Here's a hypothetical situation. There's no wrong or right answer, I just want to know what the community thinks.: You find a martial art that you really like. But in your part of the country, there are only 2 teachers who just happen to be opening their schools to teach this style. You find out that one teacher is relatively new to the system, having studied it for about 5 years, but studied it under the head of the style. the other teacher has been studying the art for much longer, about 15 to 20 years, but learned it from a teacher, who also learned it from someone else. Without seeing how each of the instructors teaches or moves, who would you studying under?
I wouldn't and couldn't make that assessment without seeing them move. But for the sake of the exercise, I'm not really big on things like lineage. Obviously, they can be a gauge of experience. But I don't believe that someone can be good simply by virtue of being associated with a big name. Luckily, when I was last faced with this decision (choosing a new school), I knew what style I wanted (arnis) and there was only one school opening up in the area. Others opened up afterward. The thing was that with arnis, I didn't know enough names at the beginning to have made a decision based on lineage anyway. Stuart
The answer is simple. I would pick the better teacher of the 2. If you don't click with whoever is teaching you, you will learn nothing.
Without seeing them move (I wouldn't make a decision without taking a few classes from both of them), I'd pick the one who learned from the head of the style.
Provided he and the head are still on good terms, I tend to go with this rational. That said, I'd do everything to go to both schools and evaluate both programs. - Matt
I'd agree with going with the one that has trained with the head of the style, providing that the head of the style has personally allowed him to teach.
I also have to say it depends on which system. If this is someone who (hypothetically speaking) had trained directly under Gaje for 5 years and Gaje told him to teach, then that brings with it one heck of an endorsement. - Matt
the question was not FMA specific really. It's applicable to all MAs. For examples, if one teacher learned under Helio Gracie and the other from another teacher who wasn't a Gracie.
Obviously I would go with whomever I learned from the best (not neccesarily the best of the two), but in this fantasy scenario... Experience. The guy with experience in your example has 3-4 times the amount of practice as the "pure guy". Maybe his pinkie finger will be in the wrong position, and he bows wrong, but I'm assuming that after 15-20 years he will have figured out what is important, and what one can live without.
After the last UFC I would have to say bring on the non-Gracie There are a lot of great instructors out there who aren't all that well known, I know I trained under one for 17 years. I also trained under a faily famous sifu for a few years and although both were very good if I had to choose between the two I would go with the lesser known guy. Name dropping in an add doesn't mean anything to me. I can't imagine a scenario where you would have to choose one without checking them both out. Of course alot of people say go check him out first but how's a begginer supposed to know who's better? The questions that I would think about is does the guy with the lineage still have solid ties to the head intructor? Is he still recieving intruction from him? Does the head insrtructor sometimes teach at his students schools?
I think one other thing that should be mentioned is how ones personal goals affect this decision. By that I mean, are you looking to learn to fight or are you looking to learn the "system." If the first is more important, then the person with more experience is probably the best bet. - Matt
