Anonymous Person
New member
I've been in this one traditional Japanese combination style for the past 2 years. My instructor is a certified grandmaster, has over 30 years of experience, and has the best self-defense techniques I have ever seen in my life. I'm just starting to get kinda good at it. This place used to be the most important thing to me. Literally. I've been planning to teach it when I'm older and a high enough rank. Lately that has changed. My sensei is opening a new school with another amazing martial artist. His new business partner strongly dislikes me, which causes tension and also causes depression in some cases. My instructor and I were/are very close, I wasn't a high enough rank to be considered a deshi, but I was/am definitely getting there. Also, he is expecting us to be much more formal than before, which adds a lot of distance between him and his students. And lastly, the martial art is changing because my instructor, who founded the style, is now taking a different style and incorporating a lot of it into his own martial art. But I can't see myself training anywhere else, after all, I'm just starting to get really good at it. Here is my problem: looking for additional training since the class I'm in was only one day a week at that time, I went to a more well-known MA school for an interview. The instructor of that school is a certified grandmaster, has 40 years of experience, and is a world champion in forms, which really interests me. She also does self-defense. She told me she would love to have me at her school because I seem to have potential and am serious about training. But if someone trains with her, she doesn't allow them to train with anyone else. I also learned that her classes are taught in military style (yes sir/maam stuff, you know) as opposed to traditional. I don't neccessarily like the idea, but I could deal with it. It's not worth losing such a great opportunity over. I also think my instructor has a stronger connection to his students, but I only know that from personal experience. At this new place, you can get a lot of different black belts in a few years if you practice A LOT and are SERIOUS about your entire continuous journey as a martial artist (don't worry, I'm not a "get a black belt then leave" person!) But it would be so hard to leave the style I'm in now, especially since I plan to teach it. What should I do? I've been trying to figure this out for months!