Ok, so you want to get your Karate Man on. You want to learn how to bleed on the inside during a bar brawl huh? You want to learn how to execute a heart stopping sidekick to an enemy’s chest. Well, have no fear, we here at SKILLSET truly understand.

Every Alpha Male needs to learn self-defense in order to protect themselves and their loved ones, in today’s article not only will we learn how to learn self-defense”, but we will also share the not so ancient Chinese secrets to assist you on your journey to unleash your Inner Bruce Lee. Let’s get to it.

      Everyone Is Not Kung Fu Fighting After All

Not sure which martial discipline you should start your journey on? No worries, we got you. It’s probably best to start by having an idea of what you want the outcome to look like. Start by watching Bruce Lee flicks, Batman movies, Old Shaw Brothers stuff and UFC fights.

 After you have binged watched 30 or so films, start dividing up your choices by styles.

Do you want hands? Look up a boxing gym. Want to be a grappler? Look up Brazilian jiu-Jitsu Gyms. Want to move like Jet Li? look up Kung Fu and Wushu. Want to learn incredible kicks? Try Tae Kwon Do. Want to learn MMA? Don’t be a dummy, Join an MMA gym.

Once you have an idea of what you want to learn, figure out how you want to dress, style your hair and appear while you are laying the smack down. Use Google the same way that you search for pizza to find schools or gyms in your area. start by scheduling trial lessons. 

Keep in mind, these are TRIAL lessons, do not commit to anything until you have tried classes at different schools.

Once you decide on a school, you will need to spend some money on gear. Every style will require gear. BJJ, generally need shorts and a rash guard. Anything with sparring will need gloves, mouth pieces and whatever rest of the sparring gear your coach will want. Kung Fu, Karate and Tae Kwon Do schools generally sell their own uniform and t-shirts.

 Know What Not To Look For

There is nothing wrong with walking into a gym and it smells like a gym, except when you walk out with a staff infection. Cleanliness is key.

Yes, there are plenty of run down, dirty gyms that have a lot of information to offer, I will leave it up to your sole discretion if you want to “roll” with a guy with bad hygiene”. Another thing to avoid is the “hard sell”. If the instructor is spending way too much time talking about how dangerous he/she is or how much deadlier they are over the school down the road, walk and don’t look back. Your trial lesson will determine whether you want to further invest your time and money into a school, don’t get sucked in by amazing fist of legends stories.

Judge everything by what you see and experience firsthand. If the instructor is capable, it will show in class when he demonstrates. Plus, you will get to see if the students are good. After all a student reflects a teacher, if the students suck, chances are the instructor isn’t that good at making good students.

If the school seems like a money pit McDojo from the moment you walk in, it probably is. Walk out and find a different school. It’s harder to walk away after you have invested thousands of hours and dollars into your school.

   How To Dress During A Trial Lesson

Wear a Bruce Lee Game of Death yellow jumpsuit with the black stripes down the sides. I mean, why not? Go to class and have some fun, if the instructor doesn’t find it fun, he probably has a shitty sense of humor and hates the world.

Let the instructor know that you want to learn how to do self defense and unleash your inner Bruce Lee. You want to scream, jump kick, ground fight and swing nunchucks like a tequila drinking demon. If you are reading SKILLSET, you are probably not a child and you don’t need Kiddie Karate classes, let the instructor know that. 

There is nothing wrong with discipline in a gym, your instructor will get you in the best shape, you should also have a great time while doing it. I learn the best when I am enjoying myself. If you want someone to whip you into a killing machine while screaming in your face, join the military.

          It’s Now Time To Commit

Once you decide on a gym and instructor, give them a solid year. Don’t bounce around, they are committed to making you a badass, return the commitment to your new Sensei.

With very few exceptions, it takes years to master any martial art style, especially when starting off as a pure adult beginner. Expect training to range from easy to rocket science, it’s supposed to be challenging. Take your time to perfect your new craft, ask questions and remember slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.

Just like with a regular gym or health club, expect to train several days a week. What you put in, is what you get out. Good luck, have fun and always give a Bruce Lee war scream at the end of every class.

Unless your instructor punches you for it, then only give out a loud war scream when you are changing in the restroom.