Online martial arts courses are growing more and more popular, but are they really a good method to learn? Can You Learn Martial Arts Online from home?
Some may believe that martial arts can only be learned under the direct supervision of a qualified instructor.
While I believe this is the ideal method to learn, it is not always possible. Training at a good gym may not be possible depending on your lifestyle, where you reside, your work schedule, or your finances.
So, can a martial artist who wants to start learning but only has an internet connection as an instructor still train effectively?
The solution is convoluted:
Learning martial arts online can be a terrific way for some people to enhance their skills, but it can also be unproductive and harmful for others.
In this essay, I’ll cover all you need to know about martial arts training online, including where to begin.
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Table of Contents
Can You Learn Martial Arts Online?
Martial arts training at home is unlikely to be as successful as practicing at a facility. If you don’t have access to a gym and are prepared to put in the effort, there are still plenty of resources available online to help you improve your talents.
If you know where to look, the internet contains a lot of content that can aid you with your at-home training, from workouts to technique breakdowns to practice drills and sparring sessions.
However, there are a few things to think about before you try to practice martial arts online:
- What kind of martial art are you attempting to master?
- What kind of equipment do you have on hand?
- What is your current martial arts skill level?
The answers to these questions will determine whether or not your training is productive, so think carefully about what you want to get out of martial arts.
If you’re a beginner, making all of these selections may seem daunting at first, but don’t worry; I’m here to assist you.
Advantages of Learning Martial Arts Online
1. Learn from the greatest in the world
The quality of instructors now available to everyone with a computer or smartphone is one of the major benefits of many online courses.
Olympic boxer Tony Jeffries, legendary Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructors Rener and Ryron Gracie, and undefeated UFC world champion Khabib Nurmagomedov are just a few of the prominent names offering online martial arts classes.
Learning online allows you to acquire tactics and methods from these world-class fighters in a way that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to do without spending hundreds of dollars on plane tickets and seminar fees.
2. Any time, any location
Accessibility is, of course, a major advantage of online martial arts training. Lockdown restrictions are still in place for many individuals around the world as of this writing, necessitating home training.
Similarly, if you’re on vacation somewhere far away or don’t have time to get to the gym, online training can be a temporary fix until your circumstances change.
You can learn martial arts online from the comfort of your own home, at a time that is convenient for you.
3. Additional education and training
If you’ve been training for a year or more and are comfortable with the foundations of your style, supplementing your training with internet resources can be a terrific method to focus on techniques you’re having trouble with.
I had a terrible time as a white belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu getting locked in unexpected positions and not knowing how to escape or defend myself.
Studying a book, of all things, called Jiu-Jitsu University by Saulo Ribeiro, was really beneficial to me (highly recommended for any new BJJ practitioner).
With so much high-quality martial arts content available online these days, using the internet as a supplemental training resource has become a much more respectable approach to improve your leisure time.
4. Inspiration
One of the best aspects of the internet is the ease with which we can get information from all around the globe.
This is especially true for martial arts, as method breakdowns and lessons for anything from kung fu to karate to muay Thai to wrestling can now be found on sites like YouTube.
This is a dream come true for experienced martial artists searching for a few more skills to add to their arsenal.
Online martial arts lessons are a terrific way to become motivated to attempt new techniques or training methods, and they may introduce you to a new style you wouldn’t have explored or discovered otherwise.
While there are some drawbacks to learning martial arts online, they should not be dismissed entirely.
There’s a wealth of useful information available online, and if you already have some knowledge, you can benefit greatly from some at-home training with a well-designed online course.
Disadvantages of Learning Martial Arts at Home
1. Coaching that isn’t active
This may seem self-evident: if you’re learning online, you won’t be working with a real coach, but it’s important to understand why this is such a problem.
An excellent internet video will teach you all the right form points you need to perform a particular kick, takedown, or kata perfectly, but you won’t get any feedback because you’re practicing alone.
There are ways around this – documenting your form and undertaking self-analysis, for example, should be an important part of anyone’s training – but trying to self-coach your own technique is a considerably slower process than having an experienced coach make real-time modifications.
This may be more or less necessary depending on what you study; if you’re learning Tai Chi forms as a contemplative practice, this approach may suffice.
If you’re learning a style like muay Thai and kicking and punching a heavy bag at full force, you risk harming yourself if you don’t keep your form in check.
2. Overload of information
Martial artists with more experience will have a far better grasp of what they need to improve on. However, the amount of material available in the online learning area can be intimidating if you’re just getting started.
While sites like YouTube are excellent resources, they include thousands of hours of video, making it difficult for a newcomer to know where to begin or what to focus on.
Of course, if you’re utilizing a curated online school with a defined curriculum, this isn’t the case, and this is normally what I recommend beginners do if they want to learn martial arts this way.
Even so, as a novice, determining whether a course is legitimate can be challenging, which is why sites like ours attempt to educate you on what to look for in online courses and ensure you pick the correct one for you.
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