Its a difficult thing
trying to find the right Martial Art school. Open up your local
yellow pages, and you'll see it jammed packed with hundreds of
different schools, with many different styles to choose from. Thus,
whether you've logged in several years in a particular art or are
brand new, choosing what's right for you can be tougher than getting
a black belt. Anyway, I've made a simple list of things to
think about, as well as what to ask in order for you to find what
your looking for. Hopefully, this information can help you
out.
1) It begins with you,
"Decide"
Well, first things first,
you have to decide why your taking Martial arts. And there's a ton
of different reasons for you to do so. Maybe you just want to get in
shape, maybe you want to feel more confident in the street and learn
some actual self defense, maybe you want to relieve some stress,
maybe you want to get a black belt. Whatever the case maybe, it
begins with you. Figure out the reasons why you want to invest your
time and money into a Martial Arts, and your half way
there.
2) Black belts aren't
cheap
Next thing on the list,
is understanding the cost of things. Now, I'm basing my information
from the Chicago land area. It could vary slightly from state to
state, but my rough estimates should be fairly even with what's
going on around the country.
First of all, the best
way to find out the cost, is to simply call and compare. On average
your looking at anywhere from $60 - $130 a month. For the most part,
that's usually twice a week for an hour classes. Obviously, this
could vary from school to school, but ask the details of what your
paying for, such as the following:
For example, if I pay $60
a month, what do I get with that. How long are classes? How often
can I go? Are there additional cost, like uniforms, pads and
equipments, etc? Regarding belts, are test mandatory and does it
cost extra?
Bottom line, be up front
and ask them directly what are all the cost involved with going to
their school.
3) Contracts
Some schools are on a
contract basis. Now personally the longest I've ever scene is
1 year. But the reality is, even if you like everything about
the school, even if you've seen how the school is run, you just
won't know in the end how good it is till your finally in there and
doing it. Thus, if you sign a one year contract and you end up with
an martial arts instructor that's bad ass like Ralph Machio, you'll
end up being stuck with it. Now I'm not saying schools that are run
on contracts only are bad, but definitely be more cautious in your
decision, since you'll be locked into it.
4) The head
instructor
Okay, I've seen this
personally, time and time again. You look in the phone book you see
this ad of the head instructor, whose had 100 years of experience.
You walk to the gym, and you see his picture everywhere. Anyway, you
finally sign up, and guess what, you never see this guy at all.
Instead, your being taught by a teenage pimply black belt whose
probably part of the power rangers.
Frankly, if the head
instructor isn't willing to work with you, even if your a beginner,
than that's pretty much a red flag, to avoid that kind of school.
Allot of times, these places try to make the head guy look all
mystical...ooooo, the master is here, it should be an honor for you
to bow before him.
Real masters are
humble. And can work with any level of student regardless if
they are beginner or advance.
5) Black belts,
certifications, grandmasters oh my
Look at it this way, you
wouldn't want to go to a doctor who doesn't have an M.D., would you?
Coz doctors have a universal standard set for obtaining an M.D. here in the states. However, in the world of martial arts,
it doesn't work that way. The reality is, I can go to an everyday
gym right now, and probably earn a black belt within 1 1/2 to 2
years. The term grandmaster, master, IMHO is self proclaimed. What
I'm basically saying, is that Black belts, certifications, and
grandmasters are no guarantee that what your learning is actually
something useful.
Think of it this way,
let's assume you don't know how to cook at all, however your friend,
invites you over for dinner, fries an egg, cuts up slices of spam
and serves it for dinner. To you, since you don't know anything
about cooking, this is good eating. But the reality is the littlest
thing is impressive to someone who doesn't know what to look
for.
Thus, you can walk into a
gym, see a green belt do a punch, and break boards, and that'll be
impressive to you.
6) Over 15/20/30/40 years
of martial arts experience
Pretty impressive don't
you think. 15 years in the art or more, and people naturally think
that man, this guys got the wisdom and knowledge of Yoda. But, keep
in mind, its not the number years, but the actual number of hours
someone has invested. For example, I've been a member of Bally's
health club for 8 years, but I haven't gone in the last 6
months. Does that really mean I've had 8 years of
working out there. Of course not, same thing with Martial
arts.
7) Seeing is
believing
I like to watch ice
skating, however I really don't know anything about it at all.
However, when you watch someone like Michelle Kwan, you can see how
she's different from all the rest. Her moves are sharp, clean, crisp
and graceful, and she does everything effortlessly. You then watch
the other women skate and you can definitely see the
difference.
Before you decide to sign
up to a school, sit down on a class or two and see the people in
action. If you see fellow students who've been there for 4 and 5
years, and have a black belt, but yet, sucks massively, then that's
definitely a red flag.
Real skill is done
effortlessly. And keep in mind its Martial arts, not muscle
arts.
8) Test drive
it
Sometimes the best way to
find out, is to take it for a spin. Thus, your going to have
to risk a little in order to find out whether or not something is
worth it. Thus, if you try out a place for a month, you'll more than
likely risk the cost for that month and maybe a uniform ($15 to $25
bucks). Don't get stuck buying pads and other extra equipment if
your not sure if its for you. Some places maybe willing to let you
have a few classes for free, but that all depends on the
place.
9) 1,000 belts to
nothing
Like I stated earlier,
find out if there is testing, and if they are optional or mandatory.
Another cash cow for schools is to charge for test every so often.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, but if they have test
every 3 months and your required to take it, even if your not ready,
then that's sorta a warning flag. If you also notice that the place
where your at, has stuff like, 100 belts to black, and they've added
every color in the rainbow from pink, maroon, camouflage, and pokee
dots, than that's also something to make you
go...hmmmmmmmm.
In the end, if you've got
a good school, you'll notice the instructor more than likely isn't
to concerned about belts or certificates, but more so on the
knowledge the student has earned.
10) Martial arts isn't
about yelling or breaking boards
In this day and age, its
not whether or not you can actually put your martial arts skill to
use, but on how high you can kick and how loud you can yell. Yeah,
its pretty to see people jump 50 feet in the air, and do a 360 kick.
That definitely takes some skill to do, but if you believe that your
going to be doing this in the street for self defense, then that's
another story.
Also, don't be so
impressed with board breaking. Seriously, I can take any guy/gal
from the street, show him the proper motion, and he can break a
board in less than 5 minutes. And, in this day and age of board
breaking, those boards they use for demos are paper thin. I'm pretty
sure if I have a couple of burritos, I could break those boards,
with wind. Thus, watching people break boards and scream out
of the top of their lungs, doesn't impress me, nor should it impress
you.
11) Health or
defense
In the beginning most
individuals take martial arts to defend themselves. However, if the
martial art is legit, the ability to fight is only a small part of
what you can truly benefit from a good art. And like I stated
earlier, its your decision as to why you want to take a martial
art.
Thus, one of the crazes
these days is to take some kind of mixture of aerobics and martial
arts. Let's say for the sake of example, you have stuff like cardio
karate, cardio kick boxing, Qaundo, Tae Bo. Now, in my opinion these
are great for getting in shape, being healthy, losing weight. But,
in my opinion if you believe these to be an alternative to learning
self defense, I think you'll be making a big mistake.
Remember, if you think
you just want the benefits of just exercise, then join the programs
at your local Bally's or other health clubs. Its definitely cheaper,
then signing up for a straight martial arts school.
12) An hour of
what
Most classes today are
usually for an hour. So, you have to wonder what you actually get
out of the hour. From my experience, the first 15 to 20 minutes are
usually spent stretching out and doing some kind of aerobic
exercise. Then the next 30 minutes involves some actual kind of
instruction. Finally, the last 10 minutes are cool down periods. So,
the reality is, that hour of instruction isn't really an hour at
all.
At Windy City, we run an
hour and a half class. The student should come in early and stretch
on his/her own, so that the entire period that he or she is here,
can be used to actually learn something.
13) Rule of
thumb
My rule of thumb
regarding finding a martial art for self defense. Is regardless of
what style it is, try using some common sense and ask yourself the
following question.
Are the moves and ideas
behind the art actually practical?
Finally, the most
important question. Can a girl whose smaller be able to use this art
effectively against someone whose much larger? Take for example
Brazilian Jui Jitsu, its grown pretty popular due to some of its
success in the UFC fights. Now, I'm not trying to pick on BJJ (its a
legit art), however do you honestly believe a girl whose 110lbs can
beat a guy whose 250lbs with BJJ.
Bottom line, it may seem
I'm very negative about what's out there. But, what I'm telling you
is what I've experienced in my 20 years of being involved with the
art. Hopefully, I've giving you some information that can be used to
finding the right school for you.
If you have any questions
or comments you can direct them to ed@windycitywingchun.com
