Let’s say that you had a friend that lived in another state and was considering changing schools based on what’s happening at his current school. Would you have a clear perspective on what a good training environment is supposed to be to help him make the right decision?
Each week, I receive emails from two types of grapplers; grapplers that love the places where they train and grapplers that hate it but refuse to leave for various reasons.
That led me to a burning question: are their warning signs for a bad training environment and what are they? And after careful thought, I created The Wise Grappler’s “10 Signs Your Training Environment Sucks” Checklist.
Your training environment sucks if:
1. Your instructor runs his school through intimidating, bullying students and everyone at your school is afraid of him.
2. Your instructor won’t promote you beyond a certain level for not competing or doing MMA, regardless of your skill level.
3. Students are afraid to change schools for fear of being beaten up by instructors and teammates, even when being ignored on the mat by that instructor.
4. You have to sneak around to get good training with other instructors, hoping no one from your school hears about it or sees you.
5. Your instructor publicly abuses former students and refers to them as “creonte” or “traitors.”
6. When your “brothers and sisters” stop talking to and start badmouthing former teammates because they left the “family.”
7. Your instructor seems more interested in hitting on the female students in class than teaching most days, ignoring your training and not providing good (or any) feedback.
8. Your instructor and teammates are always chit-talking other instructors and teams openly
9. Assistant instructors suddenly leave the school, their names are not to be mentioned, and students are told to stay away from them
10.You have to create reasons and rationalize why you should keep training at the school in spite of the environment (e.g. they’re all a-holes, but they’re the best grapplers in town)
Some might look at this list and say there’s nothing wrong with it (or that I’m making this stuff up) and I guess everyone’s entitled to their opinion. But when I hear about 4 year white and blue belts submitting all the blues and purple belts in their schools, but are told by their instructors that they won’t get promoted unless they compete; guys are sneaking around town to train with other instructors because they’re not being taught at their school and are too afraid to leave; or students start hating a former teammate (at the urging of their instructors) for exercising their right to train somewhere else, it’s MY OPINION that it’s time to look for a new place to train! Now, if you’re training for free or have some family debt to repay, then I would understand staying in this type of environment. But if you’re writing a check to pay for grappling training, why are you sneaking around town paying for the same product twice?
If this isn’t your training environment, consider yourself lucky. If it is…let the search begin!
Paul M. Greenhill, “The Wise Grappler”, is the creator of The Wise Grappler System and author of The Wise Grappler Ezine, a weekly ezine that provides martial arts training and personal development tips for the older (over 35) and non-traditional martial artists. To learn more about “The Wise Grappler” and to sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit his site at http://www.ihateyoungpunks.com or contact him at paul@thewisegrappler.com.
(c) 2007 Paul M. Greenhill
Tags: goal setting, martial arts, self esteem, self help, sports, success, wrestling