"I want to be able to defend myself!"
"I'd like to improve my mental focus!"
"I want to get in shape!"
JMAC Traditions
How to Choose a Martial Arts School
Monday, December 14, 2009
A Message from Nicklaus Suino Shihan (Director of the Japanese Martial Arts Center):
If you're looking for martial arts training in or around Ann Arbor, Michigan, I applaud you! Thinking about martial arts training shows that you want to improve yourself, physically, mentally, or spiritually. Real, historically-based Japanese martial arts have a long track record of helping people improve themselves. Martial artists are among the finest people I know. Many of our students say that their best friends and best role models can be found here at the Japanese Martial Arts Center (JMAC) in Ann Arbor. I know for sure that few places are as devoted to the concepts involved personal mastery and putting those concepts into practice.
You may be trying to decide on a dojo (martial arts school), or simply whether or not to begin. You ought to give it a try, whether you choose JMAC or some other dojo in Ann Arbor, because there are so many positive benefits. At JMAC, you will get the best experience you can get in a dojo in Ann Arbor, in Michigan, and perhaps as good as anywhere in North America, whether your chosen martial art is judo, jujutsu, or iaido. This is because of what you will get, as well as what you won't get. After reading this list, you'll have a good idea of our approach, and be able to decide whether we're a good fit for you.
Let me tell you what you won't get first.
You won't get a hard sell. Martial arts is my life's passion, and I want students to come to the dojo because they want to embark on a mission of personal mastery, not because they've been pressured to sign up for a long-term contract. We'll explain what kind of commitment you have to make to train at our dojo and let you decide if it is right for you. If you do join us, you'll learn great self-defense skills, become more physically fit, and find yourself becoming calmer, more balanced, happier, and much more confident.
You won't go broke paying for extras. I do everything in my power to keep our dues reasonable so that you can practice martial arts. Some schools in the Ann Arbor area charge as much as $200 per month (one school I know of in a nearby community that has raised its monthly dues to $249 in 2010!). At JMAC, you'll pay $149 per month to be part of an extraordinary program and you'll get some benefits that most schools charge you for, like testing fees and special events. Our black belts would gladly pay many times that rate for the confidence and winning attitude they've developed while training at JMAC.
You won't get tied into an endless contract. At JMAC, you sign up for a 1-year membership. During the membership, your dues won't go up even if the rate for other new students does rise. Once the membership is over, there's no fine print that makes it impossible to quit. Moreover, if you decide martial arts training isn't right for you, you can discontinue your membership within 60 days simply by filling out a form to let me know why you're stopping. There's no other catch.
You won't get meaningless promotions. There are, unfortunately, many schools that guarantee you a promotion every few months. Think about what this means: while you are busting your butt to actually earn your black belt, the guy or gal next to you who hardly ever shows up will be promoted along with you, whether they deserve it or not. At JMAC, we work on a performance-based system for promotions rather than a time-based system. If you deserve to be promoted, and you will if you put in the hard work, we won't hold you back.
You won't find an atmosphere of intimidation. Don't worry about being bullied or threatened while training at JMAC. I simply don't tolerate intimidation at our school. Real martial arts development takes place in an atmosphere of mutual respect and joy. Traditional martial arts systems are less about fighting than they are about personal development. If you practice regularly and reflect on your training, you will gain all the benefits of training, whether or not you ever set foot in a ring. We have a wonderful group of hard working, dedicated students at JMAC, where 21 year-old competitors can work together with 60 year-old professionals, and where both can prosper.
You won't have to train with children. Our adult programs are for grownups. We structure our lesson plans for the adult mind, and we don't have kids in the adult programs (sometimes a mature teenager will be allowed to join, but we don't modify the teaching style to suit them). You can train with the concentration you need to succeed.
Now let me tell you what you will get at the Japanese Martial Arts Center in Ann Arbor:
Dedicated, experienced instructors: second only to you, your sensei (instructor) is the most important aspect of your martial arts experience. If you wish to learn real martial arts skills, you have to study with someone who knows how to teach. This is someone who has spent many years studying the martial arts, and who has a proven track record. It doesn't mean that you should look for the best fighter: most great fighters don't focus on teaching. It does not mean that the chief instructor should teach every single class, but it does mean that he or she should be very involved with the teaching, and should regularly appear in classes.
I've been called "one of the foremost martial arts instructors in North America." I don't know if that's true, but I have been studying martial arts for 43 years. I've been taught by some of the most accomplished martial arts masters in Japan and Okinawa. I've written five books on the martial arts (which have sold nearly 60,000 copies), which have been praised in Black Belt Magazine and the Journal of Asian Martial Arts. I won my rank division in Japanese swordsmanship (iaido) in the All-Tokyo forms competition four years in a row (competing against hundreds of Japanese swordspeople), and was a medalist in the AAU Junior Olympics in judo. I was a personal student of the founder of our jujutsu system for four years, and continue to visit his dojo regularly for advanced training. My mission is to master martial arts as fully as possible and to share the many benefits with our members, including you.
A beautiful, functional facility: the dojo where you train is very important. Besides being convenient to get to, the atmosphere should inspire you to train diligently, and to introspect about the things you learn. Moreover, the training area should be safe and clean. The Japanese Martial Arts Center is easy to get to, located just south of I-94 in Ann Arbor. There is ample free parking. Inside the dojo, the atmosphere is simple, with ornamentation such as Japanese calligraphy. The training area is clean and the mats sit on a fully sprung floor. This makes a huge difference if you practice a martial art that involves falling such as jujutsu or judo - helping to prevent both immediate injuries and chronic problems from physical impact. You'll stay healthy while improving your fitness and your ability to defend yourself.
An authentic historical curriculum: it almost goes without saying that the martial art you choose should be one you enjoy. Once you have trained for more than a few months, however, the legitimacy of the art will become important to you. If you're like me, you want to know that the techniques of your art are based on real historical martial arts principles, and that they actually work the way they are supposed to. It's nice to know that the certificate you hang on your wall will be respected by recognized international martial arts figures. At the Japanese Martial Arts Center, you may train in one of several legitimate, historically based Japanese martial arts systems. I studied with Japanese masters who were direct students in a succession of teacher-student relationships dating back centuries, and I teach the principles they taught me. There is no substitute for the confidence and calmness that comes from practice of the real thing.
An atmosphere of mutual respect and joy. As I mentioned above, the pursuit of martial arts excellence is my life's mission. I love what I do, and it shows. Moreover, I recognize how important it is to treat other people with kindness and respect. Although our standards are high, the interactions between people in our dojo are friendly and helpful. Everybody learns better when they are happy and relaxed, and that's the feeling we cultivate out on the mats.
If you're thinking about martial arts training, I urge you not to wait!
Our class sizes are limited to keep the quality of instruction high. If you want to be a part of the most prestigious traditional dojo in or around Ann Arbor, Michigan, stop in soon! I promise you that your commitment to serious martial arts training at the The Japanese Martial Arts Center will change your life for the better!
Sincerely,
Nicklaus Suino, Shihan
Director, Japanese Martial Arts Center
771 Airport Blvd, Suite 1B
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108
Phone: (734) 645-6441
info@japanesemartialartscenter.com
If you're looking for martial arts training in or around Ann Arbor, Michigan, I applaud you! Thinking about martial arts training shows that you want to improve yourself, physically, mentally, or spiritually. Real, historically-based Japanese martial arts have a long track record of helping people improve themselves. Martial artists are among the finest people I know. Many of our students say that their best friends and best role models can be found here at the Japanese Martial Arts Center (JMAC) in Ann Arbor. I know for sure that few places are as devoted to the concepts involved personal mastery and putting those concepts into practice.
You may be trying to decide on a dojo (martial arts school), or simply whether or not to begin. You ought to give it a try, whether you choose JMAC or some other dojo in Ann Arbor, because there are so many positive benefits. At JMAC, you will get the best experience you can get in a dojo in Ann Arbor, in Michigan, and perhaps as good as anywhere in North America, whether your chosen martial art is judo, jujutsu, or iaido. This is because of what you will get, as well as what you won't get. After reading this list, you'll have a good idea of our approach, and be able to decide whether we're a good fit for you.
Let me tell you what you won't get first.
You won't get a hard sell. Martial arts is my life's passion, and I want students to come to the dojo because they want to embark on a mission of personal mastery, not because they've been pressured to sign up for a long-term contract. We'll explain what kind of commitment you have to make to train at our dojo and let you decide if it is right for you. If you do join us, you'll learn great self-defense skills, become more physically fit, and find yourself becoming calmer, more balanced, happier, and much more confident.
You won't go broke paying for extras. I do everything in my power to keep our dues reasonable so that you can practice martial arts. Some schools in the Ann Arbor area charge as much as $200 per month (one school I know of in a nearby community that has raised its monthly dues to $249 in 2010!). At JMAC, you'll pay $149 per month to be part of an extraordinary program and you'll get some benefits that most schools charge you for, like testing fees and special events. Our black belts would gladly pay many times that rate for the confidence and winning attitude they've developed while training at JMAC.
You won't get tied into an endless contract. At JMAC, you sign up for a 1-year membership. During the membership, your dues won't go up even if the rate for other new students does rise. Once the membership is over, there's no fine print that makes it impossible to quit. Moreover, if you decide martial arts training isn't right for you, you can discontinue your membership within 60 days simply by filling out a form to let me know why you're stopping. There's no other catch.
You won't get meaningless promotions. There are, unfortunately, many schools that guarantee you a promotion every few months. Think about what this means: while you are busting your butt to actually earn your black belt, the guy or gal next to you who hardly ever shows up will be promoted along with you, whether they deserve it or not. At JMAC, we work on a performance-based system for promotions rather than a time-based system. If you deserve to be promoted, and you will if you put in the hard work, we won't hold you back.
You won't find an atmosphere of intimidation. Don't worry about being bullied or threatened while training at JMAC. I simply don't tolerate intimidation at our school. Real martial arts development takes place in an atmosphere of mutual respect and joy. Traditional martial arts systems are less about fighting than they are about personal development. If you practice regularly and reflect on your training, you will gain all the benefits of training, whether or not you ever set foot in a ring. We have a wonderful group of hard working, dedicated students at JMAC, where 21 year-old competitors can work together with 60 year-old professionals, and where both can prosper.
You won't have to train with children. Our adult programs are for grownups. We structure our lesson plans for the adult mind, and we don't have kids in the adult programs (sometimes a mature teenager will be allowed to join, but we don't modify the teaching style to suit them). You can train with the concentration you need to succeed.
Now let me tell you what you will get at the Japanese Martial Arts Center in Ann Arbor:
Dedicated, experienced instructors: second only to you, your sensei (instructor) is the most important aspect of your martial arts experience. If you wish to learn real martial arts skills, you have to study with someone who knows how to teach. This is someone who has spent many years studying the martial arts, and who has a proven track record. It doesn't mean that you should look for the best fighter: most great fighters don't focus on teaching. It does not mean that the chief instructor should teach every single class, but it does mean that he or she should be very involved with the teaching, and should regularly appear in classes.
I've been called "one of the foremost martial arts instructors in North America." I don't know if that's true, but I have been studying martial arts for 43 years. I've been taught by some of the most accomplished martial arts masters in Japan and Okinawa. I've written five books on the martial arts (which have sold nearly 60,000 copies), which have been praised in Black Belt Magazine and the Journal of Asian Martial Arts. I won my rank division in Japanese swordsmanship (iaido) in the All-Tokyo forms competition four years in a row (competing against hundreds of Japanese swordspeople), and was a medalist in the AAU Junior Olympics in judo. I was a personal student of the founder of our jujutsu system for four years, and continue to visit his dojo regularly for advanced training. My mission is to master martial arts as fully as possible and to share the many benefits with our members, including you.
A beautiful, functional facility: the dojo where you train is very important. Besides being convenient to get to, the atmosphere should inspire you to train diligently, and to introspect about the things you learn. Moreover, the training area should be safe and clean. The Japanese Martial Arts Center is easy to get to, located just south of I-94 in Ann Arbor. There is ample free parking. Inside the dojo, the atmosphere is simple, with ornamentation such as Japanese calligraphy. The training area is clean and the mats sit on a fully sprung floor. This makes a huge difference if you practice a martial art that involves falling such as jujutsu or judo - helping to prevent both immediate injuries and chronic problems from physical impact. You'll stay healthy while improving your fitness and your ability to defend yourself.
An authentic historical curriculum: it almost goes without saying that the martial art you choose should be one you enjoy. Once you have trained for more than a few months, however, the legitimacy of the art will become important to you. If you're like me, you want to know that the techniques of your art are based on real historical martial arts principles, and that they actually work the way they are supposed to. It's nice to know that the certificate you hang on your wall will be respected by recognized international martial arts figures. At the Japanese Martial Arts Center, you may train in one of several legitimate, historically based Japanese martial arts systems. I studied with Japanese masters who were direct students in a succession of teacher-student relationships dating back centuries, and I teach the principles they taught me. There is no substitute for the confidence and calmness that comes from practice of the real thing.
An atmosphere of mutual respect and joy. As I mentioned above, the pursuit of martial arts excellence is my life's mission. I love what I do, and it shows. Moreover, I recognize how important it is to treat other people with kindness and respect. Although our standards are high, the interactions between people in our dojo are friendly and helpful. Everybody learns better when they are happy and relaxed, and that's the feeling we cultivate out on the mats.
If you're thinking about martial arts training, I urge you not to wait!
Our class sizes are limited to keep the quality of instruction high. If you want to be a part of the most prestigious traditional dojo in or around Ann Arbor, Michigan, stop in soon! I promise you that your commitment to serious martial arts training at the The Japanese Martial Arts Center will change your life for the better!
Sincerely,
Nicklaus Suino, Shihan
Director, Japanese Martial Arts Center
771 Airport Blvd, Suite 1B
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108
Phone: (734) 645-6441
info@japanesemartialartscenter.com
