How to Tell if Your Martial Arts School is Bad News

The first day I stepped foot in a martial arts school I was 9 years old. After the first week of classes, I knew that I loved it. It was interesting, athletic, challenging and fun all wrapped into one. The instructor made it fun. He treated us fairly and seemed to really enjoy teaching. He was encouraging me and was a patient teacher. I never wanted to miss a class.

I was fortunate as my first experience in the martial arts was so positive.

Unfortunately, not all martial arts schools are a good experience.

Due to the logistics of moving, martial arts studios changing locations and then me going off to college, I had the opportunity to train in many different arts. Most were good places to grow and train. They were healthy, safe environments for students to study the martial arts.

However, there were two schools that I briefly trained in, that weren’t quite right. I couldn’t put my finger on it at the time, but now I know what they didn’t have that made me feel uncomfortable. They did not cultivate a healthy, safe environment. After thinking about it further, I realized there were three things that made these martial arts schools toxic places to train.

Here’s how to tell if a martial arts school is bad news.

1. Fear

Does the head instructor command the class in such a forceful way that you are afraid of what he or she will make you do next? Do they demand respect from all students with no exceptions, or did they earn the respect of their students because they are honorable and fair? Someone who demands respect tends to elicit fear, by shaming, verbal bullying and making threatening consequences. Look around at the advanced students. Do they appear afraid of making a mistake? Are they called out for simple errors in front of the whole class? Does the instructor often yell at students who fall short of their expectations? Is it so intense at times that you are afraid to ask questions or even make eye contact with the instructor or assistant instructors? If any of these occur, you are in an environment of FEAR. This is not a place that is healthy or safe to train.

2. Pain

When training in the martial arts, you can expect some level one injuries such as bumps, small bruises, minor cuts and definitely some muscle soreness after a particularly tough workout. However, less common are level two injuries such as large bruises, black eyes, sprains and bloody noses. More disturbing are level three injuries, such as muscle tears, major joint injuries, knock outs, concussions and bone breaks. Level three injuries should be extremely rare in a martial arts school and a major cause for concern if they are happening frequently. How many injuries occur in a class each day, each week, each month to you and other students? How often do you see someone sitting out because they have an injury? If injuries are so common that its sort of a joke among the students that someone is always injured, you might be in a toxic school. If you are encouraged to continue to train hard even when injured, you are definitely in a toxic school. If trips to the hospital are common, then you have a real problem at that school. Get out now, while you still can.

3. Punishment

Discipline and respect are necessary aspects of the martial arts. Showing good manners, judgement and sportsmanship is also expected. In a healthy and safe martial arts school, when someone falls short, it is common to be called out by an instructor or senior rank. Usually, when a minor infraction occurs, the student is spoken to privately about the expectations. If it is something that has been corrected on several times before, the student might be corrected and asked to do some sort of repentance such as an apology to the class, a written paper or physical exercise such as push ups. If poor manners, poor judgement or bad sportsmanship continues to be displayed, the student may be asked to leave the training center… permanently.

However, punishment is different.

Punishment means to inflict pain or suffering as a form of retribution. Punishment can be physical or mental. Mental punishment includes verbal statements made by someone of authority that is directed towards you that makes you feel inadequate, embarrassed or threatened. This type of punishment is called mental torment. It is emotionally depleting and demeaning. It is a form of verbal abuse. Punishment may be inflicted by singling someone out, turning other students against them, socially excluding the offender or requiring them to do some demeaning task to “teach them a lesson” or “put them in their place.” I once heard of an instructor requiring a student who had disrespected him to punch at a makiwara (padded striking post) over and over again until his knuckles were bloody. A martial arts school that uses punishment or mental torment as a means of controlling their students is not a healthy or safe environment.

I also noticed that in all the martial arts schools that I enjoyed training in that there were three things that made them great. These three positive things make a martial arts school a healthy and safe environment to train.

Here’s how to tell if a martial arts school is good news.

1. Questions Are Encouraged

A healthy martial arts school encourages student participation and verbal discussion. Knowledge is free-flowing. Experiments in techniques are shared and praised. It is an environment of knowledge and no one claims to know it all. There is always more to learn. Even the instructor is active in improving and learning new things… even from other students!

2. Friendly Instruction

In all martial arts, the instructor sets the tone for the entire school. In a healthy and safe martial arts school, you’ll see lots of smiles. Young students are happy and friendly towards one another. Instructors are often caught in a smile or a laugh. There is a playfulness in the training, even when students are doing some challenging drills and sweating it out. Instructors are well respected by students, their families and the community. There is a firm, yet gentle method to how they teach that makes students feel confident, comfortable and willing to work hard towards advancing in their training.

3. Family Environment

IIt doesn’t take long for students to feel like they are part of a family at a good martial arts school. Students help each other. Older students encourage younger ones. Each member builds each other up. We call people out who aren’t pulling the line. But, we do so in a loving way as a friend, a brother, a sister, a coach and a parent. We send cards to those who are hurting. We celebrate the joys in life. We break bread and share meals together. Students near and far are always remembered and part of the family. We cultivate a culture of acceptance where all who seek belonging are welcome and everyone knows your name.

If you are in an environment of fear, pain, punishment and mental torment that’s not what the martial arts was meant to be. Those places will suck the compassion right out of you. The instructor might claim they are taking the soft and weak and turning them into strong warriors. Don’t let their tough outer shell of confidence fool you. Inside these so-called warriors is a heart as black as the belt around their waist.

It doesn’t matter how good you can fight if you don’t have a soul.

by Vashon Borich-Leach,
6th Dan Shorin Ryu Karate, 5th Dan Kyokushin

Seek out a healthy, safe environment that guides you to become the best version of yourself. An environment that allows its students to flourish and excel in their training. A place like this is serene and feels like home. It creates confident martial artists with compassion, ability and the mental fortitude to overcome any obstacles in their life. That’s the true sign of a good martial arts school.

————————————
Vashon is co-owner and instructor at Branson Karate in Branson, Missouri. www.bransonkarate.com