training (chi ishi - two handed and one handed, kongo ken, wrist rollers, gripping jars, battle rope, tractor tyres, various sizes of barbells, ab wheels, that kind of thing). There should also be a reasonably supply of pads of different shapes and sizes nearby for obvious reasons.

Shower and changing facilities on site.

A nice garden area for when the heat gets too much somewhere nearby. Nothing too fancy, just a big patch of grass and some trees to hang bags off. Hell a local park would do.

As for what it would teach...basically a good mix of judo and karate (probably Goju Ryu or Uechi Ryu as I have a soft spot for those) with another instructor with an MMA background who would encourage sparring sessions on a reasonably regular basis (a few times a week, must have some BJJ experience as well as some striking background).

Electronic locking doors that allow students who hold valid membership 24 hour access so they can come and go as they please in addition to regular training sessions. the actual walls themselves could have a wood or bamboo effect or even just plain old concrete with a couple of pictures and banners.

A shelf area with a variety of martial arts books from prominent authors and martial artists for people to read and borrow.

And finally a cold water dispenser for those of us who get a tad too hot or thirsty.

So...yeah. It ain't gonna happen.

 

We just need a bigger facility. Our classes are popular ;D

 

Heh...ideal club...has Rick Young teaching there. That is a bit of an advantage.

 

What he said. Pretty much exactly.

 

my ideal training venue would have a big hammer for me to crush my enemies with, a bus so i can see them driven before me, and a recording studio for the lamentations of their women :evil:

 

Hmmm...good question. Here are some things that come to mind:

Air conditioning. In the DC area where I live, it is crazy hot in the summer. Training with no AC, even later at night can be not so fun. You folks in the UK probably don't have this issue so much.

Plenty of equipment in good repair. It is no fun kicking a pad and having stuffing fly out and get all over you. It's no fun trying to use worn out pads with ripped straps, etc.

High quality instruction. Small class size with lots of attention.A variety of styles being taught well is a bit plus, but this can get out of control - a place that tries to teach everything isn't going to be very good, but it is good to have 2 or 3 options.

Personally I like the idea of a mapped out system, with a syllabus as to what will be learned when, classes are planned out. There is thought given to building on the previous class, etc.

It's also cool to go to a place where there are long time students there, who have been at it a dozen years (or two). Sometimes they are instructors, sometimes they are students too.

I like some traditional touches as well. Maybe it is watching Kung Fu movies as a kid, but photos of previous masters of the style, etc. are a nice touch. Some atmosphere is a good touch.

I go to 2 very different MA schools, and neither one has all of the above.

 

You obviously weren't at the MAP meet.

 

ok, serious answer time:

-all the usual amenities which you don't necessarily always get at training venues (such as clean toilets and changing rooms, with capital punishment to those who commit hygienic terrorism)

-a separate room with pads heavy bags for those who wanna do bagwork and stuff in their spare time.

-annexed weight-room, because it's awesome.

-some sort of lounge where people can rest up in between classes, have a refreshment, etc.

-open mat/informal type sessions where people can freely mingle and train at the same time, with the instructors having veto power over everything in case any issues arise (like, say, someone pummeling a newbie or whatnot, or people taking up training space just to socialize).

-a completely separate (but open and optional) intermediate/advanced class for those who wanna go into the proper smashy smashy side of things, with the main class being entirely adaptable to the individual (ie train more mellow if that's your thing, train for fitness or for fun if that's your thing, etc, but if you want real hard knocks and more fight-oriented training, drop by the other class when you want).

-a semi-informal (no military style stuff) but mutually courteous training environment where discipline is "a" factor that is taken into account for the sake of productivity, but not "the" factor that must be observed above all else just because.

-a lack of dogmatism and a willingness to experiment and mix stuff up.

 

In my ideal club I'd like a bar, sauna, jacuzzi and a place to get massages from stunning people. A whole bunch of poles all over the place for pole dancers (male and female - I don't discriminate). A place to get kebabs and pizza would be cool too, a McD's for the less health conscious.

Ideally there'd be pools and water slides. Perhaps a roller coaster, haunted house and other similar attractions would be a nice addition.

A stage area with bands playing (only the ones I like) would be pretty sweet.

Oh...It had to be in the realm of possibility.

EDIT: A bouncy castle. I forgot a bouncy castle.

 

BOUNCY CASTLE MMA CAGE. I DEMAND IT.

 

I'd differentiate between clubs and the venue, so here's what I want in a venue (borrowed from other posts)

I'd add multiple training rooms to this. When I lived in Norwich the venue I went to had three separate dojos, which meant that multiple clubs could train on the same evening and make use of the facilities.

In terms of training, so much of what we do in MA is horses for courses. A venue like the one above should be able to cater to a range of different types of people. I personally don't like doing my own training in classes that mix adults and young children, but I recognise that many people only train (initially) to accompany their kids and I can see myself in the future running some classes that are adults and teenagers only, with others that are for adults and young children (i.e. family classes).

This caught my eye Paul. For me, if I need to be wearing a Gi for me to be thrown then I'm doing the wrong type of throwing! Having said that, I also like wearing a nice heavyweight gi, but then I do one style of karate in Gi and another in non-Gi uniform.

 

I always look at the gi/no-gi issue by remembering that people grab clothing in the street all the time. I'd want people to know how to fight by gripping clothing as well as stopping other people from gripping their clothing. And of course fighting without using clothing at all.
If someone's wearing a gi you can always choose to ignore it and work your no-gi stuff. But you can't cover lapel chokes, trouser grabs, etc if someone's not wearing a gi so I want the clothing to be as versatile as possible.
I wouldn't want to start one night looking at chokes, for example, but have to change what I was doing because some people forgot their gis and didn't want their t-shirts ripping.
For me wearing a good training gi (not a light flashy one just for looks) is about removing even having to worry about clothing at all because everyone's wearing something with utility.
I'd want to be able to cover any technique at any time without having to cater for different clothing (although catering for different clothing would be the ultimate aim!).

Plus...a class of people in the same type of uniform, badges and belts looks MUCH better than the mismatch of t-shirts and shorts you get in MMA classes.

 

To put what I've said in context, whenever I've had clothing grabbed in a fight, said clothing has always ripped off - as a result I prefer to work without clothing grabs. Mind you, no-one's ever tried to grab my clothing when I've been in a jacket that wouldn't rip (for which grabbing a Gi is a perfect simulation). I have the T Shirt uniform classes because I don't want to have to worry about people not having the right clothing (i.e. just their Gi jacket) when I want to use armour. The same problem from a different angle!

 

The place where I train my instructor just got I think 8k worth of the roll out mats. I think about 5 or so of them? They look to be about 30-40 ft. each and just Velcro together. Very nice mats to train on, but he got them for his BJJ classes and he has 4 a week there so it was needed. The problem is we have a big warehouse there, which is great and a lot of floor space, but they share it with a crossfit club. No big deal, but during some of their really big classes, the crossfit takes up almost the entire area so they do have to roll the mats back up after the BJJ classes most of the time. I don't think he minds though since he wants to keep the mats nice.

Ideal really I can't say so much since I don't like actual "class" training... just doing the one on one. There is no way in a class of 10-15 that an instructor would have been able to catch all of the little things I am doing wrong and really be able to strive for me to perfect my technique, so in the sense of my ideal place... well it's pretty well there I would say.

 

Indeed. I suppose what I'm getting at is a uniform choice that serves purposes best most of the time. Bung a t-shirt in your bag and you can drop the gi jacket and put armour on.

I also like people being uncomfortable. Get all sweaty and hot.
If people can do BJJ in Rio in gis then some bloke from Croydon can wear a gi in the UK.

 

All opinion really. Gis and patches look cultish to me. The more patches, the more cultish. Kinda reminds me of the scouts.

But it's what you are used to. Plenty of capoeira and FMA groups will wear normal clothes. Especially (IMO) Angola groups and FMA groups in the Philippines. I am more used to that these days, especially after doing MMA/wrestling/JKD for a fair few years in the past.

 

Thing is though...in a one-on-one you aren't getting to apply your techniques on 10-15 people...which is HOW you perfect your technique IMHO.