How to Learn Martial Arts: 9 Essential Tips for Beginners

 

Doing martial arts can be life-changing. It can improve your physical and mental health, and even personal safety. But if you end up choosing the wrong martial art, or you learn it the wrong way, you can waste a lot of time.

Trust me, I know. I've been doing martial arts for over 20 years, and I can honestly say, some of those years went to waste. And not all of the decisions I made in my martial arts journey were the best.

So in this article, I will give you 9 tips that I wish someone would have given me when I started martial arts, so that you wouldn't have to repeat my mistakes. Number 1. Decide clearly why you want to do martial arts. I realize this one may be difficult to do at first, especially if you never tried martial arts before.

But so many people choose the wrong martial art to do, because they aren't clear on what they want specifically from doing martial arts. The three most common reasons for doing martial arts, in my experience, are wanting to learn to defend yourself, wanting to challenge yourself, or wanting a cultural experience. Of course, these three may be interrelated but usually, one will stand out more than the others.

Also, your reasons for doing martial arts may change and evolve over time. But knowing which reason is the most important one for you at that time, will be extremely important when choosing the right martial art for you. Leading me to the second tip.

Choose a martial art that will give you what you want best. All martial arts are amazing in their own way. But not all martial arts were created equal.

Some will be great at teaching you how to fight. Others will be great at providing a cultural experience. But few will satisfy all of your different needs at the same level of quality.

Since most people get into martial arts initially wanting to learn to defend themselves, I will start from there. Almost all martial arts schools will claim that they teach self-defense. But to tell you the truth, pretty much all of them are lying.

Meanwhile, if a martial arts school very clearly says that they are not teaching self-defense, it's usually a good sign. The reality is that self-defense and fighting are related, but they are also two different things. So if self-defense is your one and only main goal, it could be wise at first to find a great self-defense course or read some great self-defense books, such as Meditations on Violence or The Gift of Fear, which will teach you what you need to know the most in order to stay safe, such as how to avoid dangerous situations to begin with, how to de-escalate them, how to act if you are attacked, and more.

Since the majority of self-defense skills that you will need, the so-called soft skills, are acquired intellectually. Yet I cannot say that knowing how to fight or having confidence and a strong physique to deter people from wanting to attack you in the first place isn't a great self-defense tool to have either. If you don't have access to a great self-defense program, which honestly are a rare find, and you've read the recommended books to understand the soft skills of self-defense already, your next best choice is a martial art that is good at teaching you how to fight.

And that usually tends to be the martial arts which have the fighting sports aspect to them, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Judo. This is because the techniques of these martial arts have been refined to the greatest extent to work against someone who is really trying to get you. And where you constantly have to spar and train with people who are actually trying to hit you or submit you, just as attackers will try to do in real life.

The middle ground between these martial arts could be Karate or Taekwondo. But unfortunately, these two martial arts tend to be so focused on teaching you ancient traditions that that is what you're going to learn first and foremost, instead of acquiring effective fighting skills. On the other hand, if you're not interested in learning how to fight whatsoever, and you're mostly interested in the cultural experience and self-development, martial arts such as Karate, Taekwondo, Kung Fu, Aikido, or Kendo, practices which involve little to no combat training whatsoever, and mainly focus on traditional movements and solo practices, can be a great choice.

As long as you're fine with the downsides, that these practices will not provide you with self-defense skills. And if you're asking me how to choose the best martial art for you, which will make you good at fighting, that will partially depend on your personality. For example, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo are grappling martial arts, which will require you to use more logic and will not feature the aspect of you getting punched in the face.

In the meantime, boxing will force you to mainly use your hands, possibly making it a more strategic experience as far as striking goes, but that also usually means that you will get punched in the face a lot, and more than an example in kickboxing or Muay Thai, where kicks and even clinching is involved. Ultimately though, one of the best ways to know which martial art will suit you the best is also just trying it out, leading me to tip number three, try a few different schools or gyms. It is way too common to choose a martial art or school that is simply closest to your home, but while it's a convenient thing to do, I highly recommend against it.

Not that the closest martial arts school to your home will naturally be the worst, that's not what I mean, but I'm referring to the importance of choosing the right school for you. Even schools of the same martial art can greatly vary based on their teaching methods, atmosphere and quality of instructions. Depending on your character, one Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school may be too intense and physical for you.

If, for example, at the beginning of class during warm-ups, all of the guys are walking on their hands across the mat each time, and they grapple for 80% of the class with full intensity, while another BJJ school may be super chill and much more focused on technique, potentially suiting your personality more. Sports heavily focused martial arts schools often tend to be much more competitive and less welcoming than the ones focused more on developing a community and a school accessible for everyone. But a more community-based martial arts school will most likely not make you into an elite athlete, although that's not necessarily a rule and should be assessed every time individually.

My point, though, is that one school of the same martial art can feel perfect for you, and another one can be entirely not your cup of tea, and at the same time, it may be the opposite for another person. So don't hesitate to walk into different schools before choosing one. Observe a single class at first, try a few of them if you like what you see, and then choose the school you enjoyed the most and saw as the best one for you.

If this way you will try a few different martial arts, you will also get a better sense of which martial art suits your personality or needs more, helping you make the right decision even more so as you take the first step into your martial arts journey. But here, there's one more thing that I wish I would have done before choosing a martial arts school, and that is tip number four, do your research. Even the friendliest schools and the ones that you feel good attending can sometimes not be good martial arts schools to begin with.

Depending on the main reason you decide to take a martial art for, whether it's to learn fighting or to get a cultural experience, some schools can turn out to be a one big scam, either in what they teach you or in their financial endeavors. Such as, for example, charging $200 for every single belt, while other schools will give you your belts for free. Well, you usually do pay for the physical belts themselves, but that costs only around 20 bucks, so that's besides the point.

Also, some martial arts instructors will not have a clear lineage or have a questionable one. They may also have no fighting experience or accomplished fighters under their guidance. While that may not always be the deal breaker, for example, if the instructor despite that is really good at what they do and there are no signs of them wanting to scam you.

But doing some research before fully committing to a school can get you a long way. To do the research, start by researching the martial art itself and how good or bad reputation it has online. Some martial arts will be generally respected as effective martial arts, while others will have a really bad reputation.

While the opinions of others should not make the final decision on what is good or bad for you, a general consensus in many cases has some truth to it. Then once you research your martial art, research the specific school, affiliation and the instructor and their lineage. Again, I will stress that choosing a martial arts school that you enjoy, like and trust is the more important part.

And tutelage should not be the deal breaker for you. But if an instructor you like comes from a trustworthy and respected lineage or affiliation, that may be a great benefit to your martial arts journey. So, you chose a martial art, you committed to a certain school, you've been doing it now for some months or even years.

But is that it? Is that everything I would change in my martial arts journey if I were to start over? No, there's definitely more. Starting with tip number five, question your instructor. But don't be a d*** about it.

Now, this piece of advice is super important and one that I really wish that someone told me to practice early in my martial arts journey. By questioning your instructor, I by no means mean questioning every single thing they do and asking them a dozen of questions that you don't even care about every single minute. Your instructor will probably know much more than you do about the martial art that they are teaching you.

So, it's important to trust them to a healthy degree and to try out what they teach before doubting them too much or asking them hundreds of questions. But if you ask them no questions at all and you don't question your instructors entirely, that may lead to some huge problems. First off, way too often martial arts instructors mix up their martial arts expertise with life expertise and start giving out their students relationship, business, or life advice.

Remember, your martial arts instructor is most likely good at mainly either punching and kicking faces or breaking joints and bones. They are very rarely accomplished relationship experts or entrepreneurs, unless they are. But you should learn about their additional educations and skills while doing your research about them.

But in most cases, your instructor should not be giving you life advice, relationship advice, business, or even health and diet advice. Again, unless they are officially trained in that specific area. But if they are not, you should be very careful about taking their advice.

And you shouldn't trust them on everything just because they have a black belt. This to some degree should also apply to what they are teaching in martial arts as well. In most combat sports based martial arts, you will be taught techniques and exercises which were proven to be effective over many years by many people.

But some instructors may decide to start improvising and teaching you unproven or even dangerous techniques and exercises. Some martial arts schools will be extreme and for example will ask you to take heavy shots to your face in order to, I quote, get used to them. Or they will hit you with belts to develop your character.

Or ask you to do dangerous flips and tricks without proper guidance. All of which may lead to serious injuries and unnecessary risks. In traditional martial arts schools, you may be asked to do other crazy and unhealthy practices.

Such as to sit on your knees for hours without moving. Or having other people climb on your backs while doing martial arts moves. Something that will be damaging to your knees.

Whenever in serious doubt, question the instructor and always know that you have the right to refuse taking part in exercises that you don't feel are safe or good for you. Another big piece of advice that I wish I was given in my martial arts journey is tip number six. Do not get stuck in a single martial art or practice.

Good martial arts schools will usually encourage you to be open-minded and to try and experience different styles and practices. But way too often martial arts schools are tribal and elitist. Telling you that their style or school is the best.

And that you should never even try out other martial arts or schools. If that's the mentality of the school you're going to, it is usually a very bad sign. And you should seriously consider if the school is really good for you.

Other schools may be more casual about it. But still not feel very encouraging for you to try other styles in schools. Yet there is a lot that you can learn by cross-training.

Even if you do it once in a while, while you are committed to a single martial art. Going to a different combat sport or school may be a humbling experience. Reminding you that you don't know everything.

Which is a very healthy experience. A complete martial artist should also ideally be able to do both striking and grappling. Meanwhile very often grapplers stick only to grappling.

And strikers only to striking. Potentially because they don't want to go out of their comfort zones. Limiting their martial arts abilities as a result.

But to go to opposite practices and to learn grappling or striking on top of your martial art, even if just for a few months, may be great not only for your fighting and self-defense skills, but also for your humility, ability to learn new things and your open-mindedness. So don't get stuck in a single martial art. Now we reach the next and final step of our martial arts journey.

We are now committed to a single or a few different martial arts practices. We are starting to get a hang of them and possibly we are even crazy about how much we love practicing them. But the dangers of making some major mistakes are still around.

And here I will give you three more tips for how to continue your martial arts journey in the best way possible and to avoid my mistakes. Number seven. Don't over train.

When you become crazy about training a particular martial art, you may want to do it every single minute of your day. You may want to go to multiple classes per day. You may want to every single instructional about the martial art and to constantly go to the gym to do some additional strength and conditioning training.

But overtraining is a real thing and not just as a term. It's a well-documented phenomena where if you train too much, your progress both physically and mentally not only stops from improving, it may even begin regressing. Our mind and body need rest in order to internalize new information and to adapt to new stimuli.

If we do not give ourselves the rest we need, gradually our bodies will begin to perform worse and our minds won't be able to take in new information. To make things even worse, overtraining also affects your sleep. And by sleeping less, not only will you not be able to train more, your immunity system also will suffer and your overall life quality will decrease.

It is possible to do what's known as overreaching. To train intensively for a certain period of time to gain maximum result. But it's extremely important to take a break and additional rest after that intensive period of training in order for your body and mind to properly adapt and experience the best possible result.

Trust me, I am speaking from experience here. Training an insane amount of time without doing it intelligently will not make you better. No wonder there is a saying, train hard, rest hard.

Which also brings us to tip number 8. Take care of your body. If you're younger than 30, this may not seem like a big concern to you. Trust me, it should be.

As I get older, I regret more and more some of the stupid things I've done during my early martial arts training. Such as wearing super heavy weights while doing martial arts. Trying to pull off a split without stretching other muscles.

Punching a wall with only newspapers in between. And not stretching enough. You may not feel your body's limitations now, but your wear and tear is accumulating and becoming progressively more real with every year.

The less you will stretch before and after training, the less you will invest into your mobility and strength of your core muscles. The more crazy and reckless exercises you will do, the more you will feel that in later years, and not in a good way. Not taking care of your body will not only prevent you from continuing to train martial arts as much as you want to in the future, but it will also decrease the quality of your life.

As your shoulder will begin hurting while you will be sitting by the computer, or when you will experience an injury seemingly out of which in reality will be an accumulation of all the stupid things you've done until now. Again, trust me, I am speaking from experience. So don't be lazy and be smart.

Stretch more. Do more mobility and core strength exercises. Avoid stupid exercises.

Make it a part of your routine. Do not make it as an additional thing to your training. Trust me again, you will thank me later.

And the final tip number 9. Make the process enjoyable. I know this one sounds very simple, "But we haven't finished the article yet, as this may be one of the most important tips I am giving you out today. Sure, a new martial art will most likely be enjoyable at the beginning on its own, but after a while, your practice can become either an obsession or a habit.

While you will once in a while have days when you won't want to go to training, and it's important sometimes to push yourself through and not to be lazy, there is a limit where you will forget to enjoy the training, or you won't make the process enjoyable, and you will eventually burn out and begin regretting your martial arts training entirely. Take adequate breaks between sessions. Don't push yourself too hard too often.

Invest into the areas of the martial art that you enjoy doing the most, and you will find yourself practicing the martial art for years to come. But if you will become too greedy and overtrain, or make your martial arts training into a chore only, eventually you will hit a wall where you simply won't have any more motivation to train. Blue belts, blues, anybody? And while you will have a quick burst of progress if you will train in extreme amounts, in the long run your martial arts journey won't take you far.