How should one go about choosing a school and instructor??

[JiuJitsuNation]

What things should one look for in making a decision in choosing a martial arts school and instructor?

[Harlan]

Verifiable history. Up front about one's teachers, when and where trained.

[Lupin1]

Also, look at what the school offers. Is it what YOU want in your martial arts school? Do they offer the programs/classes/atmosphere you're looking for? Is the price reasonable? Watch a class and look at some of their students. Do the black belts look coordinated and like they know what they're doing? Are they sharp and precise? Do they seem to have the skills you'll expect out of yourself when you make it to black belt? It's a very personal thing since everyone's looking for something different. You need to ask yourself what you want and try to find a school that meets your requirements as best as possible.

[bushido_man96]

First, does the school offer what you are looking for in particular? Self-defense heavy, sport/competition heavy, or a combination of things.

Second, what are the instructor's/assitant's credentials. Established organization, or are they from a smaller club? Either one can be good, and either on can be bad.

Third, does the instructor's philosophies and ideals line up with yours, or are they close enough that concessions can be made. This is really important, I think.

Fourth, price and class availabilty. Class availability should be higher up on the list, but I think that most will offer good availability.

[Sibylla]

There are a number of factors, but personally I would look at the senior students.

- How good are they? (It's natural that there are some variations due to age etc, but if the majority is unfit and clumsy, bad sign)

- How many are there (if the school has tons of beginners but very few advanced students - bad sign)

- What sort of group are they? (In some places the group can be very homogenous, for instance all the same age, gender, beliefs..not a good sign)

- How do they act towards you? (Look for how they answer questions. Expect them to answer questions in an upfront and non arrogant way.)

The same thing goes for the instructor. He should be able to answer your questions in a good way, and not give off a clique or elite vibe.

Lineage is of course important, but the most important is the training environment, since that is what makes or breaks you.

[RJCKarate]

I just want to comment on this point by Sibylla

"- How many are there (if the school has tons of beginners but very few advanced students - bad sign)"

We may have different perceptions of 'bad', however..

My school consists of 15 people. 2 have been training 1.5yrs, 2 have been training 1yr and the rest about 6 months - 2 are green belts, and the rest are white. Why does this make my school bad?

My school has been established for 1.5yrs and therefore if I didn't really only have 'beginners' I would consider my school bad, not the other way around.

When considering factors for a martial arts school, how many people is not always a good consideration.

[Sibylla]

I was saying what I said with well established schools in mind. Imo it's a particularily bad sign if the school has been active for many years and have very few high ranks. Then there is something going on that makes the school lose students.

[DWx]

Having a small percentage of higher ranking belts isn't necessarily bad. There may be a reason people leave that means the school is bad... or they may be a genuine reason. Instructor just may have really high standards, or take my school for example. When it first started out a large proportion of people were kids, by the time we got to blackbelt most of us left to go off to uni, left home etc. That's losing like 10 people. Took a few years before the numbers of blackbelts rose again.

[KarateGeorge]

The quality of the students is an interesting one. Its a very useful tool in judging a school. However, someone new to martial arts may not know how to properly judge the students. Granted, you could make some extreme examples, but for the average school, someone with no prior background may have difficulty looking at a black belt, or a blue belt or whatever, and saying to themselves "Is that how they should look at their level?" Or even knowing the difference between a 1st degree black belt and a 5th degree black belt.

Credentials, as a result, I think tend to be very important for someone new to the martial arts. You may not know what you're supposed to be looking at, but you at least can determine their background and reputation.

Other factors that may play a role are time/availability of classes, prices, class sizes (large vs. small), distance from home, participation in tournaments, general atmosphere of the classes and personality of the instructor (ie, would you be able to enjoy learning from them).

[sensei8]

Good posts thus far, with some pretty good insights for someone who's looking for a school/instructor. I'd only add this one little tidbit...VISIT THE SCHOOL MORE THAN ONCE. Why more than once? You'll probably see something different each time than you did before. A picture IS worth a thousand words.