Looking to restart my martial arts study.

[fallen_milkman]

Not sure which part of Philly you're in but my school has a branch there, actually. It's called American Fighting Arts. We do a style of kuntao, which is basically another term for kung fu, as far as translation goes. Chinese/Indonesian in origin, very street effective. The two main men who brought it to our state were soldiers for their countries in the Indonesian fight for independance from the Dutch. I could babble forever, I love this art so much. Here is a link to some reviews of the school, as well as the address: http://philadelphia.citysearch.com/review/9006721

I would suggest at least suggest checking it out if you consider it close enough.

[Enviroman]

Hey milkman, thanks for the link! Unfortunately Frazer is about 35-40 minutes from me.

I'm going to visit some schools and make my decision by the end of next week.

[fallen_milkman]

Bummer. Well, good luck finding the school that is right for you, and not quite so far away.

[y2_sub]

If you want to get fit then TKD is going to help alot .

Regarding the fees , TSD is the best

TKD as a martial art ?? i would go with that

[Enviroman]

I'm definitely not all that into TKD. I'm not sure if any of the TKD places here teach it as anything but a sport (McDojo comes to mind as most of their students tend to be 10 and under). And I still feel that I'd never be comfortable in a high kicking, aerial maneuver style. It's the main reason i'm leery of TSD.

[karatekid1975]

TSD isn't the same as TKD (I know, I did both). Then again, the TSD dojang I studied at mixed a few styles together (Muay Thai, Hapkido, and Jujitsu) so I wouldn't know what the "pure TSD" would be. But it is a good style. It's definitely not so "sport" as most TKD schools. It's worth a look

[tkdBill]

I think you are falling victim to a common stereotype that taekwondo is all about aerial kicks and not for overweight people.

Of course we teach aerial kicks to those kids who want to learn them, but it is not a requirement of taekwondo and most of my adult students do not do them. Our forms (katas) do not contain aerial kicks, and there are no requirements for aerial kicks for rank advancement. I have more than a few adult students that cannot kick more than waist high, and they are excellent martial artists.

Don't rule out a style because it is so popular. Instead, go see why it is so popular.

You need to check out several styles and schools and try a few classes at the ones you like. This will give you a chance to not only experience the instructor's teaching style, but also give you a chance to meet and chat with other students. If an instructor will not let you try a few classes for free, you might want to be concerned.

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[wingedsoldier]

check out the kenpo/kempo schools. i'm in it and it's great. but check out the classes first, just to make sure you're getting what you pay for.

[Enviroman]

tkdBill: Thanks for the great advice. I actually started looking at TKD dojangs a few days ago as I didn't want to prejudice my thinking. So far I'm not impressed with their quality, but I'll keep checking them out!

[aefibird]

Good luck with your search. I hope that you find a MA school that is right for you.