Why Westside Jiu Jitsu?
The most common question we get asked at Westside Jiu Jitsu is “How do I get started training Jiu Jitsu?” followed by “Am I too old to start training Jiu Jitsu?”
I wrote this to answer the most common questions about Martial Arts training and the easiest way you can get started training in this fun Martial Art and take advantage of all the benefits that Westside Jiu Jitsu has to offer.
The best way to begin is to tell you how I got started training Martial Arts:
I am Gareth Ealey. I started my Martial Arts Journey at age 10, doing Judo in Christchurch, under 2-time Olympian and Commonwealth Games Silver Medalist Graeme Spinks. My best result in competition in Judo was a regional title at Cadet Level. But as an adult, I ended up winning 3 National Mixed Martial Arts(MMA) Championships, many more international and national BJJ Gi and No-Gi titles along with competing internationally as a professional MMA fighter/Prize Fighter.
I started training in 2000 with Graeme and for the first several years I was bad!
I would basically enter all the local competitions and lose most of my matches. Back then there were no Beginners classes, you just tried to survive in the class. But I kept showing up and slowly improved.
Back then it was the survival of the fittest. The naturally talented guys would eventually not be able to deal with losing and they would quit. I was slowly but surely moving up the ranks and I wasn’t the worst competitor out there.
Looking back at it, I am surprised anyone besides top athletes could make it or those of us that loved Martial Arts enough to not quit. I always told myself if I ever ran a Dojo that we would have a beginners class to develop and nurture my students.
Another disturbing trend I saw over the years was the surprisingly high rate of drop out of kids from Martial Arts whose coaches and parents(most of whom had never done any martial arts) forced the high performance model of training on the kids to be “the next martial arts prodigy.” I found this to be so absurd as high performance specialised training is mainly aimed adults. The unofficial slogan of sports establishment seems to be: "The short term end justifies the means". The opinion of "keeping the best interests of kids" doing physical activity/ martial arts training seems to be suppressed. This is why, I have spent the last 10 years researching and applying proven scientific and holistic methods in training kids to build their character to get them ready for life in a fun and safe environment.
Most people who start training Jiu Jitsu are looking for a fun way to get in shape, learn some real Martial Arts and self defense skills . Only a small percentage of Martial Artists are wanting to compete, so you have to make sure that the school has the type of classes that you are looking for.
Firstly, Look for a school with a dedicated Beginners class.
Many people I talk to tell me how they were very intimidated to come in and check out a Jiujitsu class. I don’t blame them, it can be a scary experience, especially if they are dumped into a class full of higher belts to basically be a training dummy.
A dedicated beginners/fundamentals program takes away this problem with training and gives a new student a huge advantage of being able to learn in a focussed class environment with more hands on instruction. In my opinion this is the best and fastest way to learn the fundamentals of Jiujitsu.
Secondly, look for a school that uses a detailed curriculum that has produced champions.
Now that you have found a school with a dedicated beginners/fundamentals program the next step is to make sure they use a detailed curriculum. The better the curriculum the better the class! When I was coming up and training I was very lucky to have been in some amazing educational training environments, where the coaches knew and applied what it took to make champions. I was very lucky to have been exposed to coaches in Japan, Brazil and New Zealand, who trained local through to olympic level champions. This allowed me to be exposed to successful coaching methods that have been tried and true from local grassroots level through to elite international level.
My coaching experiences have been top notch to say the least.
However in New Zealand, it seemed like most of the time the instructors would teach what was on their mind and not what the students needed.
The sad thing is that a lot of schools are still operating that way. I have personally spent the last 10years refining what is taught in our classes. I can tell you what you will be learning the second Thursday in March. I want all of my higher grade on the same page with me and teaching the right techniques to speed up our students’ success.
The next step is to make sure the curriculum has produced champions in the art they are teaching. If the system hasn’t produced champions, then there is more than likely something wrong with the system. I was lucky to come up in a system that produces champions and was able to learn how to make a champion system/curriculum. During my coaching and fighting career I was fortunate to be able to train all around the world with the some of the best.
Always look at the Head Instructor and what they have accomplished. If the system hasn’t produced champions, then you need to keep looking. There are so many gyms that are popping up nowadays with the popularity of the UFC and BJJ(Brazilian Jiu Jitsu), where the instructor has never competed especially in New Zealand.
Thirdly, look for a school that will help you with your conditioning and recovery programs. Especially when starting out martial arts training you need to be getting in some conditioning. Make sure the classes have a conditioning component. It is also nice when the school offers conditioning classes or workouts that you can do at home to supplement your training. It’s hard to get into class as often as we would like so having these extra workout plans can make a huge difference in your training. Make sure to ask the school what types of conditioning help they offer along recovery programs. These are huge parts of you staying healthy and being able to train for many years to come.
Martial arts training especially BJJ is a marathon and not a sprint. It doesn’t matter how old you are, our oldest student is in their mid 50’s! You just have to listen to your body and have a knowledgeable trainer who can help you with your goals. By working on your conditioning and recovery programs you will have a huge advantage!
Fourth, look for a school with a Kids program that focuses on fun training and character development. No sane parent wants their child to be the next martial arts prodigy but have a bad attitude and no manners, right? With that being said, our kids program focuses on fostering character development in a fun and safe environment.
Finally, Get started training today.
Don’t wait until you think you’re in shape to train! I talk to people all the time who say they want to get in shape before they start training. Don’t fall into that trap. All this does is slow down the time until you get started.
The best way to learn Jiujitsu is to train Jiujitsu and get in shape doing JiuJitsu classes while learning some great martial arts skills!
If you have selected a school with a beginners/fundamentals program, a detailed curriculum and conditioning program then you will be light years ahead of the average student starting out.
Just make sure you are getting in 2-3 classes per week and 1-2 off the mat sessions to build up your cardio, strength, flexibility and skill sets.
