Do you guys talk about your martial arts?

[RumbleFish]

Just a question that's been milling around in my head.

I have a very good friend who's of the opinion that you shouldn't really talk about your MA training, as you might just find some asshole that thinks "oh, so he thinks he can fight?" and then try to cause some trouble. He's very secretive about his training and has just said in the past that he's going to gym when he leaves early on the training days. We train together, btw.

Me, I'm not so clandestine about what I do.

Every now and then, especially at work, people will ask "so, what are you doing tonight?" and I reply with "oh, I have training". Then when they ask out about it, I explain that I do SanShou and JJJ, etc and if they're curious I'll give them some more details about it. I don't really go into the finer detail, just the general overview.

It's not like I'm walking around with a martial arts branded t-shirt or something similar, but I don't keep it a complete secret.

What are you guys' thoughts? Do you talk about it freely or is it more of a personal thing?

[RumbleFish]

How is this for some bullshido...

I heard via the grapevine that at the kung fu school where I used to train, the sifu has purchase some fancy weighing scale/machine (possibly for body assessments and what not). I don't recall him being qualified to do this kind of assessment, but hey.

What does amuse is that all students have to get weighed/assessed every couple of months and they have to pay for it. *shakes head*

[Cake of Doom]

I'm the same as you on this, tell if you're asked. When i was doing karate i used to try to keep it to myself just because of the ridicule but this was in secondary school.

[DKJr]

No, people either think you're weird or ask stupid questions. I just blow it off unless they train.

[RumbleFish]

It's pretty amazing how most people put any Asian martial art into the "karate" category.

[jnp]

Rumblefish, please limit yourself to one thread in Newbietown. You can ask more than one question in the same thread.

Welcome to Bullshido.

[wonko221]

i don't hide the fact that i train, but i don't advertise it either. Basically, when co-workers or new acquaintances find out, i'll answer questions and encourage them to come see a class if they seem interested.

i asked my teacher once how to handle friends, usually intoxicated, that wanna know "what would you do if i...." type crap. His advice was to invite them to the class where we can explore their scenarios with some measure of safety. If they don't want to do that, they're not curious about MA, they just wanna play "gotcha" games.

Especially with Judo, folks don't realize how much time we put into learning to fall safely, nor how i can use your gi to help you land.

[alex]

i tend not to particularly at parties etc unless someone asks what i do, since i teach it for a living. kinda hard for me to stay away from that one (and not particularly conducive to business if nobody knows that i train people)

i just dont go to parties anymore where a situation is likely to rise from it.

[DKJr]

I tend to sound very boring, so what are you doing this weekend? (tournament comp) "Uh nothing, just hanging around" What did you do this summer? (spent it training) "Relax, visit friends, read some books." Explaining it is awkward so I just say wrestling or "went to the gym".

[BaronVonDingDong]

I tell everyone because I am an over-compensating middle-aged man who's coping with a drawn-out identity crisis.

I'll also be more than happy to get drunk at your next family barbeque and have a play fight on your lawn.

[W. Rabbit]

I heard via the grapevine that at the kung fu school where I used to train, the sifu has purchase some fancy weighing scale/machine (possibly for body assessments and what not). I don't recall him being qualified to do this kind of assessment, but hey.

What does amuse is that all students have to get weighed/assessed every couple of months and they have to pay for it. *shakes head*

Sounds like Weight Watchers. Seriously that's exactly what a WW meeting is: show up, pay, pay extra for nutritious snack products on sale, then get weighted in an "official" WW scale.

Sounds like a way to bring in extra $$

[RumbleFish]

That's what happens when a MA school turns into a franchise, I guess.

Ok, so it's ok to talk about what you do or train in. Heh, I was just thinking maybe I'm breaking some code of conduct, but if that was the fact then no one would join via word of mouth.

Downplaying it is then.


@jnp - sorry dude, my bad.

[MMAMickey]

meh people you work with tend to realise you do something when you're always covered in bruises and grapplerash.. you either tell them when they ask or they'll assume you're into rough sex.

Just pick who you tell carefully and try not to LARP about your skills.

[RumbleFish]

Just pick who you tell carefully and try not to LARP about your skills.

LARP - is that bragging or showing off? I've seen the acronym on the forums a few times - not sure what it means 100%...

[maofas]

I've learned to never tell people unless I find out a) they train in something that interests me b) they're looking to get into training (or get their kids into it), in which case I can pimp my program or my instructor's Judo program, or just do a good deed to keep them from choosing a shitty school in general.

It's not a perfect formula, because sometimes I'll come in with mat-burn on my head or a hand injury wrapped up. Having switched to space helmets in recent years cuts down on a lot of annoying questions though...

I have less of a problem telling people about Judo though, because I'm only a green belt and can joke about how hard I get owned on a regular basis, which doesn't make me sound like I'm putting on airs.