Is it worth it...?????

Question

I want to start mma more than anything.

However, the nearest facility for me to train at is an hour and a half away... At $50/month (not bad)

Given the far drive and my work schedule, I'd only be able to make it up once a week to train.

Will I get anything out of this paying $50 a month, not even factoring in gas money, to train about 4 times a month???

I am wondering if I should kickbox at a facility about 5 miles from my house, and wait a few months until I move closer to an MMA gym....... OR, would you all suggest I just jump on the gun here and start training mma asap whether its 2 miles away or the hour & a half...

Thanx for any advice =)

Answer 1

stay with the kickboxing, and hour and a half is too much, just stick with that until u find a place thats closer  

Answer 2

Let me put this from my perspective and see if that helps. I train in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. I drive about 40 minutes in traffic to get to training twice a week, and training is two hours. Another two days a week I train a group over in the park, weather permitting (while training in the rain and mud can be fun, it gets old after a while). If my regular group (the one 40 minutes away) moved and the next closest were, say, Laughlin, and I had to drive over an hour, I would in a heartbeat given that I could make it before class started. It just means that much to me.

I can't speak for everyone. The guy who responded first didn't believe it was worth it. It's all about what it means to you. To me, it's a huge stress relief (even with the stresses it causes), and is something I wanted to do for years prior to joining. It took my friend dying (a guy 2 years my junior) for me to stop wasting time on what everyone else thought I should do and start doing the things I wanted.

So the question goes back to you: Is it worth it?

Answer 3

Anything more than a 15-20 minute drive is way to far.

Answer 4

It all depends on what you want.  I started my TKD training in Feb. 2007 and then in Jan. 08 I moved an hour away from my school.  I still drive once a week for training, I pay about the same as you do.  It's a matter of desire.  I want to get my Black Belt under my instructor, there are some schools and clubs closer to me but it's not what I'm looking for. For me it was never a question of if I was going to continue training but how. If you are doing what you truly want and achieve your goals and are happy then it's money well spent.

Answer 5

personally, and hour and a half is too long. kickboxing would definately be helpful, and you may even like it a lot. plus, if you're planning on moving in a few months i definately think you can wait

Answer 6

I would recommend that you start kick boxing.  Only once per week is not that much and you will quickly fall behind and frustrate others as well as yourself.  You might talk to the instructor and ask if you can just come by and watch sometimes and explain the situation to him.  It never hurts to ask and several people sitting in and watching a class always looks good for business.  If later on your situation or location changes and you move closer then you will already have built some kind of a rapport with the instructor.  In the mean time the skills and knowledge you pick up in kick-boxing will not go to waste as nobody can take them away from you.

Answer 7

I don't recommend that you take MMA at all. Why not take a real martial art?

Answer 8

yeah an hour an a half is to far away IMO just do kickboxing or some other martial arts which are closer untill you can move closer to an MMA gym. i know people who come from over an hour and a half away but they generally dont come very often maybe once a fortnight to once every 2 months but they train other things which are closer to them in the other times.

Answer 9

Some clubs that 'teach' MMA aren't all that amazing... Because really..MMA isn't a style..Its an ideology and sport. Do you know what I mean? You can't really teach MMA..You can train in styles that are useful in MMA, and train strategy in a live MMA style spar session..

Like alot of the fighters have a solid base in a certain style, then decent in everything else. Personally I think you should go to Kickboxing. Or if there is a grappling club near by, do that one. Get a good solid competitive base in one of those, then mix it up.