Here are 4 main reasons why learning martial arts from home is better than joining a gym or academy.
There is no doubt that live instruction with qualified teachers is for most people, the best way to learn muay thai and any other martial arts for that matter.
However as I focus on through this site, home learning for some people is the only viable option.
There are certainly reasons why training martial arts from home is better and these are benefits that you probably cannot get from training at a gym or with instructors.
But, again, if you are at a school that provides a quality martial arts training and learning experience that you are happy with then there is no reason to take up online learning.
But if you do not have a school in your community or the school in your community does not provide an experience that is ideal for you, learning from home is not only possible but is a very, very good option.
So, before we get to the 4 reasons why learning martial arts from home is better than attending a gym or academy, lets look at the argument against home learning and self study for martial arts.
A major argument against home learning
A major point that many people make against home learning is that you can’t make progress without someone being there correcting your every mistake.
In terms of not being able to make progress I think this is totally wrong. (I have another post about why you definitely can learn muay thai at home and how to overcome the major difficulties in learning muay thai from home.)
The level of online instruction and learning has improved over time and you can now even achieve a University degree that is world wide recognized online.
Some great martial arts teachers have now chosen to put their instruction into video form for self learning and the level of instruction is very high with much detail.
Just one example of this great instruction is the Bang Muay Thai system that has online learning based on a set curriculum.
However all testing for belts and rankings has to be in person. Nevertheless a full curriculum of 2.5 years worth of weekly video instruction is available for all who are willing to pay the subscription fees.
Another really excellent source of online instruction is the Gracie Academy gracieuniversity.com
This is a source that I personally have been accessing and learning from for a while now.
In fact the video below from the main instructors at the online Gracie University, inspired me to write this article.
However these thoughts have been part of my thinking and approach to self study in martial arts for as equally a long time.
4 Reasons why learning muay thai and martial arts at home is better
1. You can save money
Live instruction for muay thai and other martial arts is a big commitment and also can be costly for a lot of people. Academy or Dojo monthly memberships can be $100 plus per month.
Transport to and from the school can also be quite costly and add up to a significant amount over time.
Whether it be public transport or fuel for your car, there are definite financial saving when you train at home compared to a academy or gym.
At the end of the day, both online instruction and live teaching both require some money to continue learning and improving.
However you can purchase great online and video based instruction and use it to improve without the commitment of monthly costs such as memberships and transport costs.
2. With video instruction, you control the teacher!
Well kind of anyway. With videos you are able to slow down the instructor and rewind and revisit techniques with virtual ease.
This is not the case with live instruction.
If you are in a group class, the instructor will show a technique a couple of times and then you go away and work with your partner on that technique.
If you didn’t catch the technique and its application and the instructor moves on. You aren’t able to revisit his instruction. Unless of course you ask him.
But with many other students in the same class as you, you wont likely get the instruction you needed.
One to one training is a great way to learn from good teachers and martial artists.
This has been a way I have learned through brief visits to Thailand over the years as well as in the United States with good teachers. Again private instruction is not cheap.
With a good video based course from a reputable and qualified teacher, you have one to one instruction with that teacher and can learn from him at your own pace and really nail down techniques.
3. Virtually zero chance of getting injured and derailing your training and learning
In a gym or academy setting with a lot of martial arts, free sparring is a common part of the curriculum. Whether this be randori in Judo, sparring in muay thai of BJJ and rounds of wrestling, this aspect of training is one you have much less control of.
Especially with grappling arts, but also common in striking arts, sparring can lead to very annoying injuries that set you back and keep you off the mats and training.
With online instruction the threat of injury is significantly less.
And when you work with partners you can help each other rather than trying to compete and beat each other up.
I personally have suffered injury from sparring and it set me back weeks. This was in Judo ranodri. I also accept that its part of the practice.
But with online learning you can eliminate this completely and keep making consistent progress.
My cousin also suffered a bad hip injury sparring no-gi BJJ. He limps to this day and had to have hip surgery overseas 🙁 Worst of all he cant really practice BJJ anymore.
4. You can train as little or as much as you want
Often times in life we get busy with family and work.
When life gets too much you can always put away your video training and come back to it when you have more time.
Or you can reduce your training from three or four to one or two days a week when your’e really busy.
In a gym oftentimes you don’t want to let your training partners or teacher down by not turning up and you sacrifice some family time or work assignments or even your sleep and recovery to keep training.
Don’t get me wrong I’m all for pushing through hardship but end of the day family comes first and providing for them through work and also being there for them in crisis is more important.
With access to video and online instruction you can pick up again wherever you left off quite easily and continue to train or increase your training to make up for lost time.
With group class often 3 days a week is available and that’s it.
So even if you are training at a gym why not get some online instruction and do some more training on fays when your gym is closed?
Why learning martial arts from home is better – Final Thoughts
To be straight up, training at a gym is oftentimes the best way to learn for most people.
However if you are the dedicated type and don’t require too much of other people pushing you and you can self motivate to train solo, home learning is a great option.
For some like me its the only option to learn muay thai.
Still training at home, while it requires a lot of hours by yourself, there are four main reasons why its better than at a gym.
These have been discussed above and are reasons I believe are true from my own experience as I have shared a little in this post.
I hope this helps those of you who have decided to take on the self learning path for the martial art that you have chosen. And these four reasons support your decision to do so.
Best of luck on your journey!
