Choosing a martial arts school that you can make a long term commitment to may take some time. If you write out a list of your goals before you begin your search, your chances of finding the right school home will be greatly improved. Do you want to learn mainly self defense? Are you seeking to continue a family tradition of training in a particular style? Do you just want to bring more focus and self discipline to your life? You may have many goals and a good school should be able to help you attain most of them. After you make some calls or search on line and have ruled out studios based on your personal criteria for distance, price, or style taught you will need to make some visits in person.

Find out the schedule for the beginner's class at a location that interests you and drop in to watch a session. Most schools have no objection to visitors who are not disruptive. This is a good time to meet the instructors and get a feel for the teaching style. You should receive a friendly and respectful greeting from staff and students so be sure to return the favor.

Watch closely so you will know what to expect once you start training. If the instructors know how to motivate their students you will hear mostly positive comments and encouragement. You will hear teaching techniques used that are similar to the Praise, Correct, Praise approach. For example, "I like how you always remember to keep your hands up guarding your face Susan. Now can you bring your feet just a little closer together and bend your knees slightly? Perfect. That stance looks awesome." If all you hear is "No, not like THAT", "Don't do this", "That was awful!" or "What are you, stupid?" it is time to head for the door. You probably have a whole life full of people ready to put you down and make you feel inadequate. You don't need to pay someone to do it every week.

Once you have watched a class and met the instructors you will need to set up a time to take a sample class and have a one on one talk with the school owner. Discuss your expectations in detail and feel free to ask questions about the owner's and instructor's training and qualifications. Most martial artists will be glad to regale you with their training history. Belt level in an instructor is usually not as important as the number of years spent in consistent training. There are many irrelevant reasons a school owner may not have a high belt rank and there are some owners who award themselves whatever belt rank they think sounds impressive. One of the most important indicators of a healthy school is the number of students who continue to train after they achieve their first black belt. These skilled and highly committed students would not stay on if the program, the instructors, and the school atmosphere were not top notch.

At your first class your instructor should introduce you to your fellow students and make you feel at home. Be sure to let your instructor know if you have any physical limitations that need to be taken into account during your training. If the material being taught cannot be adapted to fit your needs you are better off finding another school. You will probably be injured at some point if you train for long enough but there is no reason to injure yourself. Above all, you should have fun and be challenged by the things you learn on your first day.

Even if you are excited and impressed after your first class, don't rush to sign a long term contract if you are not ready to make a commitment. Remember, the school is going to put a lot of effort into making you a black belt. Are you willing to give back in kind?

Learn more about this author, Shasta Daisy McCarty.
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