What should a MA newbie look for in an MMA gym/dojo/whatever?

**Diocletian** · Posted On: 7/13/2005 12:03am

I'll be honest, I'm a newbie in every sense of the word. I've never taken any MA that doesn't involve swords, except for a few months of token McKarate in middle school.

After a few months lurking at Bullshido and some other places, I've decided to give MMA a shot. There seems to be only one place that teaches it in my area, and I want to get some idea of whether or not learning there is going to screw me over with bad technique from the get-go. They'll apparently let anyone drop by and watch a class to see if it's on the level, so I'm thinking of going over. Problem is, I don't know what to look for.

Anyway, I know that is-this-a-McDojo threads from brand noobs are frowned upon, so how about a slightly more useful thread with tips on what warning signs to look for in an MMA dojo? Since it's MMA, I'm guessing that the obvious signs of Bullshido like 8-year-old black belts and mystical chi powers will probably not be there, so what other warning signs are there? Obviously a newbie won't be able to recognize improper grappling or badly applied wrist locks or whatever, but is there anything else that would give away the game?

**beka** · Posted On: 7/13/2005 12:17am

Well I think it's a good question. I imagine it would be difficult in several ways to tell if an MMA school was any good or not, if you were brand new to it. I'm sure there are people who could answer better than me, since I'm still new to the MMA scene myself.

**katana** · Posted On: 7/13/2005 12:56am

MMA is a huge buzzword today and lots of places say they teach "MMA" "Jiu Jitsu" and "Grappling" but still teach the same old stuff. You can quickly weed these people out with one simple question:

What full-contact competitions have you or your students competed in or won?

Write down what they say and then check them out here or other places on the Internet.

EDIT: Per JKDChick's post, I'm not flaming. I think the above is a serious question and can stump most BS artists quickly. If they don't compete themselves or with their students and say they teach MMA they are not legit in my opinion. MMA is about competition. That's what keeps schools honest.

**JKDChick** · Posted On: 7/13/2005 12:58am

Don't anyone DARE flame this thread. Serious replies only, lets get some wisdom going here.

I'll contribute this: what is the attitude of the students? Are they friendly? Or is everyon trying to prove their dick is bigger than yours the instant you step into the room?

**FingerorMoon?** · Posted On: 7/13/2005 1:39am

What should a MA newbie look for in an MMA gym/dojo/whatever?

MMA places need to have chicks in bikinis walking around with signs to indicate when the round is over. If they are not present, the place is fake.

JKDChick: Don't anyone DARE flame this thread. Serious replies only, lets get some wisdom going here.

I wasn't going to, but since you put that up, we pretty much have to :)

**FingerorMoon?** · Posted On: 7/13/2005 1:41am

If you are really a newbie, I wouldn't suggest going directly into MMA. Build up some basics first.

Do some wrestling or BJJ or kickboxing/MT classes (an MMA school probably does seperate them and let you pick specific classes)

**Poop Loops** · Posted On: 7/13/2005 1:45am

Check to see the instructor's credentials. If he says "I did some TKD and Aikido" that isn't exactly the MMA you're probably looking for.

PL

**MrMcFu** · Posted On: 7/13/2005 1:53am

If you know the name of the place, there maybe someone here who has been there or knows the instructor.

**Diocletian** · Posted On: 7/13/2005 1:53am

Originally Posted by FingerorMoon?

If you are really a newbie, I wouldn't suggest going directly into MMA. Build up some basics first.

Do some wrestling or BJJ or kickboxing/MT classes (an MMA school probably does seperate them and let you pick specific classes)

Yup, this place has all of the above, sorta. Would you recommend going into one before the others, or what?

**Diocletian** · Posted On: 7/13/2005 2:00am

Originally Posted by MrMcFu

If you know the name of the place, there maybe someone here who has been there or knows the instructor.

Probably. The instructor is a guy by the name of Adam Zugec. Nothing turned up on a search of Bullshido, and there's nothing too helpful on Google besides a bunch of places where he's worked and one guy on a forum who said his MT classes were "quite good." And according to Martial Arts Planet he was the "North American and Canadian Submission Champion," though I don't know if that's a decently prestigious thing to win.

I was hoping to keep this thread fairly general though, seems like the last thing Bullshido needs is another "HAY GUYS RECOMMEND ME A SUPERKAWAII DOJO" thread.