Frugality in martial arts

[Alan Armstrong]

Is frugality a part of your martial art journey?

Less is more can be applied to frugality, have you used this idea inside and outside of the dojo and how?

Frugality can be applied to exercise equipment, by having more than you realistically need, do you really need more, how do you justify the need?

Many martial artist in oriental countries practice frugality in their religion, would you be able to adapt to this way of life?

Is it possible to be a "frugal maist" in a consumer society?

Food and eating habits is how a person can be frugal, due to the over buying of food and then throwing it away, can you do better in this respect?

Living on less can bring with it a higher quality of life, is this true for you?

[LLLEARNER]

Is frugality a part of your martial art journey?

I don’t think frugality is specifically part of the journey, but that the minimalist nature of the pursuit can influence other areas. It has simple equipment requirements. Some of it can be homemade inexpensively and last a long time. Also time spent training and studying is less time to buy and consume other things.

Less is more can be applied to frugality, have you used this idea inside and outside of the dojo and how?

My diet has improved, which helps the grocery bill.

Frugality can be applied to exercise equipment, by having more than you realistically need, do you really need more, how do you justify the need?

I do have a nice Outslayer Muay Thai bag. It was a Christmas gift. It will last a long, long time. I justified a pricier 6’ bag over a standard bag used for boxing because of the kicking aspects. Plus, both I and my daughter use it.

Many martial artist in oriental countries practice frugality in their religion, would you be able to adapt to this way of life?

I hope so.

Is it possible to be a "frugal maist" in a consumer society?

Yes. Many MAist’s make their own equipment. They tie old mattresses to trees for striking. They make makiwara out of scrap. I did get an inexpensive wooden tanto (Amazon Prime with free shipping). I don’t live near a MA equipment store. I will make 2 more (1 for my daughter and 1 for me) out of a white oak that was on the property (the same tree I made my daughter’s crib out of). I will paint hers pink.

I find that the longer I live the more I learn that buying higher quality goods for moderately more is less expensive in the long run.

Food and eating habits is how a person can be frugal, due to the over buying of food and then throwing it away, can you do better in this respect?

I do better than I used to. I can do better still. I eat better now. This has cut the grocery bill some, and better health is cheaper.

I like steak. I used to eat more (once a week) of it when I bought grocery store steak. I found a better source for 10% more. It is much better (100%) tasting. I also find that I cook it better, too. The place is more inconvenient to get to, so I eat less (once every couple of months). But better.

Living on less can bring with it a higher quality of life, is this true for you?

Yes. I find that by focusing on a few things intently, I am more frugal. They consume my time.

[sensei8]

Frugality within the MA begets immeasurable limitations on that MAist!!

Frugality and the MA; it's an oxymoron, to say the least!!

One can't expenditure anything of important value in the MA, in which knowledge and experience must be attained at all costs.

Imho!!

[Lupin1]

One of the reasons I went back to Martial Arts as a hobby is how cheap it is compared to other hobbies. I was a poor, under-employed millennial fresh out of college and didn't have much money. I joined a youth center dojo which charges no fees. All I needed to pay for was a uniform.

[LLLEARNER]

It is less expensive than golf, scuba diving, rock climbing, biking, etc.

[JR 137]

What is a cynic?

"A man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing."

~ Oscar Wilde

I'm with LLLEARNER here. I won't hesitate to buy something expensive if it's worth it. The BOB XL is pretty expensive. It's the best freestanding bag I've come across. I'll pay for more for it because I use it and don't second guess my purchase. I'd rather an Outslayer 6ft MT bag, but I can't hang one. There's far cheaper freestanding bags out there than the BOB XL. From a durability and a hitabity (is that a word?) standpoint, it's easily worth its price to me. Buying the cheaper stuff I've seen would've been a waste of money.

I own and wear a $165 Shureido gi. Ridiculously expensive. It fits me right, feels great, and is durable. The last one I had was worn 4-5 days a week for 5 years. It would've easily lasted twice as long, but I lost it during one of my many moves during my 15 year hiatus from karate. The $65 Century heavyweights I wore prior to that lasted maybe 18 months before they were trashed. So $165 once, or now $100 every other year for the other one?

And I really lucked out on tuition at my dojo. It's so much cheaper than everywhere else in the area, and it's the best dojo in the area. It's less than half the price of the commercial dojos, and no contract (not that that makes a difference once you've found the right place).

I consider myself very frugal. $5 for a shirt I'll never wear is a huge waste of money. $75 for a shirt that fits right and I actually wear for years is a great deal. Seriously, all my dress shirts are Brooks Brothers (I buy several twice a year during their big sale). I'm so frugal that I can't bring myself to spend $30 on shirts that I know I won't wear more than a year. I won't buy a $50 pair of shoes that I know will break down and hurt my legs and feet after about 3 months. I'll buy the Brooks Brothers shirt for $75 because I know I'll get at least a solid 5-6 years out of them, and I'll buy $180 Clark's shoes because I'll get at least a year out of them (I have serious issues with footwear).

I hate trying to find pants. I want better pants than the $40 American Eagle khakis I wear, but they're the only ones that fit me. What aggravates me to no end is how they'll all be the same size when I buy them, then 6 months later they'll all be different sizes even though I wash and dry them all together.

Rant over.

[singularity6]

Our training is only $25 per month, which is insanely cheap. There's no permanent MA gear installed, but we do have a wonderful view of Lake Michigan through the windows!

For now, actually training simply costs me the tuition and what I paid for the uniforms and equipment I currently own (PPE and a couple pads for striking.)

Eventually, when we move into a house, I want an exercise room dedicated to fitness and martial arts training. Hell, if we buy some property, I'd even like to build my own dojo/dojang! That could be pricey.

[JazzKicker]

One of the cool things about martial arts is, they're inherently minimalist and frugal. At least, most started out that way. For example, the Okinawa farmers, kobudo weapons like nuchaku, sai, tonfa are adaptations of farm implements.

When I first started, for striking targets we had foam pads, cut in squares, layered, and tied together with a belt. We'd use empty anti-freeze jugs for kicking targets. Jhoon Rhee's "safe-t-chops" were a novelty, most of us used what was little more than an elastic sock with a thin piece of foam in it.

Equipment has come a long way, but you still don't need much of anything beyond sparring gear unless you're into fancy uniforms.

What had changed is membership in a club- I priced out some a while back, the MMA gyms have gotten expensive.

[Alan Armstrong]

Martial arts is one of those subjects that sells itself short.

With highly skilled individuals practically giving away there knowledge and experience for low compensation.

As paying for martial art instruction should be cheap; why is that?

Just imagine for a moment if the MA CI was paid what he or she is really worth and not what people think they are worth.

Martial arts as a cheap alternative to other sporting activities, is attracting unenthusiastic students with eventually low motivated unappreciated CI's.

If traditional martial arts practicing frugality is a way to keep the spirit alive for future generations, then students need to raise the fees NOW as later you will be in their position; probably not, due to it not being financially viable.

[bushido_man96]

It will depend on one's resources when it comes to being frugal or not. An instructor who is just starting out will likely not have a lot of disposable income for equipment, so he may just have the floor for a while. As the student body grows, and income increases, it becomes easier to get more equipment.

As far as what is required for a Martial Artist, it really depends on what their training needs are. A makiwara would be nice, but a heavy standing bag can be used to do combinations, and is easily movable. But if you want to have enough bags for a kicking class, you might need 4 or 5.

I think it depends mainly on where one is in the journey, and what the goals are.