Martial Arts etiquette questions

[cuppa]

I've been training in Muay Thai kickboxing for the past 2 months and I am usually on time (so I follow what other students did at the beginning and at the end of the class which is bowing with the hand gestures).

 

Today, I was late and I didn't want to disrupt the students so I went to the corner and started to follow the class, avoiding eye contract, try not to attract attention.

 

Apparently, I did a big no no (violation) in MMA etiquette. I am supposed to greet/bow my sensei before hitting the mat (oops). I apologized to him profusely afteward.

 

Any other etiquette that I need to know? I am also taking Krav Maga...I honestly don't remember if I bow to my sensei before I enter the mat or not but now I will do.

[sb129]

why don't you ask the sensei or other members of the class?

[Enema]

Sensei is japanese.

 

If I was your Muay Thai trainer and you called me sensei, I'd think it's bad etiquette too!

[cuppa]

Sensei is japanese.

 

If I was your Muay Thai trainer and you called me sensei, I'd think it's bad etiquette too!

 

No I don't call him by sensei, I called him by name usually. I use sensei/instructor/master interchangably since I am taking mixed martial arts all over the map (is there such term in Thai?)...anyways, I will ask my teammates tonight about all the etiquettes so no feelings hurt.

 

Sensei to me means a teacher. Not necessarily Judo/Karate teacher, if that makes sense .

Edited March 15, 2010 by cuppa

[cuppa]

why don't you ask the sensei or other members of the class?

 

I'll do in the next class (Wednesday). He just taught me the hand gestures today and wondering if there are others out there that I need to be aware of before I meet him next Wed.

[tman666]

"I am supposed to greet/bow my sensei".

 

This sounds pretty sketchy that a Muay Thai instructor would have his class call him sensei, which is a Japanese term. If you were in a karate or a judo class, this would make more sense.

 

Is this a "fitness" Muay Thai class, or are you guys actually learning Muay Thai as a martial art (i.e. the different punches, kicks, elbows, clinching, sparring)?

 

If it's just a fitness class, then I'd just call him whatever he wants and go in a get a good workout. However, if you're trying to learn MT as a martial art, I would check up on the legitimacy of your teacher's credentials. There's a lot of quackery in all martial arts today (even in "MMA" schools that supposedly teach hybridized MT and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu).

 

How much money are you paying for your instruction? Are you in a contract? Is there a belt system (there shouldn't be if it's legit MT)?

 

Also, I'm not trying to dog on you, or your choice of martial arts. If you're happy doing what you're doing, then who am I to question? I just hate seeing people getting suckered into McDojos and walking away with a false sense of security.

[cuppa]

"I am supposed to greet/bow my sensei".

 

This sounds pretty sketchy that a Muay Thai instructor would have his class call him sensei, which is a Japanese term. If you were in a karate or a judo class, this would make more sense.

 

Is this a "fitness" Muay Thai class, or are you guys actually learning Muay Thai as a martial art (i.e. the different punches, kicks, elbows, clinching, sparring)?

 

If it's just a fitness class, then I'd just call him whatever he wants and go in a get a good workout. However, if you're trying to learn MT as a martial art, I would check up on the legitimacy of your teacher's credentials. There's a lot of quackery in all martial arts today (even in "MMA" schools that supposedly teach hybridized MT and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu).

 

How much money are you paying for your instruction? Are you in a contract? Is there a belt system (there shouldn't be if it's legit MT)?

 

Also, I'm not trying to dog on you, or your choice of martial arts. If you're happy doing what you're doing, then who am I to question? I just hate seeing people getting suckered into McDojos and walking away with a false sense of security.

 

 

opps...ok, as a clarifications, I don't call him sensei. It's just me using that term instead of the word instructor. I was born in asia and Karate/Judo was the common martial arts there so I'm used to call martial arts instructor as sensei (it's my native language). Please don't worry about that. To me, sensei means a teacher, not necessarily Judo/Karate teacher but I don't necessarily call my instructors sensei. I call them by names (like James etc).

 

No, my MT instructor is very legit. He trained a lot of boxers here in my area. The area where I live now is quite well known for boxing and in his early days, he was a heavyweight boxer himself. His academy is well respected here. In fact, one of my instructors was on ESPN, on a kickboxing competition a few years ago. Obviously, I'm too old to join some kind of competition, I am doing it for strength and fitness. Yes, we do sparring, punches combination, and different kind of kicks/knees.

 

But yeah, I went to the other academy for Krav Maga but they call themselves mixed martial arts academy. So I can take Krav Fit (Krav Maga + Fitness) or pure Krav Maga. I can also take Brazilian Jiu Jit Su (tried it once and don't really find it all that practical). So I've been all over the map because my membership allows me to take all these self defense classes and I was trying to find which one is the most practical.

 

I decided to stick with Kickboxing & Krav for now. Kickboxing, because it makes me stronger & faster. Krav, because there is no rule, very practical.

 

Well....there is a tradition still though, like krav maga, obviously we don't bow to each other before sparring (well you are supposed to gauge someone's eyes, break someone's bones, and stuff like that) but after the class, we usually bow to the Krav maga's founder pic (hanging on the wall) then to the instructor. I find it OK, if there is a tradition, I would like to observe it and not to be rude.

[tman666]

Ah ok, thanks for the clarifications. As far as the traditional bowing, hand gestures, or whatever, I guess it's the whole "when in Rome" thing.

 

It sounds like a cool program. I used to train Krav Maga too a while back, but they don't have anyone that teaches it in my current area. It was sure a lot of fun though, as well as being brutally efficient...

 

I find it funny that BJJ is considered by so many to be the bee's knees of martial arts. Definitely a style that requires a lot of finesse and athleticism, but I'd say it's much more of a "ring only" sport.

[cuppa]

Ah ok, thanks for the clarifications. As far as the traditional bowing, hand gestures, or whatever, I guess it's the whole "when in Rome" thing.

 

It sounds like a cool program. I used to train Krav Maga too a while back, but they don't have anyone that teaches it in my current area. It was sure a lot of fun though, as well as being brutally efficient...

 

I find it funny that BJJ is considered by so many to be the bee's knees of martial arts. Definitely a style that requires a lot of finesse and athleticism, but I'd say it's much more of a "ring only" sport.

 

KM is ton of fun, I love the fact that it has no rule! It's all about practicality & efficiency. BJJ, on the other hand, has a lot of rules (while not doubt though, you need a lot of fitness, flexibility, and strength to do those movements). Plus, it's so intimate (rolling around the floor lol), we used to joke "as long as we don't look at each other in the eyes, then it's all fair"