The grass may seem greener, but it’s got more thorns in it

All martial arts have value, but don't be seduced by the superficial glamour of a style, because thorns may lurk beneath the surface.

Just recently, I’ve heard two very contrasting views about training in other martial arts. Sensei Gavin Samin delivered a seminar in London at which he reminded us that it’s better to achieve mastery in GKR, than to become a jack of all trades; going to Ju Jitsu to learn grappling, and Aikido for throws, and Tae Kwondo for kicks, and so on. There’s a lot of merit to this perspective, but I don’t believe that having a working knowledge of other martial arts is actually counterproductive.

Then I spoke to someone else who’d been fortunate enough to receive some personal training from a 7th dan in another style. His instruction really lifted the veils from her eyes, and let her see a much bigger martial arts picture than she sees within GKR. He demonstrated power, and energy redirection, and harnessing of chi, and it quite literally blew her away. Afterwards, she said to me that she felt as if GKR was a sham, as though it was only giving students a little piece of the picture. I can understand her view, but I would say this; whether you die by a hand-grenade, or a single bullet, you’re just as dead. Whether you defend yourself with an awesome technique that shatters every bone in your attacker’s body using just one finger, or you use a block and punch to stop an attack, the attack is still stopped.

Look, of course, we’d all love to be Bruce Lee, or Jackie Chan, or Jet Li – seemingly invincible and able to do amazing things. And there are many levels of martial deadliness above them too, but it’s a question of effort and return - I can tell you how to be as good as those guys now; there’s no secret. All you have to do is find a world-class martial arts teacher and spend every waking second for the next twenty years training!

But the truth is, most of us aren’t prepared to dedicate that sort of effort to training. GKR students (and those in other styles) generally train between 1 and 2 sessions per week – that’s maybe 3 hours per week. You’re not going to achieve lethal competence in that kind of time. Even with the best instructor, and the deadliest style in the world.

GKR is unique in the world of martial arts, in its family approach to karate, and the way that it trains its instructors. We try hard to be a very welcoming, warm, club that provides a safe family environment for kids and women to feel comfortable in, as well as the men who are more traditionally the core of martial arts clubs.

We’re not training our students to be deadly assassins, or full contact champions, or future movie stars, or weapons experts. We give something far more valuable – we give self-confidence to the needy, we help the overweight to lose some, we help children to feel special and give them a sense of achievement that may be rare in their lives. We also teach a limited amount of self defence – enough if correctly applied, to get you out of a lot of one-on-one situations, and possibly worse.

The sad truth is, very few people who start training in karate – of all styles – stick with it, even for a year, let alone until they reach competence. They simply lack the self-discipline, and in this age of fast gratification and short attention spans, it’s getting worse. GKR recognises that, and provides something useful from the very first lesson – basic blocks and basic strikes. They won’t turn you into Pai Mae, or make onlookers clap and cheer as you defend yourself, but they may save your life nevertheless...

I suggest that you aim to achieve competence in GKR before you start looking around at harder, more physical, less welcoming, more complicated styles. If you can't even stick around GKR long enough to get good, what on earth makes you think that you'll do better elsewhere?!