Newbie to MA in NYC

[skinnyman]

I'm a small guy in my 30s looking to learn some martial arts for self defense purposes. No prior training. Thinking about a mix of BJJ, Muay Thai and maybe some JKD.

No offense to anyone at the following schools - just giving my initial impressions at having checked out a few places - so don't flip out.

I've checked out a few places in the Manhattan, and some places seem more hardcore than others. For example, at Anderson's MA school, it seems the guys are pretty serious. At the other end, there's NYJJ, where it seemed like some of the students are pretty out of shape (but maybe it was just the particular class in session at the time).

I feel like I could handle NYJJ, but worried that I wouldn't learn as quickly as I would at a place like Anderson's, plus I'd be locked into it for 1yr. On the flip side, I think the guys at Anderson's might hand me my head on a platter in the first month there.

Any other guys out there like me, who are looking to learn some self defense, but not interested in competitive fighting? Where do you strike the balance between training with mothers and fat guys vs. training with hardcore fighter types?

Still need to check out Ronin, which seems to get favorable feedback in this forum.

[Tant01]

I think you're on the right track.... Don't be intimidated by the athletes! Those guys will teach you good stuff. Like how to keep your guard up and move your head out of the way! LOL

Let us know how it goes, eh?

Thanks and welcome aboard!

[Britt]

Try a class at both and go where you're comfortable and where you can get good, quality training and good conditioning. If you were to come by our school you'd see everything from fighters ready for the ring to out-of-shape beginners. No shame there; that's why they're there, to get in shape. Don't worry about the athletes handing you your head either, if they're good instructors they won't humiliate you or do you any serious damage, and winning and losing isn't a factor when you're training. When I first started I used to tap and tap and tap and tap and tap until I just quit caring about whether I was tapping or not. I learned a lot by going against more experienced opponents.

[chillaplata]

I trained at Anderson's for about a year and I absolutely loved it. Like you, I started there with no previous martial arts training. I was also very out of shape (6'0, a fat 245, couldn't run more than a couple of 10-12 minute miles at a time). I did find the training quite physically demanding, but Sifu Dan, his instructors, and the other students were extremely friendly, helpful, supportive and encouraging. The idea was that you are training to challenge yourself and be the best you can be -- it doesn't matter if you can't do everything the younger, in-shape, experienced guys can do.

Although the guys who have been there for a few years are all in great shape and very serious about their training, there is a broad mix of abilities, fitness levels and body types in the introductory ("Phase I") class. I would try that first and see how you like it. You should hold off on the dedicated Muay Thai classes until you're a bit more experienced and conditioned, but there's really no reason to take those classes as a beginner because you will learn the basics of Muay Thai through the Phase I curriculum.

The BJJ classes are also pretty hard, but beginners are welcome and Sifu, Shaolin (the resident black belt) and the upper belts are very good about making sure newcomers receive proper instruction in the fundamentals. As at most good BJJ schools, newbies will generally roll with upper belts until they have a few basics down and feel comfortable on the mats. If you are too out of shape to roll at first (as I was), one of the upper belts will usually take you aside and do drills with you (escapes, guard passes, basic submissions, etc.). The hardcore guys may look scary, but they are actually very friendly and supportive.

Lastly, you could consider private lessons with Sifu or one of the other instructors. I did a lot of privates and benefitted tremendously.

I've been travelling a lot the past couple of years, and I'm living in California now, so I haven't been training there in a while. If I return to New York, though, I will certainly resume training there.

*EDIT*
In response to the OP's concern that he will have his head handed to him: You will be encouraged to spar once you learn the basics of proper stance and footwork, punching mechanics, and blocking, parrying and evasive techniques. The level of intensity, however, will be adapted to the students' skill and conditioning levels and will ultimately be up to each participant. So while two experienced, competitive fighters may go at each other pretty hard in the Muay Thai class, the level of sparring in Phase I is reasonably light. You may take a few medium to hard shots, but you will not be going all-out and I think you are very unlikely to get hurt.

[Britt]

Sounds like a ringing endorsement to me!