May 11
adminAbout Us
Wouldn’t it be great if the world’s greatest martial arts teacher moved to your city? Wouldn’t it be awesome if they opened up a school right next to your house, and taught free lessons all day long? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to workout with the best training partners, using all the best equipment, learning the best arts ever known to mankind?
Sorry–that isn’t going to happen. Maybe, if you are among the lucky, you’ll find a skilled instructor teaching lessons you can afford, at times you can usually attend, and at a commuting distance you can manage. Sadly, though, some would-be martial artists are never so lucky.
For any one of a dozen different reasons–tuition fees, schedule, training goals, et cetera–you may find yourself unwilling or unable to attend any local martial arts school. How then can you start, or continue your martial arts* practice? Relying exclusively on books and videos will definitely hinder your progress; you need real human feedback. You need a training partner. More
Apr 27
adminTips
This is one part of the series, Get Started In The Martial Arts: A Beginner’s Guide.
There are some questions you just shouldn’t ask a teacher of martial arts, and some questions they would be unwise to answer. Here is a sample of those questions, along with reasons for avoiding them, and recommended alternatives.
Stupid Question #1: What is the instructor’s belt or rank?
Why it is stupid: There are no universal standards for belt ranking. In some cases, a black belt indicates technical mastery of the art, in other cases it represents combat effectiveness or teaching ability, and in still other cases it means absolutely nothing.
In the real world, belt promotions are sometimes given out as encouragement for faltering students, or as rewards to loyal but unskilled students. Many commercial schools charge testing and grading fees, which is an incentive for them to promote (too) early and often. Perhaps worst of all, some instructors promote themselves to “Grandmaster” when opening a new school!
Smarter alternatives: How many years have you studied this art? How many hours did you train over those years? Who taught you (and what is their reputation)? More
Apr 16
adminTips
This is one part of the series, Get Started In The Martial Arts: A Beginner’s Guide.
Armed with a list of goals for your martial arts training, and a list of schools to consider, your search can begin in earnest.
We know that visiting a half-dozen different schools is a hassle. But it is far better to invest these first hours in finding a great dojo, rather than in studying at a mediocre one. When you visit each school, be sure to ask these essential questions.
Are the classes compatible with my schedule and budget?
Some schools offer only two or three hours of instruction per week, and others are open all day long. Talk to the instructor, and discuss how many hours of daily or weekly attendance would be appropriate to meet your goals. More
Apr 09
adminTips
This is one part of the series, Get Started In The Martial Arts: A Beginner’s Guide.
With a good martial arts book or DVD, you will receive information on strikes and blocks, holds and throws, stances and movements, drills and other training methods, and maybe a few history and language lessons too.
When you participate in a good martial arts class, you get all that, and much more. More
Apr 04
adminTips
This is one part of the series, Get Started In The Martial Arts: A Beginner’s Guide.
This is the best of times, and the worst of times for new students of martial arts. Never in history has there been so much information published on the world’s diverse styles of traditional and modern martial arts. On the Internet, this information is plentiful, and it is free. And sadly, it is completely unreliable.
Traditional martial arts are the product of a distant time, place and culture. Throughout most of their history, they have been intertwined with local politics, religion, and business. All of these factors conspire against a complete, accurate and objective recounting of historical events today. More
Mar 30
adminTips
This is one part of the series, Get Started In The Martial Arts: A Beginner’s Guide.
Why do you want to learn martial arts? Do you want to improve your fitness or flexibility? Increase your focus, concentration skills, or spiritual awareness? Build self-confidence, or win in tournament competition? Make new friends? Strengthen your chances of surviving a random street assault?
Granted, these all sound like positive attributes. Given a list of the common goals and benefits of martial arts training, it is easy to embrace them all. More
Mar 28
adminTips
This is one part of the series, Get Started In The Martial Arts: A Beginner’s Guide.
When Sun Tzu, the famous Chinese strategist, was asked about the ultimate defensive technique, he gave a judicious reply. “To be prepared everywhere,” he said, “is to be weak everywhere.” Master Sun’s wisdom, originally applied thousands of years ago to organized warfare, is equally applicable to individual martial arts today. To complete a breadth of study, one must sacrifice depth, and vice-versa.
Some brash martial arts teachers will claim mastery of the true ultimate martial arts style. This ultimate style combines all the best elements from a variety of older forms of martial arts, so they say, but without all the useless traditions, outdated beliefs, ineffective techniques and other nonsense. This style sounds very good—maybe even too good to be true. More
Mar 25
adminTips
This is one part of the series, Get Started In The Martial Arts: A Beginner’s Guide.
According to a recent survey, approximately half of all active martial arts students in the USA are under 18 years of age. Why would millions of American parents, who would never let their children play with a real knife or gun, encourage those same children to attend martial arts classes?
Generally, these kids are not learning real martial arts. More
Mar 13
adminAbout Us
“Guru, I have traveled many miles to request your instruction,” the seeker explained. “What are the secrets of enlightenment?”
The guru gazed kindly upon his visitor, and replied. “Meditate for forty years, and you will have your answer.”
The visitor was dejected. “Among all the great masters, you are considered the wisest,” he said. “I wish to learn of a shortcut.”
The guru smiled, and paused before answering: “That IS the shortcut!”
Everybody likes a good shortcut, and we at DojoScore are no exception. We can provide you with a list of all the best martial arts schools in your state, your city, or even your neighborhood, along with detailed profiles and reviews of each school. The one feature we do not provide, is a star rating system.
It was not an oversight. An objective ranking of martial arts schools, while superficially plausible and appealing, is impossible in practice. More
Mar 08
adminAbout Us
Even with the best possible instruction, learning a martial art requires years of discipline and focused effort. The first challenge for any fledgling martial artist, is to find that instruction. Where do you begin?
A comprehensive list of martial arts schools in your area would be a great place to start–if it existed. But, until recently, such a list did not, and could not exist. Let us briefly explain the problem, and our solution. More
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