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Choosing a Martial Arts School, part 3: Visiting Schools or Clubs

CHOOSING A MARTIAL ARTS SCHOOL > Part 1, 2, 3, 4

In our previous articles, we looked at the different arts to study, and located some schools. Now it's time to visit the schools. For a refresher, once again here's the steps in our "Choose the right martial arts school" process:

1. Choose an art to study
2. Find schools that teach that art
3. Visit the schools
4. Start training!

3. Visit the Schools

Now that you've completed your research from the previous article, you have a good notion of the martial arts you might want to study, and the locations of several schools in your area. Now's the time to check them out. Here's what to do:

Before you visit:

• Make a list of the schools to visit. Compile a short list of schools from the ones you identified earlier. The most important criteria you should consider is the location--is it close enough to your home or workplace? If it's too far away, chances are you won't make it to classes as regularly as you'd like, and your training will suffer.

• Call the schools. Most schools conduct regular classes at certain times during the week; you'll want to see if you'd be able to attend the classes at those times. Pick a couple to attend; you should try to attend more than one class at each school to get a good feel for the environment.

While you're on the phone, ask about other issues, like costs. Most schools will let you visit for free, so it's the monthly school tuition or club dues that you'll be more interested in. How much is too much? Well, it depends. Bruce Lee used to charge $100/hour in 1970 for private lessons in his backyard -- that's more than $400/hour in 1998 dollars! However, you can get decent training from nonprofit or university clubs for as low as $35 for a 19-week semester.

Ask about additional fees, if any, such as fees for each belt test, fees for mandatory club tournaments, and so forth. You'll need to buy a uniform eventually, but in most cases you can take your first few classes in sweatpants and a t-shirt. In some schools you'll also need safety equipment for sparring, such as a mouthpiece, groin protector, and foam head, hand, and foot guards.

Visiting the schools:

• Check out the place. Try to show up before the actual class starting time, so you can look around the school without having to dodge kicking students. Does the school have cushioned mats, or bare wooden floors? Is there a changing area and restroom? Mirrors on the walls? Many of these considerations are subjective; for many years my workouts were held in the back parking lot of our office building--it gave takedowns a gritty street realism you don't get on cushioned mats. But for grappling arts, (and especially as a beginner in those arts), having nice soft mats to fall down on is pretty important. Many traditional karate and kendo dojo (schools) are simply big rooms with bare wooden floors; their simplicity only adds to the feeling of legacy and tradition.

Other amenities, like weight-training equipment, a Jacuzzi spa, or showers, are welcome perks, but remember, the costs for those items come out of your tuition, and they're only peripheral to getting good martial arts training. Some pieces of equipment are pretty essential for certain arts, such as a wooden dummy for wing chun gung fu, or heavy bags for kickboxing. But for the most part, you just need a big space to work out in. Bruce Lee would teach Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Joe Lewis, and other famous students in his backyard.

• Watch the students. You've arrived early, so you can see what etiquette is followed (Do people leave their shoes at the entrance? Do they bow in a certain direction before stepping onto the mat?). Many classes begin with a formal lineup and bow-in; each student lines up next to each other in order of their rank, and they bow to the instructor to signify that the class has begun.

You'll probably see the students warm up with calisthenics and stretching, then begin their technique instruction and practice. At this point, you might not know what's going on; don't worry, you'll pick it up soon enough once you start training yourself. Instead, think about the exercises and moves you see people doing--would you feel comfortable doing the same things? For example, in some jujitsu styles there's a lot of ground grappling, which can look to the uninitiated like two people hugging each other and rolling around on the ground.

Also watch the students' attitudes. Are they dead serious with an almost military discipline? Or is the class a bit more loose--people are smiling and laughing? There are good points to either environment, and the fit of the class to your personality really depends on your personal preference.

• Watch the instructor. What's the instructor's teaching style? Does he/she berate students or coach them along with encouragement? Do the students appear to fear the instructor or are they comfortable with him/her? Does the instructor have a huge ego, or does he/she seem more humble than the students?

In a lot of schools, the beginner's classes aren't taught by the head instructor. Not that this is always bad; junior instructors are often eager teachers and go out of their way to help new students. Most will model their teaching style after the style of the head instructor, so try to catch a class or two that is taught by the head instructor to get a feel for the school's philosophy of training and overall vision.

As we mentioned in the previous article, the instructor's rank is less important at this point than his or her teaching style. As a beginner, you're mostly concerned with picking up the basics and laying down a good foundation for future training, and if your beginner's class is taught by a good junior instructor, that will be just fine.

• Talk to people. After the class is over, talk with some of the students to see how they feel about the school, how long they've trained there, how they like the instructor. Some won't be really frank if you corner them while still in the school, others might just tell you exactly how it is.

Signing up:

• Buy on your own terms. As terrible as it may sound, some martial arts schools use high-pressure sales tactics to get you to sign up. Just as when buying a used car, don't give in! Make the decision to join at your own pace and comfort level.
  
  For example, some schools offer a package deal, where for a four-digit sum you can prepay all of your dues for all training up to black belt level. Granted, this may provide exceptional savings over paying month-by-month, but at this point, you probably aren't sure you're going to be sticking with this school for the next few years--much less sticking with the martial arts in general. You might move out of the area, or your instructor might move on too. It's better to ease into the commitment first; when you get hooked on the martial arts, as many of us have, then it's time to consider long-term arrangements.

4. Start training!

After you've attended a few classes at a number of schools, it's time to start training. When you sign up to join the right school, it's like joining a family. The shared experience of your martial arts training and the growth you'll experience together will give you and your fellow students a strong bond. I'll admit, some of my strongest friendships are with my mates from my martial arts workouts, and that's something I'll never want to give up.

Check out these links for more information on beginning martial arts training:

• About.com Martial Arts: Beginners
  Great sites on beginning your training in the martial arts.

• "Choosing a Martial Art"
  Your About.com Martial Arts Guide helps you choose which martial art to study.

• "Kick Me: Martial Arts Made Easy"
  Slate magazine's Eliza Truitt tries a few martial arts, sometimes with humorous results.

• rec.martial-arts FAQ
  FAQ of the Usenet newsgroup rec.martial-arts.

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