Anyone here do martial arts regularly?

CraftyGirl4

I have always wanted to do this, and recently, I found a deal on Living Social. It's $29 for 4 weeks of unlimited classes at a local place. That's a great deal for something I want to try out before going "all in," so to speak. But I wanted to see what experiences other people had with it. I am taking taekwondo classes, by the way.

tinovr

I've been doing TKD for 18 months now.. $29 is a good price, but make sure you are told the true monthly price.. include testing fees, and any necessary gear (extra doboks, t-shirts, sparring gear) as well. We have my entire family of 4 in TKD and it gets pricey.

as for choosing a dojang, definitely observe a few classes.. then try them.. the instructors should focus on the mental aspects as well as physical.. they should not have you "competing" with other classmates, but competing against yourself... better today than yesterday, better tomorrow than today.. Everyone's different physically, and comparing yourself to some young teenage kid who can kick 6 feet in the air is unreasonable for most adults.

There are two "schools".. WTF and ITF. My school is WTF.. more "olympic" style with a larger focus on sparring than ITF, as I understand.

Expect at least 3 yrs to go from start to 1st deg Black. It's a committment, but the reward is there at the end... a long journey, and you'll see how far you've come when you think back to your first class. Expect to take class at least 2x/week, but sometimes you can go to as many extra classes as you can fit into your schedule. Sometimes that 4 or 5x week. That's another question to ask.. are you limited to only certain classes.. typically, beginners can take only beginner or "open" classes, but advanced students can take any class below their level.

most of all, have fun... it's a great workout, and I can think of no better way to relieve stress than kicking some targets, or even better, a real sparring opponent.

Beachbean77

My daughters and I did it. LOVED IT!!! But yes it gets very expensive with uniforms, testing, belts and sparring gear. Definitely find out the final costs after the trial period. It is a great sport to get into though... good luck!!