Not sure about my trainer's credentials

[Godhand13]

I recently crossed from Kyokushin (which I did for 2.5 years) to a kickboxing/MMA class at my local PCYC. The problem is, I'm not sure about my trainers qualifications. I know he's a brown belt in Zen Do Kai and that he has experience in Muay Thai and some form of JiuJustu, but I don't have any real idea how qualified he really is. He seems to know what he's talking about, but I'm unsure, especially where grappling is concerned, as I have no experience in it. HELP ME!!!!

 

[Auspex]

He seems to know what he's talking about

That's a good feeling to have, bro.

 

[flikerstance]

go visit other gyms and compare the instruction

 

[newerest]

ask him for his belt/lineage

 

[Vector_X]

ask him for his belt/lineage

That's what I would do as well and is a completely ethical and legitimate question to ask.

 

[SpooNer]

Can be hard finding places to train in rural Australia.

Check these sites out hope it helps.

Tasmania Will / Machado BJJ Australasia

www.bjjtasmania.com

 

[Gerbiljiujitsu]

ask him for his belt/lineage

sound advice that will, more than likely, clear up the situation.

 

[Gerbiljiujitsu]

sound advice that will, more than likely, clear up the situation.

also keep in mind that I am not implying that if he says something outside of a BJJ lineage he doesnt know how to grapple.

It's just that most fakes have stories that dont add up. Listen to what he says and then check it out.

Also try googling his name, it's usually a good idea anyway.

 

[Godhand13]

well I asked him and he said he had background in a few grappling arts: Judo, BJJ, Jiujutsu, etcetera... so I guess he's a freestyle grappler

 

[All_in]

always remember there are a few forms of jujitsu that are almost totally unrelated to BJJ i think there are like 2 or 3 forms of jujitsu that do not cross well they are more standing based if i am not mistaken with some like aikido type of stuff thrown in... japanese combat jujitsu is one and then traditional jujitsu

 

[PointyShinyBurn]

well I asked him and he said he had background in a few grappling arts: Judo, BJJ, Jiujutsu, etcetera... so I guess he's a freestyle grappler

Ask him if he has any actual rank in any of those...

 

[Calibur]

I recently crossed from Kyokushin (which I did for 2.5 years) to a kickboxing/MMA class at my local PCYC. The problem is, I'm not sure about my trainers qualifications. I know he's a brown belt in Zen Do Kai and that he has experience in Muay Thai and some form of JiuJustu, but I don't have any real idea how qualified he really is. He seems to know what he's talking about, but I'm unsure, especially where grappling is concerned, as I have no experience in it. HELP ME!!!!

Wow! I used to do Zendokai. The striking was average (not bad though) and the grappling was very very basic. At the tournaments the guys who trained strictly zendokai had good sprawls. Surprisingly shitty takedowns. Stiff guards.

Pretty much the only move from guards I saw them do was the cross collar choke, the armbar and ocassionally the triangle. Guys in the class with Judo experience knew a little more and when visiting BJJ guys visited, they mopped up the freestyle sessions. This was Japan though. In terms of MMA, Zendokai can be a nice transition from an all striking style, to a mixed one, and it's proof on how far toughness alone can take you.

 

[Vector_X]

well I asked him and he said he had background in a few grappling arts: Judo, BJJ, Jiujutsu, etcetera... so I guess he's a freestyle grappler

did he give you a little more info than that? Like, who he trained under, rank, time duration of training under each specific art, has he competed? if so, how'd he do. I'm hoping you didn't just let it stand at that.

 

[Knuckles69]

I would suppose it is difficult to get training in rural areas but when looking to train MMA one should remember there are only a handful of styles/arts that are predominantly seen in MMA and there is usually a good reason for that. In general the arts we see in MMA are:

Grappling:

BRAZILIAN Jiu Jitsu, Catch, Judo, Sambo, Wrestling (including greco, folk, etc).

Striking:

Boxing, Kick boxing, Muay Thai

Arts outside of these have some merit, but are generally anomalies in the world of MMA. If you're looking to train MMA then stick to the arts that make up the vast majority of what MMA consists of today. Then look at your instructors belt lineage in arts that have belts or his competition record in the striking arts that generally don't have belt distinctions. If your instructor is unable to show a verifiable belt lineage or a competition record then the probability is high that he is a fake.

Keep in mind that not every great competitor makes a great coach also. And that someone could have a decent and not great competition record and still have enough technical knowledge to make a good/great coach.

Also look at his students in local/regional competitions and measure their results against others in the area.

 

[iheartthemount]

keep in mind when asking about rank that many forms of Japanese MA can have no or little belt ranking. Some like TKD (korean) and other forms go straight from white to black.

Similar to Aikido in the US, where most schools still go white to black (even though I've seen some schools that do a Brown belt). So i'm just saying, it may sound bad to be a white belt but their experience could accumulate to years of training.

 

[georgejjr]

Take a look at the guys he's trained. Are they any good? Do they do well in tournaments? Some world class coaches (think Angelo Dundee) have lousy credentials except for the guys they trained.

Rank, lineage and so on are useful if they're just starting out coaching, but after they've been doing it for awhile you can throw those out, and just look at what he's actually produced.

 

[Godhand13]

I know that he's been training in martial arts since he was 15, and he's at least 40 now. Most of the guys at the gym seem pretty damn good, even the guys who've only been training for a couple of months

 

[Godhand13]

did he give you a little more info than that? Like, who he trained under, rank, time duration of training under each specific art, has he competed? if so, how'd he do. I'm hoping you didn't just let it stand at that.

no, we were about to do some work on subs, so I only asked where he'd trained, and he said the ones I told you, as well as a couple others I forget. I know he used to instruct World Federation Jiujutsu, because he mentioned it to one of the guys

 

[Uncle Skippy]

no, we were about to do some work on subs, so I only asked where he'd trained, and he said the ones I told you, as well as a couple others I forget. I know he used to instruct World Federation Jiujutsu, because he mentioned it to one of the guys

Asking somebody their background is a very open ended question. Be very specific.

Just ask him *who* he trained under and *where* he trained. The answer should include names and gyms/cities. Specifics are key.

If the answer is still "here and there in this style of that" without specific names and locations, he is being evasive.

 

[MyBodyHurts]

My experience is most people make it a point, or at least enjoy, discussing who they trained under and what their rank is in whichever art/discipline they've studied. I would just ask him specifically who he trained with, what discipline(s), his rank, etc., like your curious. I've asked my instructors genuinely out of curiosity where they've trained figuring, other than the people who promote them, they've jumped around because of friends, affiliates, for fun, etc., and they've always been very open about it. I think this applies to a lot of other disciplines besides bjj. I have friends who do karate, aikido, and some other stuff I can't even spell who know the lineage just by pulling up the sites webpage.