Monday, March 21, 2011

How To Choose The Right Martial Arts School


Our towns and cities are littered with martial arts schools.  Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Tang Soo Do, Kung Fu...how do we choose between all this?  Most just pick the closest to their home, the cheapest, or even worse the first they come across.  Martial arts is one of the most important decisions you can make for yourself or your child, similar to choosing where you go to college.  Would you choose your local community college if you had the chance to attend Harvard?  Probably not.  Therefore you want to be sure to carefully choose who will be guiding your path, as it can have lasting effects on you for many years to come.

The two most important factors in choosing a school are the instructors and the facility.  If one or both of them are not excellent, your instruction will suffer and the quality of your skills will not reach their full potential.  Not only will your skills be diminished, but when you reach the Black Belt level and choose to pass on the art to your own students, their skills will suffer as well.  Therefore make sure you choose wisely in the beginning, it will pay dividends in the future.

First let's analyze what it means to have a good instructor.  Far too many times people make the mistake that high physical skill translates into effective teaching abilities.  While there are plenty of individuals who excel as both practitioners and instructors, never let their physical prowess be the sole determining factor when judging an instructor's performance.

The ability to communicate knowledge in creative ways, influencing through charisma, and an ability to interact with people at a high level are the marks of an excellent instructor, not the amount of medals and trophies he or she has amassed.  If you are searching for a teacher for your child, observe how he or she acts with the children in their class.  Typically someone who acts emotionally extreme is not effective with children, such as an ultra-militaristic drill sergeant or a soft push-over.

Once you have found a few teachers who fit your mold, take a look at the facility.  You definitely want to train somewhere that is clean and safe.  Look for facilities that have large training area, mirrors, mats, and plenty of equipment that aids in training.  Avoid places with concrete floors and hard surfaces that are not friendly your knee and hip joints.  Make sure the place is regularly cleaned to avoid athletes foot and ring worm.  Keep on the lookout for jagged metal and other potentially dangerous elements that your child encounter.  In the end you are going to just feel right when you find the right place.

Martial arts can have far reaching positive effects on your life.  Be sure to choose a place to study that is professional and fits your needs.  Do not jump at the first place you encounter and do not fall into strictly price shopping.  The most inexpensive schools are usually not the best.  This decision could be one of the most important decisions of your life.  Make sure you come educated and prepared.

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Tom Yahner is the Head Instructor at the United States Karate Academy in San Diego, California.  He has been studying martial arts for 23 years.  He is also a sales and marketing consultant for To The Point Gaslamp Acupuncture and James Patino, Artist Consultant and Motivational Speaker.



United States Karate Academy
2590 Truxtun Road, Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92106

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