I'm new to this board..Please help me out

[bigfish423]

I'm not sure what style I should go into. I'm 23 years old, have about a year left of college (so that takes up the bulk of my time), work part time. But either way none of that should really conflict with any type of training schedule. I want to practice a style that is comprised of a few key elements (in my eyes): self defense, fitness and mental balance. Currently I study alot of Eastern philosophy, and enjoy reading about Eastern religion. I would like to also immerse myself in the martial arts culture.

I was looking at Tiger Schullman's dojo, and signed up on this board to get some advice, but after doing a search, a few threads came up basically stating that their cost and ethic is somewhat "McDojo" like ?

Does anyone else have any suggestions? Or is Tiger Schullmans not so bad? I live in the Long Island NY area. Any suggestions, recommendations, or general guidance would be greatly appreciated. There are so many dojos in my immediate area, I'm not sure what to look for in them, or even what style to start looking into.

Thanks a bunch in advance!

[A. Orstrom]

Hello bigfish.

I can't say that I have any specific recommendations for you as I don't live in the US; but if you post this question in the 'getting started in MA' section of this web site, you will get a lot more answers.

Personally I like the Japanese MAs, but that's just me.

I hope you find what you are looking for.

[White Warlock]

Yes, there were/are some lawsuits and criminal charges posed to Tiger Schullman's schools, the specifics of which i'm now fuzzy on. All that i recall on this subject causes red lights to flash, so my advice would be to find somewhere else.

There are plenty of posts in here with people asking what to look for in a school. You might want to review some of those, lest we have to regurgitate our old posts.

[Nick_sam]

im in a similar situation to you, bigfish, i already do aikido and am looking for something else to train in in the future. a good bet would be kempo karate as that seems to be quite well balanced, or even long-fist kung fu / keet kune do, ive also considered ninjutsu as it appears to compliment aikido quite nicely.

ive been doing quite a few forum searches and have come up with some good information, but most seems to tell me where the art came from and its history rather than what it physically involves, its stylistic traits, etc.

i think the best thing would be to have a little msn conversatino with someone who is very knowledgeable about the various different arts, or at least the one's you would have boiled your choices down to.

come to think of it, i wouldnt mind doing that myself - dont really want to seem rude tho, so if anyone has any offers

nick

[nanfeishen]

Play to your strengths when choosing. I was fortunate when i started, to find a school that taught Wing Chun and Tai Chi Chuan, and it was only after a few years, that i realised that they both suited me quite well, i am not particularly flexible, (school sports like soccer and rugby, and 100 and 200m sprinter) so my legs developed strength and power but not much flexibility, at just under 6 foot, i am rather stocky, so jumping, leaping or high kicking techniques dont suit me personally. So my advice is first check your stengths, how flexible are you?, which is stronger?, upper body or lower body?how much do you weigh?, a bit of extra weight can be a plus as well, check these things, and then take a look at the various styles in your area and see which one(s) would suit you best according to your criteria. The greater the amount of schools in your area, the greater chance to find one that will suit your physical requirements.

Hope this helped.

[bigfish423]

hey thanks for all the replys so far

Well to reply to the last post, I'm just shy of 6'1, 190lbs, upper body is strong, legs are not so strong. Used to do the whole football thing in school. But also have played golf and was on the college rowing team for a while. Which I found out quickly during rowing practice how little flexibility I really have (which was not a good thing). Pretty good shape, but still looking to become more physically fit from training perhaps.

There is a Tae Kwon Do school about 5 miles from me that sounds pretty good, it has unlimited classes for like 90 dollars a month, which doesnt sounds too bad. I would do something like 4 classes a week, so like $6 a class? I like everything they stand for, and the instructor seems to really know his stuff, as per his credentials via their website. I'm going to check them out on Saturday.

There is also about 3 miles from me Northern style Shaolin kung fu. Anyone know anything about this style? What its strengths/weaknesses?

So far from what I'm reading about TKD I'm liking it. So that one is a bit more appealing so far. Of course I wouldn't make my decision until I actually go there and check it out myself.

So what is Northern style Shaolin kung fu about? I couldn't find anything on this site in reference to that style.

Thanks for all the help so far

[Goju_boi]

hey thanks for all the replys so far

Well to reply to the last post, I'm just shy of 6'1, 190lbs, upper body is strong, legs are not so strong. Used to do the whole football thing in school. But also have played golf and was on the college rowing team for a while. Which I found out quickly during rowing practice how little flexibility I really have (which was not a good thing). Pretty good shape, but still looking to become more physically fit from training perhaps.

There is a Tae Kwon Do school about 5 miles from me that sounds pretty good, it has unlimited classes for like 90 dollars a month, which doesnt sounds too bad. I would do something like 4 classes a week, so like $6 a class? I like everything they stand for, and the instructor seems to really know his stuff, as per his credentials via their website. I'm going to check them out on Saturday.

There is also about 3 miles from me Northern style Shaolin kung fu. Anyone know anything about this style? What its strengths/weaknesses?

So far from what I'm reading about TKD I'm liking it. So that one is a bit more appealing so far. Of course I wouldn't make my decision until I actually go there and check it out myself.

So what is Northern style Shaolin kung fu about? I couldn't find anything on this site in reference to that style.

Thanks for all the help so far

northern shaolin is one of the most popluar styles of kung fu made up of emty handed and weapons techniques. Unlike other styles this one has no formal rankings of belts and sashes,also the uniforms are very different(orange or grey monk robes).Like other chinese styles it is very circular and graceful in motion.Northern shaolin compared to the southern styles of kung fu emphazizes high kicks instead of low kicks.Also besides shaolin training there is qi gong which is a type of meditation to better ones health physically as well as mentally,qi gong also helps harden the body for combat. as in iron body training which calluses your body up the body so you can take more hits and when u hit somebody it will have a stronger effect.Great flexiblity is a must in this style of kung fu,but don't worry if u train in norhtern shaolin u will get really flexible trust me.As for strengths I would say its great for striking and very great also for weaopons and their vast variety of them.Also that in keeps u in a very good state of health.One more thing it's also very good at presure point attacks.As for weaknesses I would say no grappling

[Adonis]

Tiger schulmans huh? I don't know much about the prices and poclicy but I hear they done well in jiu-Jitsu tournaments and mma events I believe also.

I only heard this from mma thread on a diffrent forum. Thats all I know of.

I recomend going around and checking ddiffrent places out I know alot of schools offer free trial lesson or some trial program that isn't to expensive so try those out and go to the place that you like the best and feel most comfortable with.

So many factors when choosing a school, your ability to afford the asking price, how you like the training and how it fits to your goals you have as to why you want to study, How comfotable you feel with the instructor and other students.

So best thing is jump off the net nad start looking around.

[Goju_boi]

and one more thing when you visit a school,don't be afraid of asking questions,especially about their credentials and what organizations they are part of.

when you see organization the are part of go on the net and see if they are actually registered.

[White Warlock]

better yet, find out if they 'created' the organization, and it consists of them and their instructors.

Yes, i bumped into one of those.