The Dojos

Question
QUESTION: Hey Joe, sorry to bother you. I'm 18 and finally close to be able to getting started in wrestling. I'm just waiting for a full recovery from my shoulder operation. I'll skip the whole dream spiel and how badly I want it, I'm sure it's been said a million times. Puroresu has always been my favorite style of wrestling, and obviously, to me anyway, there would be no better place to train in the world than the NJPW Dojo. Do you by any chance know how to get in contact with them to see if they are accepting new students, what the tuition costs are, etc? I've done so many searches but turned up nothing. If not, can you recommend what you think would be the best alternative school choices for a shot in Japan? My current choice is Chikara because Quack teaches the classes and he boasts teaching puro. Thank you for your help, I really appreciate your time and effort!

ANSWER: Quack CLAIMS he can teach it. He knows some about it but is by no means an expert on Japanese Strong Style. The best place to learn that is over in Japan itself. Chikara is of course, a comedy promotion. I am a big fan of it like many fans, but it's not about training you in wrestling.

Here's the thing, the top places like NJPW or AJPW usually take just countryman or guys with a nice build and sometimes only those with prior training. NJPW is the worst of this. You can obviously visit their site where they have contact information. You can always ask them questions on it.

You can look up just about any Japanese school and you'll turn up with a good one. They seem to all be good. Never look into a promotion/school that has been around less or just 1 year.

There is a place called Dragon's Gate USA, yes there is one in Japan AND the US. I believe Ultimo Dragon (Wrestling Legend from Japan) invented the promotion. It teaches Puro, I know this for a fact. They even have a Japanese head trainer. I'd look into them. They are not close to Jersey though.

There are schools around you which are good, NYWC is very good. It's where Curt Hawkins, Trent Barretta, and Zack Ryder trained at. It's one of the better schools in the New York/Jersey area. But they don't teach puro to my knowledge.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Sorry to bother you again. The advice was top notch and I appreciate it. I know all about Dragon Gate, but Ultimo doesn't teach the classes anymore and personally I find their style to be a little sloppy. Do you know which companies have schools? Obviously NJPW has their dojo, what about NOAH and AJPW? I'm pretty sure Zero-1 has a school but I'm not sure who else. Again, thank you for your time, it is really helping me.

Answer
Yeah, Ultimo only does stuff for the Japanese one. He really doesn't head train anywhere anymore. So, he stops by from time to time over there. The Dragon's Gate school really uses a lot of beginners for the promotion itself. So obviously things will be slightly sloppy. It happens when you put young guys against each other. You've seen Sin Cara in WWE right? Dude is a botch master and it's mainly because he was adjusting to the WWE Style. Which puzzles me why they didn't put him in FCW to learn better before his debut. But I digress.

Zero 1, or Japan 1, probably has the best wrestling training in the world. Most experts find it to me the best of any school in the world. Moscow Pro is great as well, but doesn't teach Puro. If they do, they don't nearly as well as Zero. There may be US courses here, but I'm not sure if they come here that often.

Here is the US website: http://www.zerooneusa.com/index.php

NOAH accepts people off and on, but most of the time, none of the bigger promotions take in beginners unless they are their own countryman. It's quite rare. That's why I advise you to go and get base training and some Indy experience. Then, worry about going to Japan. Plus, you need to know the language well to really work properly in the country. Americans who have had the most success also knew Japanese real well. It only increased the money made.

So I'd get base training, then go for the Japanese schools. Now, there is a chance the Ring of Honor school teaches some puro. But keep in mind, puro is a highly advanced style that takes years to master well.

You can actually learn a great deal of it, by taking Martial Arts and MMA courses near your area. They teach many of the things a Japanese Puro school teaches. Such as Martial Arts Strikes and holds you'd use in Jujitsu and throws you'd learn in Judo. So this could be a way of learning the style on your own if you will, while wrestling training. Then, when you get in touch with Japan about coming over to a school there, obviously they'd really consider taking you in.