Switching gym....easier said than done.

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35andOver

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I've been with my current gym for a little over a year and my contract is up. Like a good little consumer, I went out into the world and looked at what else was available in my area before deciding on what to do.

I've found a place that I think offers a higher level of training, has far better facilities and has a larger pool of quality training partners. Coupled with the fact that my current gym has raised it's dues to a similar cost, it really seems like a no brainer right?

Ugh!! Leaving seems so much harder than it should. I'm tossing and turning about it in bed for Christ's sake! Thinking about leaving my old gym feels like I'm breaking up with a girlfriend!

I completely didn't expect to have to deal with any level of emotion over this. I'm all discombobulated!
 
I thought about leaving my gym for awhile after it went to crap and raised its prices,but i was still reluctant to leave. Part of me really wanted to stay, part of me really wanted to leave. I realized there are other options out there and left, its not like you have to say goodbye to everybody.
 
It depends what your goals are i think. If your just trainiing for exercise or to get ripped or whatever than i see no harm in staying at a gym your having fun at. But if you aspire to be in the ufc then you have to do whats right for your career and thats go to the better gym. Remember 6 months after you leave you'll b comfortable in the new gym and have made new friends. Kenny Flo just left the man that took his striking to a level that started beating everyone in the ufc (but penn), just for a new training regimen and enviroment.
 
I've had it with my gym. Last night one of the instructors came in 10 minutes late and didn't hit the mats like 7 minutes later. Shit, I'm not paying $140 a month to hit a bag every single class and not be paired up with somebody.
 
I'm going through the same thing, I already decided I have to leave my current gym for the better. Now I just have to decide on these two gyms that I picked out and which one I should join :icon_cry2
 
You really need to look and see which one gives you the best bang for your buck. Which caters best to your schedule and your goals? Gym loyalty is a great thing to have, but if your current gym isn't providing you with what you need, its best to go elsewhere.
 
Tell me about it. I trained at an awesome gym for 2 years. Than I had to stop because of a new schedule (and because I was broke and couldnt afford to train). One year later, I'm still in the same boat as far as the schedule goes, however, I now have money. I found a new gym that fits my schedule and every time I go there, I miss my old gym more and more.
 
I was also in a similar situation myself..here's my story:

Basically I started training TKD last year at this dojo. Before you bash for training TKD, this place is very non-traditional and to think of it I consider it more kickboxing with the exception of doing katas and knowing some history of karate etc. And the katas are taught and reviewed every few classes. Its more for the belt testing. We have crazy sparring sessions and it's not "point" sparring". I also like that this place has been around for about 30 years and only has about 30ish black belts. So you definitely know you earned the belts. I wont even go into my belt tests(very intense)

I feel/felt kinda obligated to this place since it did get me in the door so to say for martial arts and it definitely got me in shape. A big plus was that I was only paying $50 a month because the owner offered a police discount. I felt this was a great deal considering I was going 4 times a week to TKD. Another plus was that it was literally a 2 minute drive from my house.

The dojo also offered jiu jitsu once a week, but it was more of a grappling class. Since the instructor(owner's son/Master in TKD) was just teaching the class. He's a real cool guy, down to earth, pretty good grappler, but has no real "formal" instuction in jiu jitsu. And the class was very basic. Although there is a TKD black belt sensei that trained at ATT in Florida and is a purple belt in brown belt training. He attends the grappling class every once in a while, very random actually. His instruction is pretty good and he definitely knows his stuff.

Well here's the bad about this dojo:
- The owner(Master) is old and kinda losing it. He goes on these stupid, long and crazy episodes that takes away from class time. The owner doesn't teach the classes, the balck belt sensei's do), but he's always there.
- Aside from monday/tuesday adult classes, the other 2 days I trained had kids attending. I don't mind much since I can always work on my defense, etc. but still have to be careful around them
-The jiu jitsu/grappling class is seperate from the TKD fees so I have to pay an extra $10 per class
-I want formal instruction in jiu jitsu, although I was hesitant about going to Gi.
-I felt my no gi/grappling "skills" were definitely not being advanced at all. Knew the basics and thats all.
-Very small facility with limited equipment

So about a month back, my 2 good friends and co-workers joined a MMA/MT/BJJ gym. This place is about 15 minute drive for me and my friends begged me to make the switch. They refused to look into attending my dojo since they thought the owner was crazy and didn't like his antics.

I thought long and hard about changing over, but about 8 months prior I had attended a class there and although the instruction was great, I felt the main instructor came off "cocky". I thought what the hell and decided to try again last month.

I dont know what I was thinking the 1st time I had went, because now I think this instructor is the coolest guy, easy to learn from and the instuction is very good and "formal". This new place also offers MT and a crazy intense cardio fitness class. Not to mention the facility is very nice, spacious and has some very good gear, although some primitive(not like old, but "home made" but boy does it work).

So what did I end up doing? Im going to both places! Yea its extra money, but I feel like it will definitely improve my game. I love the intense sparring sessions at the dojo and my BJJ game is definitely improving at the new gym. I basically work out all day before going to work. So it keeps me busy and I already feel im getting in great shape. The only problem is I have yet to tell my other dojo im training at another place. Although I've only attended one grappling class at the dojo, I definitely have the feeling some have taken notice that Im doing things that were never taught there. I know the dojo's owner will be a little disappointed even though im paying for his place to, guess it comes down to loyalty, but I have to think about me to.

Anyway thats my story(long) and sorry for boring ya'll
 
I've left 2 schools since starting 16 years ago. The first one was a weird situation, where I was in good standing with the dojo, but I took a month off to visit relatives (I informed my sensei and the office manager to have my membership on hold, and to tell them approximately when I was leaving/returning). I come back, go to tell them and to see if there was an updated schedule, and they weren't there anymore.

They ended up moving across the city and I didn't hear from them for a good 6+ months. I received a phone call, wasn't home, so they left a brief message, but I ignored it. I figured that if it took them this long to get in touch with me, then they don't really want me back. This was after 5 and a half years of constant training, staying with them during a low point when one of the other instructors left and took a bunch of the students. They apparently closed down about a year after.


I took a year off because I was burned out and pissed. Went back and decided to join one of the bigger schools in the area. Bad idea. They charge X amount for basics and kata (which was more than other places charged for complete packages), and an additional Y amount for sparring.

The instructors were all, in my opinion, poor teachers. Technically qualified, but I don't believe I learned anything in the 6 months I was there. I did get a back injury that had me in lying down for a week and caused me a couple years of occasional spasms, though. They did have a nice stretching and conditioning class, but the instructor retired shortly before I left. They have pretty much defined the term "McDojo" for me.

Your money is your money. If you feel you're not getting your money's worth from one place, either work with the instructor to try and remedy the situation, or respectfully leave and find another school.
 
acsubie said:
- The owner(Master) is old and kinda losing it. He goes on these stupid, long and crazy episodes that takes away from class time.

Anyway thats my story(long) and sorry for boring ya'll
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Nah, interesting post. Is the owner Korean by any chance? I love me them Koreans but damn, they can be some 미친 people. I've met more than a few Koreans who've lost the plot as they've gotten older. I'd actually like to get some judo training in but I know the guy who owns my gym (Korean again) wouldn't be happy.
 
Interesting stories here, pretty similar to the ones i had before. However leaving academy where i am at now would be tough for me, not so much cuz of training but because people are very nice and friendly and i have made alot of friends there...
All i can say if it bothers you then def look into the new place to train at.... i have been thru 3 muay thai academies myself.
 
Thanks guys.

I'm not going to say anything negative about my current gym but I will say the instructors at the other place I am considering have far more impressive credentials and competition backgrounds in comparison.

I guess it comes down to the classic question of do I want to be a big fish in a little pond or do I want to jump into the deep ocean and see what I'm really made of! If I stay where I'm at, it's only because I chose to play it safe and stay nice and comfy.
 
I'd never switch gym, i've been welcomed with open arms and the people there have been like family to me, that and the instruction is great, writing this makes me wanna train lol
 
I'm a trainer in a small gym, and I fully encourage my students to go out and find other gyms to train at and learn from others. If they find a better fit then good for them, as a fighter they need to find what works best.

I always leave my door open to them, and they all come back (well, most of them, some move away etc) at some point.
 
Don't ever feel bad about leaving a gym. I've been training in Muay Thai for more than 4 years now and I'm technically at my fourth gym. Some of my reasons for leaving other gyms were personal, but many had to do with what others have already stated; poor instruction coupled with overpriced fees, gyms feeling more like social clubs than gyms, etc. I ultimately left two gyms because I ended up spending more time training other people than myself and I was one paying to be trained.

As others have stated "your money is your money." Don't spend it somewhere just because you feel obligated to. While I'll admit that leaving gyms does suck because you've created bonds with the people you train with, you have to do what's right for you.

Also, you don't have to buy into the whole "loyalty crap" thing either. Even my current instructor still questions me heavily as to why I left my last gym as for some reason he's completely blind to my reasons (the gym owner essentially stole money from his best fighter - who's actually a current WEC fighter). Ironically, every time I see my buddies who still train at that gym they make the same complaints that I heard when I was there.

My thing is, if you have nothing good to say about your gym or feel like there are more negative aspects than positive ones, then move on. What's the point of staying somewhere when at the end of the day you're not satisfied with what you're getting? It's the same with everything else in life. You can either sit there and complain and be unhappy or you can do something about it. Is it potentially gonna hurt others? Maybe, maybe not, but in the long run you'll be better off...
 
Mu Bai said:
My thing is, if you have nothing good to say about your gym or feel like there are more negative aspects than positive ones, then move on. What's the point of staying somewhere when at the end of the day you're not satisfied with what you're getting? It's the same with everything else in life. You can either sit there and complain and be unhappy or you can do something about it. Is it potentially gonna hurt others? Maybe, maybe not, but in the long run you'll be better off...
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Yikes! I had to go back and read my posts to make sure I didn't write things I would regret later.

I didn't really say a bunch of negative things about my old gym to the point that one might respond with "if you have nothing good to say about your gym"......but I get your point.
 
I've been at my MT gym for almost 4 months. There has been 3-4 diffrent trainer changes. And the trainer for the noon class doesn't even know MT. But locked into a year contract. I've made improvement during this time but I wonder if I would be better off somewhere else.
 
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