Guide To Starting Martial Arts

[busling]

[editted] 1 April 2005 - Talk to teacher section expanded with comments from Pride&Poise.

 

This guide is intended to help people who are new to martial arts pick a school and a style that is right for them.

 

The Basic Process to choose Martial Art that is right for you is:

 

1. Determine your motivations

 

2. Research schools in your area

 

3. Research the styles that are available to you

 

4. Talk to Teachers and try classes

 

5. Consider other factors

 

6. Pick your style and get started

 

** 1. Determine your motivations **

 

Everyone’s motivations for starting martial arts are different. Most likely as you progress through MA those motivations will change. You need to understand your motivations before you can decide on the art that is right for you. Your motivations will really decide the style/teacher that is right for you. A few of the more common motivations are:

 

- Health and Fitness (A sport to keep you fit, or get you fit, something to improve your flexibility, stress relief)

 

- Improve your self-confidence

 

- Seen it in the movies and want to be able to do cool moves

 

- Self-Defence

 

- Desire to be tournament fighter

 

** 2. Research schools in your area **

 

Create a list of schools in your area. You can find them from the phone book, on the Internet, by word of mouth, advertisements on community boards, especially at universities. For each school find out as much information as you can, specifically:

 

- What style(s) do they teach

 

- Do they cater for fight/MMA training

 

- Who is the main instructor

 

- Do they have assistant instructors

 

- Is the school full-time, or run out of a hall/gym

 

- Normal Facilities (showers, lockers, car parking, air-conditioning)

 

- MA Facilities (wooden floors/padded floors, gym equipment, punching bags, bag mitts, focus mitts, Thai pads, kick shields, head gear, etc)

 

- When do they hold classes.

 

DO NOT worry about how much they charge, that will come latter.

 

** 3. Research the styles that are available to you **

 

Now that you know what schools/styles are available to you in your local area, you need to start working out which one is for you. While doing this research keep your motivations in mind.

 

It is up to you to educate yourself about the arts that are available to you. There are several valuable sources of information for this purpose:

 

- The Internet - look at lots of different sites about the styles that you are interested in.

 

- Martial Arts magazines - beware that sometimes magazines are really just advertisement materials.

 

- Karate Forums of course. Now that you have a basic understanding of the arts you are interested in post on the forums and obtain answers to your specific questions about the arts. Make sure that you mention what your motivations for starting martial arts are.

 

** 4. Talk to Teachers and try classes **

 

Go to each school, talk to the instructors, let the instructor know what you are looking for and ask him if his school sounds right for you and WHY. If you don't know what you are looking for, or even if you do, ask the instructor what benefits you can expect to get from studying under him. His answers should sound interesting to you... if they don't, it might not be a good match.

 

Also, be wary of an instructor who doesn't emphasize that you will need to work hard to acheive those benefits, or who makes promises that don't seem realistic, like guaranteed promotions.

 

Watch one of their classes and try out a class. The first class is almost always free. Check out the facilities for yourself, watch how the students and instructors interact.

 

After you have tried their free class is probably a good time to ask them about the costs involved. Make sure you ask about mandatory and recommended equipment costs as well as uniform and tuition fees.

 

** 5. Consider other factors **

 

- Does the school offer the type of training you are seeking? (Street oriented, Mixed Martials Arts or traditional training)

 

- Does the school have sparing, either light or heavy or both?

 

- Do you think the school focuses on quick results or a longer more professional journey through the martial arts?

 

- How often do you want to attend your martial arts classes? If the school is not set up as a full time 5/6/7 days per week school does it offer enough flexibility to ensure that you will be able to attend classes at least once a week?

 

** 6. Pick your style and get started **

 

Now weigh up all of the pros and cons. Make a decision and get started, once you start you life will forever be changed for the better.

Edited March 31, 2005 by busling

[ramymensa]

This is a good set of information.

 

I'm sure people would find it useful.

[busling]

Thanks ramymensa, do you have any information that we could add to it, to complete it?

[martialman101]

listen, im not trying to be picky but, you should post more on how to choose an art that is right for you, this is the most challenging part in my mind, since you'll be dedicating a lot of time and energy into it, it beter damn well be something you like!

[busling]

martialman101 I see your point, and initially that is what I wanted to do. However the more I thought about all of the different martial arts and how little I really knew about them; I thought it best that I let people know how they can best research the arts for themselves. I believe that if people go through the above process it will become evident to them which martial art is best for them.

eg. I tried to think about who would be suited to judo, vs boxing vs karate. In the end I released that anyone could do any art. It really comes down to what interests them.

[PrideampPoise]

In the "talk to teachers" section, I would specifically say to let the instructor know what you are looking for and ask him if his school sounds right for you and WHY.

If you don't know what you are looking for, or even if you do, ask the instructor what benefits you can expect to get from studying under him.

His answers should sound interesting to you... if they don't, it might not be a good match.

Also, be wary of an instructor who doesn't emphasize that you will need to work hard to acheive those benefits, or who makes promises that don't seem realistic, like guaranteed promotions. I was looking at website for a local MA school, and under the FAQs it said "Will I get hurt?". The answer was "No! Our instructors are trained blah blah blah."

How can anyone promise you won't get hurt doing any kind of physical activity? Major red flag to me.

Just some suggestions...