Starting Martial Arts, checking out dojo soon...

[BurnMyEyes]

Hey...

After years of debate, I'm finally going to check out a dojo. I've always been into the martial arts (because of my brother) but I've never gotten to serious with my studies. My brother, on the other hand, is an excellent fighter. When he was a kid, he had a lot of the same anger problems as I have now. Martial arts changed his life and he still studies to this day.

After doing a lot of reading and looking at my options, I have my mind set on Kenpo Karate. I'm located in Tampa, Fla and there isn't much variety as far as schools go, the majority are: TKD, Karate, Hapkido, Silat & Kung Fu. I happened to find a dojo that specializes in Ed Parker Kenpo Karate and I'm going to watch a class this Friday. I am completely clueless as to what makes a dojo a good dojo so I was wondering what are some things that I should look for when observing? What can I look for that would tell me this is a good dojo? What can I expect see considering it's Kenpo Karate?

This is the website of the dojo: http://www.darkdragonkenpo.com

-Bradley

[it_takes_skillz]

im also starting out in martial arts (starting capoeria or BJJ soon )

so im not sure about what makes a good dojo or not. one thing i knowis that there is a capeoira school in tampa unless they moved it. i live in sarasota florida so i know how hard it coould be to find martial arts.

from what i heard, hapkido is a very vivid martial art and they teach you effectively. dont take my word for it, check it out for your self. take care

[tkdBill]

BurnMyEyes, I went to the link that you provided. They will sell people complete DVD course that will take you all the way to black belt, and even let you test for rank in the comfort of your own home.

I'm personally not a big fan of video martial arts training, and in my opinion throws up big red flags about the school overall. If the video training is as good as the training with an actual instructor, why does anyone need to go to an actual dojo. On the other hand, if the video training is not as good as training with an instructor, how can they award the video students the same ranks as the students who train at the dojo?

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[Shorinryu Sensei]

IMHO, that school reeks of Mcdojo-ism! RUN FORREST, RUN!!!

[orion82698]

Stay away from flashy websites when it comes to Dojo's. Yes, it's a way to get people in the door, but word of mouth is better!

I too say that place looks McDojo