School deadlock

[therealashland]

I am having the hardest time on deciding on which martial art school to chose,.. I have been doing MMA for about 2 months now, once a week due to my schedule, but it is pretty much all I am learning is boxing, I am not into the submission grappling part, alot of the other students have backgrounds in some other sort of martial art.

I am seriously leaning towards Tae Kwon Do,.... Oh Do Kwon, and Master Shims,... And I am going to try karate,.. I went to one place near where i work and it doesn't seem like something I am really into, I am really wanting to build my kicking up..

so i need help on deciding on a school.

Oh Do Kwon, Tae Kwon Do https://www.ohdokwon.com Well I sat through a class from them and my only concern was they only had like 6 belt levels,... The class was taught together, like all belt levels were working together. the only negative i think which master shim brought up ( master from another school) is that they have greg lloyd teaching there ( google him if you don't know who he is) I had a concern about me not being able to attend alot of classes because of my work schedule, he offered to lower the price and allow me to double up in a class during a day. the teachers there seem very friendly

Master Shim- tae kwon do, https://www.atlantatkd.com there studio is alot bigger, it is taught primarily by actual korean who stress that they are the only tkd place that teaches traditionally, Master shim actually sort of scared me a little bit. they have more belt levels than the oh do kwon place (white, yellow, yellow green, green, green blue etc) there class is broken up into groups, like lower belts our off doing there thing med belts higher and so on *i am told that they work together in the beginning* they say the are recongizend by the WTF and when you achieve the black belt they give you some sort of card like iono.

the last place the karate place seems more like some sort of franchise. they are in some sort of business association no sort of martial art affiliation liike the tkd schools, they only do inner school tournaments

so sorry if i am rambling on but any suggestions in picking a school? what should i be asking

i really want to do alot of sparring and tournaments

[KarateGeorge]

Don't put too much focus on the one school only having 6 belts. That was actually how a lot of TKD schools used to be. That's an older ranking system, but is still a valid one. The increase in the numbers of belts is something that came along later. You're likely going to be spending the same amount of overall time and training going from white belt to black belt at either school.

Don't put too much emphasis on association memberships either. Yes, the WTF is a great thing to be able to say they're recognized by, but it's no guaranty of the quality of the instructor, and there are plenty of amazing "independent" schools out there that aren't part of any organization. It can be a part of the decision on what school to join, but don't base your decision solely on what organization, if any, they belong to. Largely in part due to TKD being an olympic sport, its much more likely to find they're part of a national organization. There are karate organizations, but there are a lot more "independent" karate schools out there.

The two most important factors are going to be the quality of teaching at the school and whether their schedule matches up to yours.

From your post, it sounds like you've already started this process, but go and watch a couple of the classes at each of the schools. Are the instructors knowledgable and able to pass that knowledge on clearly? Are the instructors able to keep the class interesting for the students? Are the students getting the level of workout you're looking for? It sounds like you're interested in tournaments. Do they provide opportunities to participate in tournaments? Are they teaching a style of martial arts that is interesting to you? These are just a few questions to ask yourself and the school. I'd suggest writing down all your questions, getting the answers and then picking the school that matches up to your goals most closely.

Good luck in your journey to choose a school and keep us posted on what you choose!

[Patrick]

Welcome aboard, the realashland.

Nice reply, as well, KarateGeorge.

[bushido_man96]

I agree with George that the number of belt ranks available is unimportant. If you are interested in sparring and tournaments, the WTF school might be up your alley, as many tend to be competition focused. Check that school to see, though. Also, don't get wound up in someone telling you that they teach the "traditional" way, as that isn't necessarily a way to legitimize an instructor. See what it is they are teaching, and if it suits your needs or not.

Good luck.

[RichardZ]

I say go for any that is close to home, close to your budget, and start.

Starting a path is better than trying to decide what path is best especially when you had not made a initial step.

Stop thinking and start "walking"

[therealashland]

@ KarateGeorge I went by the karate place after work, which is closer to my job,,... but further away from my house,... I watched the black belts as they learn what they needed for there second degree and was very impressed, but i am still turned off by them only doing inter school tournaments, I am wanting to do those on a local and national level,..not just between the schools they own.

I watched the other 2 schools, the taekwondo schools and was more impressed then i was today with the karate,...... I think I am going to be leaning more towards the TaeKwonDo schools, because like @RichardZ said they are both closer to my house. I have my trial coming up with those 2 schools on friday,.. i should be ablet to decide by then,...

and thanks @Patrick,.. I look forward to being very active here alot of good info to absorb

[Patrick]

Excellent.

[ninjanurse]

My advice:

Do more research on the schools and individuals that will be teaching you-google is a wonderful thing!

Watch more than one class-and one instructor.

Watch their higher ranking students take class.

Ask questions....and listen to the answers carefully. Do they talk about themselves all the time or are they interested in what you want?

Pick the one that suits your needs, i.e., Do you want to be an Olympic TKD competitior on an international level? Do you want a style that will develop your mind and spirit in addition to your body? Do you want to be a sport karate/mma competitor? Are you just interested in self-defense?

[The BB of C]

As far as one can possibly tell from a website, the Ohdokwon looked like a better school. But for both of them - I smell a belt factory.

Can you explain what you meant when you said that Master Shim 'scared' you?

[therealashland]

When I said he scarred me he was more straight forward I guess not warm and fuzzy. After watching the black belt test at oh do kwon I was less than impressed the sparring looked like yellow or green belt level instead of black belt he kept saying 'use other techs' but they kept doing the same side kick and round house kicks and a few punches.

And I'm at the master shim place now, watching the black belts and red belt practice for there demo and am very impressed there are some red belts too