Alright, I'm not even sure if I'm really worthy of calling myself a 'drummer'.  The reason for this is that I've never in my entire life had the opportunity to play on a kit.

I've been 'playing' (okay, enough with the finger-quotes) for two years now, via 2 5B sticks and a mental kit, aka air-drumming.  I try to play with proper technique, I'm (if I do say so myself) quite good at controlling bounce, since bounce is entirely simulating by my fingers and hands.  I can air-drum along with a bunch of different songs, and I'm obsessed enough to have gotten a second job so I can save up for something that'll actually make noise when I whack it.

My question is this...  how bad is going from air-drumming to kit-drumming going to be?  Am I totally gimped from the start, or will the lessons I've taught myself and learned from various places be useful?  Are we talking about a whole different set of muscles?

It's almost gotten to the point where I'm afraid to actually play on a kit, because I don't want to sit back after a half hour of random banging and say, "Well crap, I suck."

Just as an aside, because I don't have a kit I don't consider myself undedicated (Is that a word?) to the art.  I practice constantly, and I've been working on refining my independence and building speed consistently for two years.

So, give it to me...  is it even worth pursuing this?

Just getting used to real kick and hat pedals, and skin rebound as opposed to finger virtual rebound, and the real life physical limitations of where your drums and cymbals are going to be as opposed to hitting wherever you wanted in space. But coordination and timing are the most fundamental parts of drumming really, so you'll still sound alright, just maybe not as quick and consistent for a little while.

I'd say your fingers and wrists'ld be a bit bonus strong from air drumming though, not sure but maybe.

But hey, no matter what, I bet you didn't spend 2 years air drumming to not 'actually' drum when you got the chance.

buy a practice pad or a snare and stand off ebay and get a lesson just to see how u really cope with the "real thing"

Cheeky beggar of a teacher.
Welcome to the elite Daniel

Hey Daniel, welcome to the forum

I've been practicing with two sticks on an office-chair in my apartment for about two years now - working on my technique, rudiments, etc.  

I bought my first kit yesterday and I'm still adjusting to actually hearing different sounds and playing on different surfaces.  I used to just wack the backrest of the chair to crash, splash or even for ride effects ... hearing it in my head of course.  Also, the rebound is a lot different from the surfaces I practiced on.  My biggest challenge now is to get my feet up to the level of my hands.  I find the HiHat especially challenging.  
Still, I dont think it will take too long to learn to apply your technique to a kit.  Probably the most important is working on your timekeepeing.

Anyway, Have to get back to work - I'm sitting at work now dreaming about my kit waiting at home...  

BTW About the kit I bought yesterday - found a Yamaha Stage Custom Fusion kit with zbt hats, 2 old paiste rides and a sabian crash for R5000 (South African Rands).  The Stage Custom kit alone goes for about R9000 here - that's without cymbals, just a HH stand and one cymbal stand.  I now proudly consider myself a Yamaha Artist!

Great thing about playing Air Drums is that the equipment is cheap and the neighbors rarely complain!

 

yes!!  My story comes to life in another!

I grew up playing with drumsticks on my bed, or on pillows set up on the floor like a drumkit (I used nylon tips for some reason for this!!).  I used wire brushes on album covers.  I bought a practice pad.  I had a guitar and bass, a keyboard, wrote songs, but always put off the actual purchase of the kit.  I even taught my brother the drum basics, and he ended up buying drums and drumming for my band, with me on bass!  

20 years later, I took the plunge and bought a Yamaha kit to play on with a new band, and I LOVE IT!  

Welcome to the joy and hard work that you now have in front of you.  Protect your hearing, and enjoy!!

PS - very cool that you surprised your teacher by knowing what you were doing before you walked in.  That is called doing your homework, and too few students ever do this.  Practicing in the air (as long as you studied other drummers and tried to have good form) actually rehearsed your brain and muscles before applying them to the kit.  A lot of music requires mental knowlege, and muscle memory, and you worked this in advance.  Much like learning to swim in the air before jumping into the pool, or practicing your tennis serve at home.  You gave yourself a great edge, now you can apply it to your kit and take it all to the next level.