Bama Crimson

Thanks for the pointers, they will definately help me out. I did take Kung Fu when I was 12 and stuck with it for about a year. A couple of things that turned me off and cause me to quit were 1) There were no plans to take us to a competition of any kind....I don't know if this is because competition was not a focus of the art and school or not. When I asked about competition, I was not given a straight forward answer. 2) Lack of a clear ranking system. I did not know what level I was really at or what rank I was other than a "beginner". I did not know if I was getting better or not. 3) The discipline level was strict, especially for a youth class. Corporal punishment was used on my best friend who was training with me when he messed up a couple of times because his dad was an instructor at the school. It was never used on me but it scared me half to death.

I want to begin training in Karate. I would like some pointers- 1) I know there are many styles of Karate. I am a graduate student, and I want to train with a school in the town I live in now. But I know I won't be in that town long term. I should train in a style of Karate that is commonly taught so I can find a new school when I am done with school no matter where I end up. 2) My goals are a) Physical fitness b) to eventually do competitions c) and to hopefully become a black belt (just because I believe if you do something it should be done right). I ordered the three from most important to not as important. What style(s) would be best for me? 3) Any pointers on how to find a good school would also be helpful, such as what things would seem to indicate that the school is a good one and the instructors are qualified to teach, and what things indicate that the quality of the school is not good. Thanks