How can I decide which martial arts school to go to?

I%26#039;m not trying to figure out which type of martial arts to do, but how can I find a school with a good instructor? I%26#039;m looking for one who is more old school %26amp; authentic.|||Perhaps you should try visiting the maritial arts schools you know like go and watch the instructors at work. Whichever one you are most drawn to or the style of teaching that stands out for you is the one you should select.|||research hun, research... take a few schools, talk to the instructor, find out the school lineage, research that lineage either online or in books/magazines. sit in on a few classes just to get a feel of how things run and if its right for you. talk to students after their classes and get some opinions on the instructor.





just try to get a feel for the school and its teacher. if it doesn%26#039;t feel like what you%26#039;re looking for keep shopping around...





good luck!|||You are a woman. You know that Wing Chun was created by a Buddhist nun? It%26#039;s the ONLY form of Chinese Gung-fu NOT stylized after an animal! It is brutal, and very effective! Jeet Kune Do stems from this art in some ways. I recommend true JKD because of the excellent footwork! Do some research and see what you can find.|||You have to go to the schools and hang out. Watch some classes and talk with people. Most old school teaching will have teminology for you to learn (japanese, Korean, etc), they will most likely have a brief meditation sesion at the begining of class, and they will not talk bad of other schools.


Most schools will let you take a free class (unless it%26#039;s Tae-Kwon-Do)


Have Fun!|||study under a grandmaster who is more traditional that would be more like it ok.|||Choose a few schools near you, go do 1 class, and choose which one you thought taught the best and was nice.





Tip: if you choose a school with a master or grandmaster of a higher degree you will get trained better. and you should know that I used to do taekwondo with a master who pretended to act nice but soon he became really cheap and by the time i got my green belt I had to move to another taekwondo but it was much better because he was nicer and he was a grandmaster|||Go to a few school and maybe try them, see what one fits you best.|||Brizilian Jiu-jitsu|||Many schools wll allow you to take a free introductory course to see if that school is for you. Others will have an introductory special like 2 months for a low cost. Call up the schools in your area and ask them if they have some sort of introductory special.|||Do you spar on a regular basis?


Do you practice against resistance -- another person or bag?


Do you attend class for more than 4-5 hours a week (answer should be at least 4 hours to 5 hours a week to about 12 hours a week)


Are you strectching and doing 15-20 min of warmups followed by 40 min to 45 min of instruction?


Are these warm-ups pushing you physically?


Are you practicing the same techniques over and over again with someone working with you to focus on footing, hand placement, and being very nit-picky?


Do you have open mat times? or times to come in and work with another instructor?





All the above should be yes...ANY no would indicate the school might have a problem while two nos would likely be a bad sign.





In addition consider the fees. Are there a lot of fees at the school? Weapons classes cost extra for example.


Do you pay more than $100 per person? Most schools should average about $75 per person while in the big cities (NY) closer to $125. High fees, excess fees is a mcdojo (like mcdonald%26#039;s) and normally a black belt factory where you get the belt but dont really learn self defense.





Dont get me wrong...fees pay the school. But a school tied to high fees and excessive belts (more than 10 grades) is a sign the school is pulling money out of your wallet for the wrong reason.





As to authentic...they are out there...my school in new york was authentic and my school here in nevada is very traditional. Just have to look.|||Try find school that allows you to test technique for real such as in full spar or grappling. If it;s a striking school, they should do lot of pads work and bags work along with sparring.





If you go into school where you role play everything that have been prearranged, stand and punch/kick air all day whenever your instructor commanded you to, etc... Then you%26#039;re basically wasting your time.