subject: What to Look for Learning Martial Arts? [print this page] What to Look for Learning Martial Arts? What to Look for Learning Martial Arts?
Perhaps the first thing to look at is the schedule. You can't learn if you can't attend the classes. Depending on the style and school (and size of the school), there may be separate classes for beginner/intermediate/ advanced, so be aware that the schedule may change on you as you advance.
Find out who teaches most of the classes. In many cases it isn't the head instructor. If the classes are split beginner/intermediate/advanced, chances are good that the head instructor doesn't teach the beginner classes. But does he teach most of the advanced classes? And who will you be spending most of your class time with?
Talk to several students. Ask them how long they've studied there, what they like about it, who teaches most of the classes, etc. Remember that they aren't likely to say anything critical there in the school; just ask what they like about it and read between the lines the best you can.
Take special notice of the atmosphere. I mean the attitudes, not the decor. Are they friendly or respectful toward one another? After a sparring match, do they smile at each other or grit their teeth and show disdain? Does the instructor seem to be interested in growing a student along and pruning them carefully, or does he mow them down and use them to prove that he truly is a god? Are there an unreasonable number of injuries in class caused by a lack of control? Look for healthy and unhealthy attitudes. Ideally, the student is encouraged to compete with himself/herself, not with other students.
You MUST visit a school more than once in order to form a valid opinion. That is, unless you get the high-pressure sales pitch and walk out the first time. But aside from that, if you only visit one class, you'll still have no idea what a typical class is like. Classes vary from one to another. There are good days and bad days for everyone, even instructors. The usual instructor may be on vacation. There might even be different types of classes on different days of the week (on one day we do weapons training, on another we do punches and kicks, on another we do throws and pins, etc.) So when narrowing down your choices, visit more often so you can get a good idea of what it would be like to train there.
Be aware that many schools do not have continuous enrollment. You may have to wait until next week, next month, or even next semester (if the school meets at a college) for the next beginner's class to start. This is pretty much par, so don't let this offend or discourage you. Use the waiting time to do more visiting!
