White Tiger Martial Arts

I have trained in martial arts before, will I start again from the beginning?

What a great question, and one that cannot be answered fully here.

From experience, it appears that students who have trained in martial arts before fall into two distinct categories:

1) Those that want to keep their existing grade and join at that level

2) Those that are totally prepared to join as a white belt and prove themselves all over again

This is a difficult situation for any club or instructor, so these are the guidelines that we will work to:

Any student wanting to begin training with White Tiger Martial Arts will do so at white belt level. This allows them to integrate with the other existing students and adapt to our style, to which they are effectively a beginner. Everyone will notice the obvious ability of an experienced student and will recognise the humility that comes with being prepared to wear a white belt again.

The type of student mentioned above is likely to train because they enjoy it and appreciate that the primary function of their belt is to keep their gi (uniform) in place, rather than any form of status. It is better to be a perfectly technical white belt than fail to live up to the coloured belt you are wearing. This is the type of student that we are continually looking for.

The instructors will discuss your progress with you, and the grade you attempt at your next grading assessment will be at the Chief Instructor's discretion. This could mean a promotion past some of the lower grades, or back to the level you were when you last trained.

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