Martial Arts Houston: How To Choose A Martial Arts School – Considerations for Making the Right Decision
Whether you are a parent wanting to sign your child up in martial arts classes, or you are interested in training yourself, the basic principles in choosing a martial arts school are the same. You first have to decide what you want to gain by taking martial arts, and then you have to find the best school and instructor that best matches that need. Let’s take each step one at a time.
STEP 1: DECIDE CLEARLY WHAT YOU WANT YOU OR YOUR CHILD TO GAIN FROM MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING
This is a crucial step that is sometimes overlooked. People have different but very good reasons for wanting to take up martial arts training. There are quite a lot of benefits that martial arts training has to offer – here are just a few:
- Self defense
- Develop an overall sense of well being and self confidence
- Lose weight
- Gain flexibility and coordination
- Acquire more discipline
- And more…
Why do you want to train in martial arts? Maybe your reasons include all of the above, and that’s fine, but try to find the one or two reasons that are most important to you. For example, are you looking for just a little light recreation? Then a community center program may suffice. However if you want all of the benefits martial arts has to offer, like self-defense or personal development, then you are going to need a full-time professional school. Deciding what you really want is a very important step in choosing the best school for you.
STEP 2: PICKING THE SCHOOL AND INSTRUCTOR THAT BEST MATCHES YOUR NEEDS
After you have decided what you want from your training, the next step is to find the right place. There are several factors you should consider in choosing a school. You will want to consider things like; finding the right instructor, the cleanliness and distance of the school, the price for classes, finding a suitable style of martial art, and safety considerations. Let’s look at each of these factors a little more closely.
What is your impression of the instructor?
You should realize that a big factor in choosing the right school is really choosing the right instructor. Here we are talking about the instructor’s personality and teaching style. It’s tough making an informed judgment about a person in a brief meeting, but usually you are going to have to trust your gut here. Intuition and first impressions, while not always correct, often turn out to be true. Be sure to visit the school, meet the instructor and have a look around.
How does the instructor greet visitors and how do they treat the students?
A professional school will have a friendly atmosphere, lots of smiles and be well kept. You’ll feel comfortable with the personnel and the facility. While this may not end up being the closest school to your house, when it comes to your safety or the safety and education of your child, an extra ten-minute drive can make a world of difference in the outcome.
Is the school clean?
This is an important one. Dirty gyms can transmit staph and a lot of other nasty things that you would rather not find out about. Good gyms however are vigilant about sanitizing their equipment on a regular basis. Don’t be afraid to ask how often the instructor has the equipment cleaned and sanitized. Sometimes you’ll know everything you need just by looking around. This doesn’t mean that the school has to be as immaculate – a little dust here or there doesn’t hurt anything. But if you see filthy mats or blood on the walls, it’s time to look elsewhere.
Finally, while claims against schools are very rare because the training is very safe, many schools are not insured, which is a mistake. Make sure your school is insured and the instructors are attending seminars and workshops on teaching safe classes.If you are interested in moving further, feel free to check out the resources at http://www.personalprotectionforyou.com for home based training martial arts training programs.