Anyone have a style recommendation?

[MantisWarrior]

I don't exactly know what he means by hard and soft, but out of the list u gave, i'd go with the "martial arts" one. All of the other options are horrible, so how bad can the wild card option be. seriously, think about it. just do what ever that school offers when u find out.

 

u watch your mouth i can show u how horrible the other martial arts are with u on the ground and my foot on your face.

 

u need to keep your bad comments to your self.

 

now black rose what i ment by hard and soft is that most shaolin is soft b/c it flows its easier to understand it if u saw it u will see most karate or tkd goes in a strait line while most kung fu will go in a circle. im sorry its not a good description but it is kinda hard to explain.

 

i agree with kungfu try a class of each.

[SaiFightsMS]

Please remember to respect each other, their style of martial art and their opinons.

[Kyle-san]

It could very well have just been a bad school, but it left me with a bad impression of the art.

 

I know what you mean, sometimes all it takes is one person negatively representing an art to leave a very bad impression that you just can't shake.

[BlackRose]

How exactly do i tell a good school from a bad one?

 

also how do you tell a good instructor from a bad

 

can anyone name some specific or general things that i should look for or ask?

 

thankes

Edited March 31, 2003 by BlackRose

[BlackRose]

i was looking up schools and i found aikijujutsu. is that a mix of aikido and jujustu?

[Kyle-san]

i was looking up schools and i found aikijujutsu. is that a mix of aikido and jujustu?

 

It's basically what aikido would have been derived from.

 

As for good/bad schools and instructors I've found it's all about comfort level. There are three things to see if you feel comfortable with when learning a style: the school itself, the instructor, and the students. You have to trust in the techniques before they'll really work for you, you have to trust your instructor to guide you properly, and you definately need to trust the people you're working with to learn anything.

[delta1]

How exactly do i tell a good school from a bad one?

 

Tough to answer, as a lot depends on what you are comfortable with. But there are some good indicators:

 

Watch to see if everyone gets good instruction, or if there are a favored few (he may focus on a particular belt level, or get a group ready for a tournament- this is not the kind of favoritism I'm talking about).

 

Is the instructor present at all times? How good is he at passing on the knowlege and correcting mistakes?

 

Does the instructor maintain discipline? Not like a drill instructor, but there should be no horseplay or people causing distractions. Everyone should either be busy working their art or paying attention.

 

If they claim to teach self defense, they should spar. And at higher levels they should spar with contact. Sport schools will point spar, or whatever sport they train for. This is good for them, but not for a reality/self defense based school.

 

Check that the fees are in line with what other schools in the area charge. That includes test fees, and any hidden costs.

 

If they promise rank in a particular time frame, I'd back out.

 

As a beginer, it may be difficult to judge the competence of the instructors and students. But try, and if your gut tells you something is wrong, be extra cautious.

 

Don't be overly impressed with the trophies and other stuff schools like to display. Don't discount them either, but rely more on your judgement than their advertisements.

 

These are just a few indicators I'd look for. Take your time. Good luck!

[BlackRose]

i found ten schools i want to look into but my mom refuses to go to ten different schools and let me watch/try a class from each

 

how do i eliminate classes?

 

i have 4 aikido, 2 aikijujutsu, 1 shaolin, and 5 kenpo/kempo.

 

Is there a way to learn traditional Jujutsu at home because there are no schools around me that teach that style and that is the style i really want to learn?

[Kyle-san]

Is there a way to learn traditional Jujutsu at home because there are no schools around me that teach that style and that is the style i really want to learn?

 

There's no way to learn it properly on your own, there are too many moves that require a partner (throws, locks, etc) and the supervision of someone that knows the style.

 

Aikijujutsu is a very traditional Jujutsu style. Check out the schools and see which one feels right.

[delta1]

i have 4 aikido, 2 aikijujutsu, 1 shaolin, and 5 kenpo/kempo.

 

You lucky bugger! You almost can't go wrong!

 

If one of the schools is American Kenpo, I'd put it at the top of the list, especially if you want to understand what you are doing instead of just learning the moves. AK stresses knowing, understanding and properly applying the principles of power and motion. It was also designed for the American streets, and taught correctly is an extremely effective art.

 

If you are interested more in personal development and the gentle way, Aikido is the way to go.

 

Aikijujutsu, from what I understand, is an effective art and has an internal component. I've worked a little with Aikijutsu, which is a spinoff of Aikijujutsu, and that was an external art which uses serious internal principles.

 

Shaolin schools tend to be well rounded traditional schools. Chinese martial arts are very effective when taught and practiced correctly. CMA ranks along with good TKD as being some of the most underrated martial arts styles out there. But, like TKD, there are some really bad schools out there too. And that goes for any art as well, so be careful in choosing.

 

If your mom doesn't want to go to ten schools and try them out (which is understandable), I'd try to narrow it down to one choice in each catagory. That's only four schools. Then try a few lessons in each one and see which gives you what you want from the martial arts. You are hopefully going to invest a lifetime in learning your base art, so a few weeks or months spent deciding now is a relatively small investment to make sure. Good luck!