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- Should I Study More Than One at a Time
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- It is not uncommon for more then one Martial Art to interest a potential student. The logical question is, "Can I" or "Should I study them both?" This is a matter of some debate and opinions differ. The prevailing wisdom is a bit of a compromise. It is generally recommended not to study more then one art at a time or, failing that, to get a good foundation in one art before branching out, or "cross training," in another. The feeling is that the two arts are likely to conflict with each other. They may require differing ways of moving your body, differing postures, differing positions, and offer differing solutions to given situations. These differences could serve to confuse and frustrate the new student as he endeavors to apply what he has learned in his classes. After you have developed a good base in one art, you can then explore other arts without undue confusion or overlap. There are, however, some noted exceptions to consider. You may want to consider cross training in arts that have very little overlap, that complement each other well, or that fill in gaps you may feel are missing. Another consideration is the instructors. Some instructors encourage cross training or even teach multiple arts themselves while other instructors strongly discourage cross training and may be upset to find a student cross training. If cross training interests you, you should talk with the instructors of each art to see how they feel about it before you start taking classes there. They may already have a program in place or may be able to make recommendations. Further, cross training, even if it is advantageous and encouraged will usually slow your advancement in each art far more then if you were to dedicate all of your training time to just one. Finally, as hinted at earlier, you should consider your personal resources. Can you afford to pay for two different classes and all the associated fees for each? Not only money, but, more importantly, your time resource. You will need to dedicate a certain amount of time to the practice of each art, both in class and out, in order to see advancement. Do you have the time to dedicate to each? Some examples of arts simultaneously trained include Tae Kwon Do with Hapkido, Muay Thai with Brazillian Ju Jitsu, and Boxing with Judo.
- Disclaimer and Copyright Notice Some answers given may reflect personal biases of the author and the martial arts FAQ listing's contributors. The answers contained herein pertain to discussions on the rec.martial-arts group, and are by no means exhaustive. The martial arts FAQ list owes its existence to the contributors on the net, and as such it belongs to the readers of rec.martial-arts. Copies may be made freely, as long as they are distributed at no charge, and the disclaimer and the copyright notice are included. -- Matthew Weigel Research Systems Programmer mcweigel+@cs.cmu.edu