You’re thinking about trying a martial art. Maybe you’ve already signed up for your first lesson. And now you’re getting cold feet. You’re worried about what is going to happen.
Will you fit in?
Will you get hurt?
Will everyone laugh at you when you can’t do something?
What if you do the wrong thing?
It can definitely be nerve-wracking trying something new. Especially if you’re going into a mixed-ability class where there will be some people who have been doing the art for years.
But here’s the thing: even those people had to start somewhere. It’s not like trying to speak French to a native Parisian or Japanese to someone from Tokyo. They don’t know what it was like to struggle with French or Japanese, they’ve known it literally their entire lives.
Nobody was born knowing martial arts.
We all started from where you are now. The beginning.
That’s why you don’t need to worry about making mistakes. I’m not saying we’ll ignore them, of course – feedback is important if you want to learn and improve – but it’ll be constructive feedback.
Yes, but what will actually happen?
Other martial arts will vary, of course, but in our Shorinji Kempo classes you can expect each class to be the same… and yet different.
Before the class starts, we sweep the floor and chat as people are arriving and getting changed.
The sensei (teacher) will call for the class to start. Everyone lines up in rows – it doesn’t matter where you stand, but I’d recommend behind someone else for your first couple of lessons to make copying easier!
In between each section of the class there are some Japanese formalities. Don’t worry – just copy for now, you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly. If you want to know more, check out the article on Gassho Rei.
We start with a warm-up, then practice basics. Everyone does basics every class, to make sure they are firmly in our brains and bodies. They’re the foundation of everything! Because we’re all doing it together you should have plenty of good examples to copy. As a general rule, the darker someone’s belt is the more likely they are to be doing it right.
Just because it’s basic doesn’t mean it’s the same every time, though. Some days we’ll do punches, some days kicks, or blocks, or combinations. Sometimes body movement will be a focus and sometimes foot movement. Often we’ll work in pairs to use the knowledge in a more “live” environment.
There’s a short meditation in the middle of the class, followed by some philosophy.
Afterwards, we split up into small groups to practice techniques – what you practice will depend on your experience level, so don’t worry about being given something massively complicated on your first lesson! You’ll be supervised by the teacher or a senior student, who will offer helpful advice when needed but will get out of your way and let you practice if you’re doing ok.
The last portion of the class varies a lot. Sometimes we do randori (sparring), sometimes seiho (massage), and sometimes embu (choreographed fights). Each of those has valuable lessons to teach, but we can’t fit them all in every class so we rotate around.
That sounds like fun
I’m glad you think so! The class has enough variety to keep you learning something new all the time, but enough repeating elements that you will soon feel at home and know what to expect.
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