Martial Arts Bedford Heights Ohio

Welcome to Devil Dog Martial Arts!  

 

Our mission is to share our passion for martial arts as a way to bring out the best in people through the cultivation of an energetic supportive school culture and personal attention to all.

 

We hope that as you begin training with us that you develop the same passion and love of the martial arts experience.  There are many reasons people join martial arts, including fitness, community, competition, self defense, or excitement.  Whatever your reason for joining, we want to support you on your personal journey. 

 

In this packet we have included some information we believe you will find useful for new students.  

 

Our community is for everyone who shares our goals and culture.  There are a few things we wish to encourage so that everyone can benefit from our training.

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Our Best Practices for a Positive School Culture

1. No talk of sensitive subjects such as politics or religion.  This creates barriers between people.  We want people to feel welcome.  This doesn’t mean you can only talk about martial arts on the mat, but please be courteous to others who may share different values.  

2. We don’t want cultish behavior and we start by not putting our instructors on pedestals.  Our mat culture is very casual.  It’s important to remember your instructors are human.  When schools start creating a culture where students overly praise the instructor it leads to dangerous precedents.  So for this reason we avoid this.  For example, while the term master is used as a rank, it is not to be used as a title.  

3. It is a tempting thing as a student to offer instruction to another student who is struggling with an area you feel comfortable with.  We ask that you avoid doing so.  That student may have a reason for not doing it a certain way, including injury, limitations, or a specific development plan by the instructor.  Also, you as a student may inadvertently give incorrect information.  Most importantly, criticism can cause a negative experience if it is not given correctly.  We as instructors train not only in martial arts but in teaching methodology.  We ask that you allow us to do our job.  

4. Competition on the mat can be a very beneficial thing as it helps people grow.  When you are sparring, you are looking to pull off your techniques and be effective.  Just be careful you don’t accidentally become a mat bully and remember that sparring on a random Wednesday isn’t a title fight.  

5. Inappropriate interactions.  Martial arts involves close physical contact so please be careful where your hands end up to avoid accidental inappropriate touch.  Likewise, we have a zero tolerance policy for any unwanted advances or interactions that makes another student uncomfortable.  

6. Some students find some aspects of training triggering.  Please be sensitive to this by not pressuring other students to participate beyond their level of comfort.

 

Safety Rules

1. Cleanliness is really really important.  We cannot stress enough the importance of cleanliness.  We wish to encourage the following practices to avoid Ringworm, MRSA, COVID, or other sicknesses​

   • Shower after every practice.  It is recommended you purchase Defense body wash to clean yourself thoroughly when you get home.  It’s also a good idea to purchase Defense wipes to use immediately after practice to wipe down any exposed skin.

   • Clean your gear.  Wash your uniform after EVERY use without exception.  This includes your belt.  Sanitize your sparring gear as best as possible

   • Stay home if you are sick.   Better to err on the side of caution and not spread it.  We are also supportive of students wearing masks in class

   • If you are injured, we encourage you to check with your physician regarding your level of training.  Sometimes you are going to have things that you can train through as long as you use restraint.  Please also let your instructor know if you are injured and continuing to train so they can avoid further harm.

2. Jewelry is not permitted for safety reasons.  If you do not feel comfortable removing a wedding band, please turn the stone to the inside of your hand to avoid cutting other students.  We are not responsible for any damage to personal effects worn in class.

3. Safety Gear is required for sparring.  

4. You are responsible for the safety of everyone on the mat.  Please use restraint when sparring and be aware at all times.

5. Shoes or flip flops must be worn off the mat, particularly in restrooms.  

 

Other Courtesies

1. Shoes are not permitted on the mat.  Socks on mats are permitted but we wish to avoid using grip socks so they don’t damage the mat. 

2. Please bow when entering and exiting the mat

3. No food or drink besides water on the mat.

4. Before and after class we bow in and out 

5. Punctuality is preferred but not mandatory.  We don’t punish students who are late or miss classes.  Real life exists outside the gym and lateness happens.  Just do your best to be on time to respect the time of others.  If you do miss class, as a courtesy, texting the instructor is nice but not required.  

6. “Time off” due to life events is permitted.  Please let Coach Greg know so he can pause your billing. 

Payment - Student Dues are collected entirely through a third party secured EFT service Finli.  When you first sign up, we will collect your email address and Finli will send you information about the app that you can download.  Before your payment date you will receive an invoice and you can choose to accept or decline a payment.  If you decline, we ask as a courtesy for you to contact Coach Greg and let him know so he can make billing adjustments.  You can stop payments any time and billing is monthly with no annual contract.

 

Training Elsewhere- Cross training at other schools is permitted.  We don’t try to hold you down here.  We are confident in the excellence of what we teach.  

 

Belt Promotions - Gi class promotions are entirely done based on the instructor decision.  We don’t do testings.  Instead, the instructor judges your performance in class on the ability to demonstrate the principles and lessons in your training.  Promotions are much slower here than at other programs.  Many Taekwondo schools you can earn a black belt in 2-3 years but it won’t be worth much.  Here, a black belt takes between 8-9 years but it is worth much much more.  Average time between promotions is about 6 months.

 

Recommended Items

We recommend in addition to your Gi or Workout Clothes that you bring the following to class:  

1. Flip flops

2. Defense wipes

3. Water bottle

4. Sparring gear - Mouth guard, Foot pads, Hand Pads/ Boxing Gloves, Hand Wraps, and Helmet/chest protector if desired.

5. A small towel

 

How to Tie a Belt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Class breakdown

Classes are 1 hour long.  Please refer to schedule and pricing for the updated class schedule.  Every class is broken down into the following format:

1. Dynamic warm up - 5 minutes designed to loosen up the body

2. Instruction - Each week we do a different block of material with combinations, counters, takedowns and clinches, defensive grappling and takedown defense, principles

3. Drills - Semi Live movements that usually reinforce the monthly lesson plans, system, or techniques

4. Sparring - We try to spar at least 15-20 minutes per class

 

Private lessons

Some instructors may offer private lessons.  This is only available for students who are paying regular dues through the program and are at the discretion of the instructor and the school based on availability.  We require that private lessons take place at the school and that payment go through Devil Dog Martial Arts, LLC.  We will make sure the instructor receives their pay promptly, but we do not allow for unapproved private instruction and may only do them with approved instructors.  Students may not offer private lessons to other students without permission.

 

Closings

In the case of inclimate weather, will post school closures on the facebook page.  If you are unsure if there will be class, please contact the class instructor directly.

 

Feelings of not Progressing 

Everyone progresses at a different rate.  Your first month should feel like a duck out of water.  Things will start to click over the months that follow and you will progress rapidly in your first year especially.   If you do feel at any point in your training that you aren’t progressing please notify your instructor.  We can help.  This is what we are here for.  We will help you create a personalized growth plan.

 

Age Limits

Some may question why we place an age restriction on our training.  The classes we offer are adult in content.  They aren’t explicit or inherently more deadly.  They simply are too complex.  We provide systems and training methods that are very stimulating to adults, but children simply aren’t developed enough to understand much of it and get bored, which leads to disruption.  So we have firm age limits on our classes to cater to adult training.

 

Training Outside of Class 

Many students want things they can work on at home.  Some recommended activities that we encourage are:

1. Flexibility development. 

2. Fitness and conditioning

3. Combinations

4. Shadow Boxing

5. Poomse - While we spend very little class time on this, for students who are interested we will teach forms that you can practice outside of class.

6. Fundamentals