How to choose a martial arts school-considerations for making the right decision

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Martial Arts Houston: How To Choose A Martial Arts School - Considerations for Making the Right Decision

Whether you are a parent wanting to sign your child up in martial arts classes, or you are interested in training yourself, the basic principles in choosing a martial arts school are the same. You first have to decide what you want to gain by taking martial arts, and then you have to find the best school and instructor that best matches that need. Let's take each step one at a time.

STEP 1: DECIDE CLEARLY WHAT YOU WANT YOU OR YOUR CHILD TO GAIN FROM MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING

This is a crucial step that is sometimes overlooked. People have different but very good reasons for wanting to take up martial arts training. There are quite a lot of benefits that martial arts training has to offer - here are just a few:

Self defense
Develop an overall sense of well being and self confidence
Lose weight
Gain flexibility and coordination
Acquire more discipline
And more...

Why do you want to train in martial arts? Maybe your reasons include all of the above, and that's fine, but try to find the one or two reasons that are most important to you. For example, are you looking for just a little light recreation? Then a community center program may suffice. However if you want all of the benefits martial arts has to offer, like self-defense or personal development, then you are going to need a full-time professional school. Deciding what you really want is a very important step in choosing the best school for you.

STEP 2: PICKING THE SCHOOL AND INSTRUCTOR THAT BEST MATCHES YOUR NEEDS

After you have decided what you want from your training, the next step is to find the right place. There are several factors you should consider in choosing a school. You will want to consider things like; finding the right instructor, the cleanliness and distance of the school, the price for classes, finding a suitable style of martial art, and safety considerations. Let's look at each of these factors a little more closely.

What is your impression of the instructor?

You should realize that a big factor in choosing the right school is really choosing the right instructor. Here we are talking about the instructor's personality and teaching style. It's tough making an informed judgment about a person in a brief meeting, but usually you are going to have to trust your gut here. Intuition and first impressions, while not always correct, often turn out to be true. Be sure to visit the school, meet the instructor and have a look around.

How does the instructor greet visitors and how do they treat the students?

A professional school will have a friendly atmosphere, lots of smiles and be well kept. You'll feel comfortable with the personnel and the facility. While this may not end up being the closest school to your house, when it comes to your safety or the safety and education of your child, an extra ten-minute drive can make a world of difference in the outcome.

How advanced should the instructor be? Should they have a lot of titles and trophies?

Contrary to popular opinion, finding the best martial arts champion doesn't mean you have the best teacher. Just because an instructor has a lot of competition wins does not always mean the person is a good teacher. Likewise, just because someone has received a high rank within an art doesn't make him or her a good teacher. This is a critical point to understand. One can be a "natural" at martial arts, meaning they just pick it up really quickly. This type of person can go on to be a great champion with many medals and trophies, but of course, this is no guarantee at all that they will be able to effectively communicate and translate to others what comes to them quite easily. There are many examples of great competitors who are actually poor teachers. Clearly, a school owner or chief instructor should be a black belt or the equivalent depending on the art. Beyond that though, the rank of the instructor will actually mean very little to your classroom experience or the quality of your classes. What an instructor has accomplished is not as important as what he or she can do for you. It's a whole lot more important to find an instructor who cares about the students and makes them the focal point instead of seeking all the attention for himself or herself. Titles and trophies signify excellence in competition. So titles and trophies are great, IF that same person is also a good teacher. So if you can find an instructor with great credentials, medals, belts, etc., who ALSO cares about his or her students and is able to effectively transmit that information over to them - then you have the best of both worlds.

Is the school clean?

This is an important one. Dirty gyms can transmit staph and a lot of other nasty things that you would rather not find out about. Good gyms however are vigilant about sanitizing their equipment on a regular basis. Don't be afraid to ask how often the instructor has the equipment cleaned and sanitized. Sometimes you'll know everything you need just by looking around. This doesn't mean that the school has to be as immaculate - a little dust here or there doesn't hurt anything. But if you see filthy mats or blood on the walls, it's time to look elsewhere.

How far away is the school?

The best school in the world won't do you any good if it is too far away for you to make classes regularly. Consider the traffic as well. It might even be a good idea to make a "trial run" drive during the times you will be traveling to class. Is the class schedule suitable? Ask to see the schedule and be sure that you are able to attend comfortably at least two times per week. Also pay attention to the duration of the classes. In today's world, it's just very difficult to devote more than an hour to an activity for any length of time and studies on attention spans have shown that 30-60-minutes is about the max for most people.

How much should I expect to pay?

Paying for martial arts lessons is really a lot like buying a car or anything else. You frequently get what you pay for. Cleanliness, professionalism, quality, safety and individual attention is what usually separates the higher end schools from the cheaper schools. Most schools charge what they think they are worth. So if you want the best instruction, you should expect the price to be higher than normal. So what's normal? In 2007, the average price in the United States for martial arts training was approximately $100 per month. Schools in smaller towns will charge less, and in cities where the cost of living in general is a little higher, so too will be the case with martial arts classes. For those who want the very best for themselves or for their children, expect to pay around $120 a month or more. Just like private academic institutions and universities exist for a certain group of people who want the best academic education, in a similar way these higher end martial arts programs are for those who want the safest and most professional service available for their martial arts training.

You should also be aware that offering classes with 6 or 12 month agreements is common practice in the martial arts industry. In fact, in our experience, schools that have such agreements are usually better maintained, better run, and of all around better quality than the cheaper "monthby- month" schools.

What style of martial art should I choose?

This answer here depends on what your goals are. If you just want a little light recreation, then most tae kwon do schools would be fine. If you only want a cardio alternative and don't care at all about self-defense, improving your self-confidence, and things of this sort, then a typical "cardiokickboxing" class at your local health spa might be just the thing for you. If you are only interested in preserving an old oriental art form, with perhaps a little self-defense as a side consideration, then a traditional kung fu, karate, or tae kwon do school would suit you.

However, if you are looking to really increase your fitness level or get serious about self-defense training, here is one word of advice: When it comes to serious conditioning & self-defense, martial arts styles are NOT "all the same".

This is a controversial question, and there will certainly be those who disagree with what we say here, but we think the style or discipline taught matters a lot if you want serious training that can give you the best in conditioning and self-defense. Perhaps the most famous martial artist ever, Bruce Lee, recognized the limitations in the more traditional forms of karate, kung fu and tae kwon do. Lee thought many of these arts held on to outdated, impractical techniques and training methods out of a groundless respect towards "tradition", while ignoring the fact that there might be newer and better ways to do things. We agree with Bruce Lee's assessment. In our opinion, the more contemporary martial arts like Muay Thai, Jeet Kune Do, Krav Maga, Kickboxing, Grappling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Boxing and Wrestling are a great deal better when it comes to conditioning and realistic self defense.

Is martial arts training safe?

Generally speaking it is, yet it can vary depending on the school you choose. Most schools are very safe and go to great lengths to insure the safety of its classes. Other schools are rougher and can have a military-like atmosphere where only the strong survive. An almost exclusively adult male student body and "fighters gym-like" atmosphere can help you recognize these schools. You should know that past insurance ratings rank martial arts as safer than golf in the number of injury claims. That doesn't mean you're not going to get sore or occasionally bruised, it just means that serious injuries are not very common in most martial arts schools. This can be particularly true for schools belonging to a professional organization which emphasizes the importance of safety.

Finally, while claims against schools are very rare because the training is very safe, many schools are not insured, which is a mistake. Make sure your school is insured and the instructors are attending seminars and workshops on teaching safe classes.

If you are interested in moving further, feel free to check out the resources at www.MartialArtsDVD.com for home based training martial arts training programs.

Scott "Bam Bam" Sullivan is a professional MMA trainer, Muay Thai instructor, and holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. With over 25 years of martial arts experience to share, he is the owner of http:www.MartialArtsDVD.com and is also the owner and chief instructor of Bam Bam Martial Arts (http://www.BamBamMartialArts.com) in Houston, TX. He and his wife reside outside Houston with their seven beautiful children.

How to choose a martial arts school-considerations for making the right decision

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Martial Arts Houston: How To Choose A Martial Arts School - Considerations for Making the Right Decision

Whether you are a parent wanting to sign your child up in martial arts classes, or you are interested in training yourself, the basic principles in choosing a martial arts school are the same. You first have to decide what you want to gain by taking martial arts, and then you have to find the best school and instructor that best matches that need. Let's take each step one at a time.

STEP 1: DECIDE CLEARLY WHAT YOU WANT YOU OR YOUR CHILD TO GAIN FROM MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING

This is a crucial step that is sometimes overlooked. People have different but very good reasons for wanting to take up martial arts training. There are quite a lot of benefits that martial arts training has to offer - here are just a few:

Self defense
Develop an overall sense of well being and self confidence
Lose weight
Gain flexibility and coordination
Acquire more discipline
And more...

Why do you want to train in martial arts? Maybe your reasons include all of the above, and that's fine, but try to find the one or two reasons that are most important to you. For example, are you looking for just a little light recreation? Then a community center program may suffice. However if you want all of the benefits martial arts has to offer, like self-defense or personal development, then you are going to need a full-time professional school. Deciding what you really want is a very important step in choosing the best school for you.

STEP 2: PICKING THE SCHOOL AND INSTRUCTOR THAT BEST MATCHES YOUR NEEDS

After you have decided what you want from your training, the next step is to find the right place. There are several factors you should consider in choosing a school. You will want to consider things like; finding the right instructor, the cleanliness and distance of the school, the price for classes, finding a suitable style of martial art, and safety considerations. Let's look at each of these factors a little more closely.

What is your impression of the instructor?

You should realize that a big factor in choosing the right school is really choosing the right instructor. Here we are talking about the instructor's personality and teaching style. It's tough making an informed judgment about a person in a brief meeting, but usually you are going to have to trust your gut here. Intuition and first impressions, while not always correct, often turn out to be true. Be sure to visit the school, meet the instructor and have a look around.

How does the instructor greet visitors and how do they treat the students?

A professional school will have a friendly atmosphere, lots of smiles and be well kept. You'll feel comfortable with the personnel and the facility. While this may not end up being the closest school to your house, when it comes to your safety or the safety and education of your child, an extra ten-minute drive can make a world of difference in the outcome.

How advanced should the instructor be? Should they have a lot of titles and trophies?

Contrary to popular opinion, finding the best martial arts champion doesn't mean you have the best teacher. Just because an instructor has a lot of competition wins does not always mean the person is a good teacher. Likewise, just because someone has received a high rank within an art doesn't make him or her a good teacher. This is a critical point to understand. One can be a "natural" at martial arts, meaning they just pick it up really quickly. This type of person can go on to be a great champion with many medals and trophies, but of course, this is no guarantee at all that they will be able to effectively communicate and translate to others what comes to them quite easily. There are many examples of great competitors who are actually poor teachers. Clearly, a school owner or chief instructor should be a black belt or the equivalent depending on the art. Beyond that though, the rank of the instructor will actually mean very little to your classroom experience or the quality of your classes. What an instructor has accomplished is not as important as what he or she can do for you. It's a whole lot more important to find an instructor who cares about the students and makes them the focal point instead of seeking all the attention for himself or herself. Titles and trophies signify excellence in competition. So titles and trophies are great, IF that same person is also a good teacher. So if you can find an instructor with great credentials, medals, belts, etc., who ALSO cares about his or her students and is able to effectively transmit that information over to them - then you have the best of both worlds.

Is the school clean?

This is an important one. Dirty gyms can transmit staph and a lot of other nasty things that you would rather not find out about. Good gyms however are vigilant about sanitizing their equipment on a regular basis. Don't be afraid to ask how often the instructor has the equipment cleaned and sanitized. Sometimes you'll know everything you need just by looking around. This doesn't mean that the school has to be as immaculate - a little dust here or there doesn't hurt anything. But if you see filthy mats or blood on the walls, it's time to look elsewhere.

How far away is the school?

The best school in the world won't do you any good if it is too far away for you to make classes regularly. Consider the traffic as well. It might even be a good idea to make a "trial run" drive during the times you will be traveling to class. Is the class schedule suitable? Ask to see the schedule and be sure that you are able to attend comfortably at least two times per week. Also pay attention to the duration of the classes. In today's world, it's just very difficult to devote more than an hour to an activity for any length of time and studies on attention spans have shown that 30-60-minutes is about the max for most people.

How much should I expect to pay?

Paying for martial arts lessons is really a lot like buying a car or anything else. You frequently get what you pay for. Cleanliness, professionalism, quality, safety and individual attention is what usually separates the higher end schools from the cheaper schools. Most schools charge what they think they are worth. So if you want the best instruction, you should expect the price to be higher than normal. So what's normal? In 2007, the average price in the United States for martial arts training was approximately $100 per month. Schools in smaller towns will charge less, and in cities where the cost of living in general is a little higher, so too will be the case with martial arts classes. For those who want the very best for themselves or for their children, expect to pay around $120 a month or more. Just like private academic institutions and universities exist for a certain group of people who want the best academic education, in a similar way these higher end martial arts programs are for those who want the safest and most professional service available for their martial arts training.

You should also be aware that offering classes with 6 or 12 month agreements is common practice in the martial arts industry. In fact, in our experience, schools that have such agreements are usually better maintained, better run, and of all around better quality than the cheaper "monthby- month" schools.

What style of martial art should I choose?

This answer here depends on what your goals are. If you just want a little light recreation, then most tae kwon do schools would be fine. If you only want a cardio alternative and don't care at all about self-defense, improving your self-confidence, and things of this sort, then a typical "cardiokickboxing" class at your local health spa might be just the thing for you. If you are only interested in preserving an old oriental art form, with perhaps a little self-defense as a side consideration, then a traditional kung fu, karate, or tae kwon do school would suit you.

However, if you are looking to really increase your fitness level or get serious about self-defense training, here is one word of advice: When it comes to serious conditioning & self-defense, martial arts styles are NOT "all the same".

This is a controversial question, and there will certainly be those who disagree with what we say here, but we think the style or discipline taught matters a lot if you want serious training that can give you the best in conditioning and self-defense. Perhaps the most famous martial artist ever, Bruce Lee, recognized the limitations in the more traditional forms of karate, kung fu and tae kwon do. Lee thought many of these arts held on to outdated, impractical techniques and training methods out of a groundless respect towards "tradition", while ignoring the fact that there might be newer and better ways to do things. We agree with Bruce Lee's assessment. In our opinion, the more contemporary martial arts like Muay Thai, Jeet Kune Do, Krav Maga, Kickboxing, Grappling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Boxing and Wrestling are a great deal better when it comes to conditioning and realistic self defense.

Is martial arts training safe?

Generally speaking it is, yet it can vary depending on the school you choose. Most schools are very safe and go to great lengths to insure the safety of its classes. Other schools are rougher and can have a military-like atmosphere where only the strong survive. An almost exclusively adult male student body and "fighters gym-like" atmosphere can help you recognize these schools. You should know that past insurance ratings rank martial arts as safer than golf in the number of injury claims. That doesn't mean you're not going to get sore or occasionally bruised, it just means that serious injuries are not very common in most martial arts schools. This can be particularly true for schools belonging to a professional organization which emphasizes the importance of safety.

Finally, while claims against schools are very rare because the training is very safe, many schools are not insured, which is a mistake. Make sure your school is insured and the instructors are attending seminars and workshops on teaching safe classes.

If you are interested in moving further, feel free to check out the resources at www.MartialArtsDVD.com for home based training martial arts training programs.

Scott "Bam Bam" Sullivan is a professional MMA trainer, Muay Thai instructor, and holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. With over 25 years of martial arts experience to share, he is the owner of http:www.MartialArtsDVD.com and is also the owner and chief instructor of Bam Bam Martial Arts (http://www.BamBamMartialArts.com) in Houston, TX. He and his wife reside outside Houston with their seven beautiful children.

How to choose a martial arts school

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To reap the best benefits from martial arts, they should be taken as long term activities rather than short term. Given this suggestion, one should not just simply walk into the closest martial arts studio and sign up right away without doing some research. Not all martial arts are alike and not all schools or studios are alike either. Therefore, it is important to really think about what your own needs are with respect to martial arts training.

The discussion of which martial art style to take is too extensive for this article. So what I will say here is that there are differences in the various styles of martial arts which may result in some being more suitable for certain individuals compared to others. Do some research on the different styles and do visit the classes of different studios that teach different martial arts if possible. But more important is each individual school's approach to teaching their martial arts. Many martial arts schools teach only techniques and forms (set routines) that are specific to a traditional style. These schools follow the ways that the original founders of each martial art style developed and they have continued with minimal variance over the years. Other studios like to borrow techniques from a variety of martial art disciplines and integrate a mix into their programs. Some schools are non-traditional and adopt a more open free style system which incorporates traditional martial art techniques with gymnastics and open choreography of forms. There are many clubs that do both traditional and open styles. Each school will claim that their martial art style and method of teaching is superior to others. Prospective students must not take these claims too seriously and choose an approach that would be best suited for them on an individual basis.

Many advertisements for martial arts schools push the backgrounds of their higher ranking instructors as a way to attract students. It is important to realize that the more degrees (or dans) a particular black belt has don't always mean that the individual is a better instructor. This is the same with instructors who have very successful competition records. There is no correlation to the number of world championship titles won with how good an instructor is. The term 'master' should also be taken with caution. A master doesn't always make an excellent instructor. The teaching style of different instructors can vary. Some use the old Asian masters' approach where discipline is strictly enforced much like in the military. While general discipline is actually a good attribute to learn from martial arts training, some of the old ways of teaching, particularly reprimanding students vocally or physically for incorrect techniques may be considered a bit harsh for today's society. This is why it is important to watch classes of prospective martial arts schools you are interested in. You want to see the teaching style of an instructor to determine if it's a style that would be compatible with you or not. Ask questions after instructors have finished teaching. If you have the gut feeling that certain instructors will not be right for you, move on to find another club. Most legitimate schools will allow prospective students to witness or even try out a class for free before joining.

Related to teaching styles, some instructors emphasize safety more than others. The use of protective equipment and certain rules while sparring are factors. In addition to asking instructors, also ask other students about injury rates and their general feedback about the classes (ideally when they are outside of their schools). Another point on the students is that some schools attract a certain type of student profile. Observe the other students and decide whether these are people you would like to train with.

Some schools are very much into competition with active encouragement of students to participate in tournaments. In fact, some schools even make this a requirement in order to advance through the different levels. Other schools have been known to restrict competition only within a particular circuit. For example, many tae know do clubs only participate in tournaments that are strictly Olympic style tae kwon do and never go to events that are open to all martial arts styles. There are schools in the complete opposite end where they do not believe in competition at all and pretty well keep to themselves without any interaction with other martial arts clubs. Many Chinese kung fu clubs do not compete and some styles of martial arts such as aikido do not offer any competitive outlet. Many martial arts schools choose to have a relaxed position towards competition where they leave it up to individual students to choose whether they want to participate in tournaments or not. Some schools have special competition teams where additional training is available for those students who wish to compete. So as a prospective student, you should consider what involvement you would like in competition if any. If you know that you never want to compete, you should not get locked into a school that requires tournament competition. If you have a desire for competition, don't join a studio that shuns competition.

Some martial arts schools teach in community centers, school gyms and even church basements. Some have bare bones studios with outdated equipment. Some schools have the latest martial arts and fitness equipment with sparkling clean change rooms and facilities. All of these will factor into the membership fee of each school. You have to determine what you are willing to pay for and what type of environment you will feel comfortable training in.

Many schools require annual contracts while some are on a month to month basis. There could be initiation fees. There could also be testing or grading fees for advancement. All of these extra costs will add up. Ask what happens if you have to freeze your membership due to extended illness or injury.

If one doesn't really know whether martial arts is an activity for them in the long run, the option of taking short term courses such as those offered by community centers may be a viable alternative to making a full commitment to a dedicated martial arts club with its own studio space. But do be aware that although martial arts can be very enjoyable from the first day you put on a karate uniform, it is a long term activity and one must have patience in order to benefit the most from martial arts. Fortunately, there are many options in the form of different martial art styles and schools to choose from in the market today. Just make sure that you do some preliminary research before committing to any particular club.

Clint is a lifelong martial artist with over 36 years of training experience in kung fu, tae kwon do, karate, kickboxing and martial arts weaponry. He has won Canadian and world championship titles (NASKA, NBL and WSKF). He is also owner of Martial Arts Articles Online (http://www.martialartsarticlesonline.com), an online martial arts information resource.