Martial Arts

[blondeamazon.livejournal.com]

I am thinking of dumping my gym membership that I do not use enough to justify and am thinking of getting involved in a martial art. I did Tae Kwon Do at a couple different schools many years ago and would like to try something different. I checked the "martial arts" tag and found some nice recommendations for martial arts schools however, they all seem to be $90+ a month plus some had a joining fee. Does anyone have a recommendation, any style, that is closer to $30-$50 a month? I have a car so I am not limited to T access but would like to try to have it reasonably close to where I live (Medford). Am I fated to be disappointed? Thanks

Comments

[snakeyesboy.livejournal.com]

I have done lots of martial arts and 90+ a month is a little steep but not by much. A lot of them also require you purchase equipment and uniforms. That said, martial arts rule and I'm not trying to discourage you. I once ran into financial issues and was able to attend class on a reduced schedule and helped out with classes and around the studio to cut costs further. It would be worth talking to someone at the studios you are interested in, to see if there are some options for you.

[cosinezero.livejournal.com]

There's capoeira... a number of places but I can recommend contramestre marquinho coreba... look on the b0st0n community for posts from mkbscratch for info.

[blacktigr.livejournal.com]

I've been looking for a Capoeira group to join (come Spring, though), but I've really been looking for a group that has music throughout the whole lesson and in good weather trains outside, like the group I came from. I really miss the feel of the grass on my feet while I do Negativa and such, and I have trouble with the silence that most martial arts groups train in. It's good to have music for the roda, but I've found that the trancelike quality of warmup music helps my staying power.

Does your group qualify? Do you know anyone that does?

[cosinezero.livejournal.com]

Tough to find anyone in boston area that trains outdoors... the weather is just so unconducive for that.

[cosinezero.livejournal.com]

Oh, and every group I've ever done capoeira with always has music through the entire lesson.

Other martial arts, silence (which I actually enjoy a bit more).

[blacktigr.livejournal.com]

Well, my previous group was in MI, so there wasn't really *year round* training outside there, either. But when the weather was good (65 degrees plus), we did that and it really helped my acrobatics.

The two groups I've tried (both in Central Square) had either no music at all or music just at the end. I guess I will find the group where I fit eventually.

[cosinezero.livejournal.com]

Definitely look for mkbscratch's posts on the b0st0n community. Capoeira Gerais definitely has music the whole class.

[dylanesque29.livejournal.com]

That price tag might be a little unrealistic. The cheapest I've ever paid for martial arts is $75 a month, and that was several years ago.

Boston Martial Arts Expensive

[blacktigr.livejournal.com]

Where I came from Capoeira lessons were $8/per, but when I came out here I got sticker shock. I wound up having to quit for quite a while to save up money to train seriously. When each class is $15, 4 days/week adds up really fast.

[elusiveat.livejournal.com]

I think you can sign up for New England Aikikai (Porter Square) for less than that, if you are willing to only go on the weekends...

You might also wish to check out clubs at some of the local universities. I don't remember the rates, but I know that MIT has Jujitsu and... something else... Tae Kwon Do, maybe?

[dcltdw]

MIT has more martial arts than you can shake a stick at. :) I teach Isshinryu karate; there are at least two Tae Kwon Do clubs (one is called "Korean Karate"), a competitive/performance TKD team, Dan Zan Ryu jujitsu, American jujitsu, Shotokan karate, kung fu, judo, aikido, and kendo. All of these are called club sports, and many have their webpages linked off of the club sports listing. For the others, I would recommend a google search.

All you need for any or all of these is an MIT Athletics membership, which isn't particularly cheap; an annual membership comes to $73.75/month. But you get access to everything, so if you wanted to do a martial art, and use the weight rooms, and treadmills, and the pools, and and and, then it's a pretty good deal.

[dcltdw]

Oh, some club sports may have additional fees, but given that club sports are intended for students, I'd expect them to be pretty low. (Isshinryu karate has no class fees.)

There are various aerobics classes that a membership gives you access to; I think those also have additional fees. That said, they do seem to be very popular.

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Do they let you have a locker to store stuff in overnight at the MIT gym?

[dcltdw]

You can rent one on a semi-annual or annual basis, I think. There may be a waiting list, depending on which location you're at (there are two different athletic centers on campus).

They have day lockers for anyone to use for free, but you're not supposed to leave your lock on them overnight.

[kidsmokes.livejournal.com]

Not martial arts, but imho boxing is where it's at. The Somerville Boxing Club has decent rates, and the workouts, although intense are a lot of fun and pretty useful.

website here: http://www.somervilleboxing.com

[frederic.livejournal.com]

I was going to recommend that as the cheapest.

Judo is also more affordable than most, and Somerville's club is no exception:

http://sites.google.com/a/tohokujudo.org/tohoku-judo-club/Home

[blondeamazon.livejournal.com]

I looked at their website but I didn't see anything that indicated they give lessons. How does it work and what does your membership cover?

[pandaposse.livejournal.com]

There is a TKD place called C. W. Tae Kwon Do (http://www.cwtkd.com) that is located right near the Central Sq T stop and right across the street from the Green St. parking garage ($1/hr). Their rates are around $60/month I think. They also offer cardio kickboxing classes too.