mojo23
12/08/2011 4:44pm,
Hey folks- long time no post.
I've been out of training for about two years now and was looking to get back in, and I'd like some advice.
I used to train in Modern Arnis (at Village Martial Arts, for any NYC bullies). I loved it, competed regularly (got a couple of medals) and got through my blue belt, but circumstances forced me to stop.
I did train a bit at Five Points therafter (once again, for NY bullies that know the gym). They teach PTK, and you can hang out and take a MT class for one price. They also focus equally on knife and stick fighting, which is a big plus, and will do some no-pads sparring from time to time.
The downside is I frankly didn't do as well at PTK as I did Modern Arnis. Perhaps it was just a lack of talent, or lack of dedication, but while I felt I was getting the hang of Arnis, PTK was tougher, and it was a bummer that folks there didn't tend to compete (in Kali- they're primarily a Muay Thai gym and their instructors are pretty decent).
So here's my quandry- do I go back to VMA, where I am confident I will be able to get my black belt within a year or so, have more of a sense of community and compete regularly in WEKAF tournaments, or do I go to five points where the classes are not ranked or frankly that well organized, but do focus more on real-world fighting than training for competitions, and I can take muay thai as well for the same price- BUT I may not do as well and frankly may not enjoy it as much (it's no fun to do something you suck at) or maybe if I stick with it long enough, I'll get over the training hump and be even better than I was at Arnis.
Thoughts?
I've been out of training for about two years now and was looking to get back in, and I'd like some advice.
I used to train in Modern Arnis (at Village Martial Arts, for any NYC bullies). I loved it, competed regularly (got a couple of medals) and got through my blue belt, but circumstances forced me to stop.
I did train a bit at Five Points therafter (once again, for NY bullies that know the gym). They teach PTK, and you can hang out and take a MT class for one price. They also focus equally on knife and stick fighting, which is a big plus, and will do some no-pads sparring from time to time.
The downside is I frankly didn't do as well at PTK as I did Modern Arnis. Perhaps it was just a lack of talent, or lack of dedication, but while I felt I was getting the hang of Arnis, PTK was tougher, and it was a bummer that folks there didn't tend to compete (in Kali- they're primarily a Muay Thai gym and their instructors are pretty decent).
So here's my quandry- do I go back to VMA, where I am confident I will be able to get my black belt within a year or so, have more of a sense of community and compete regularly in WEKAF tournaments, or do I go to five points where the classes are not ranked or frankly that well organized, but do focus more on real-world fighting than training for competitions, and I can take muay thai as well for the same price- BUT I may not do as well and frankly may not enjoy it as much (it's no fun to do something you suck at) or maybe if I stick with it long enough, I'll get over the training hump and be even better than I was at Arnis.
Thoughts?