Hi everyone, First, I’d like to say what a wonderful forum this is. I’ve been reading through some posts and I’m impressed by everyone’s knowledge. That being said… I’m hoping for some help for myself. I’m a recent transplant to the Washington, DC area. I live in Alexandria, VA, and work in downtown DC. And I’m looking for a martial art – in either location. This is what Google brings up as my options: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=l&hl=en&geocode=&q=martial+arts&near=washington,+dc&ie=UTF8&ll=38.912942,-77.040596&spn=0.07146,0.138702&z=13&om=1 Obviously this is a pretty substantial list. I’ve done some TKD (a university class a few years ago), six months of a Shotokan karate club, and one night of aikido. I have bad knees, but I’m otherwise in good shape. I’m a small-framed, late 20s female. I’m open to most any style. My major restrictions are money and time. For money, I’d need to keep it to under $100/mo., and preferably as close to $50 as possible. For time… I’m in DC, at work, until 5pm. My commute is a little over an hour, so it’s not feasible to go home, then return for, say, an 8pm class. So I’m looking for either something that’s dinner-hour in DC, or later in the evening in Northern Virginia. Or weekends in either location. My question is… how do I screen schools based on these criteria? My head’s spinning from trying to find websites and then schedules and fees. I’d also like to mention that I’d prefer not to train with children (12+ is fine). With so many martial arts schools in the area, I probably can’t sit in on a class at each one, just to find out it’s too expensive or the time won’t work. I’m hoping to get lucky and that someone will have first-hand knowledge of a school they’d like to recommend. Thanks for your help!
