The Vision

What makes a martial arts school better than another? Instruction? Facilities? Competition records? Student base? Price? The style?

I started training martial arts six years ago and came in as many students do, with no knowledge and no expectations. I started in American Kenpo, and quickly started to study and borrow from other styles including Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Muay Thai, Boxing, Wrestling, and MMA. Not long after beginning my training I picked up a job cleaning the studio, working the front desk, and eventually working with our school’s after school kids program. After a couple years I went from being out on the floor as an assistant to leading classes for the kids program and instructing many of the adult classes. Having worked in virtually every position in the business gave me some insight to the challenges of running a successful school, both in running a good class and a good facility. After six years at one school, a black belt in Kenpo, a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and an amateur MMA fight under my belt it was time for me to leave in order to seek out new levels of training.

And this is where I’d like to start cataloging my experiences. The vision is to visit as many different martial arts schools as I can, regardless of style, size, and notoriety. In search of skills and tactics, great experiences, new friends, and a new place to train. Edit: There are a couple points I’d like to add; the majority of academies I’ll be visiting will be Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or MMA, I’m totally open to others as well but that’s what I’m going to pursue first. Second, I want this to be about positive experiences, not dojo-bashing. Some of the best spots to train are not BJJ organization flagship schools and I don’t want to discredit any small schools that have a great training atmosphere. That being said if I run into some bad energy I’ll mention it.