Attention all martial artists!

cordianet

I’m thinking of starting martial arts training for myself and my family, but have some questions for those of you that currently practice martial arts. All responses are much appreciated.

1. What is a reasonable cost for martial arts classes? It would seem from what I can gather, that most studios around here charge a monthly fee regardless of how many classes you attend. Is this pretty typical?

2. What sort of things should I be looking for in a studio?

3. I’ve been told not to pick a studio based on learning a particular style, but rather based on the quality of the instruction. My concern here is that I am a disabled vet and have some mobility issues. I can do most things, but one thing that will be a problem would be kicking due to severe laxity in my knee. Can you recommend a martial art that might be more suited to this limitation?

Tilran

You will be hard pressed outside of doing boxing to find a martial art that does not incorporate kicks. That being said, you do not have to do the kicks when they teach it. It isen't school that you can fail so if you cant do it, you cant do it.

Second thing I need to know is:

Are you doing it for fitness or self defense?

How often can you go? Everyday? Every other day? Once a week?


Answer those and I can better direct you.


I've been doing MMA for about 3.5 years now

tachikata

1. Option to pay per session as well as a bulk sum up front for several would be ideal, allows flexibility for your budget.
2. Attitude and competency of intructors, but also observe attitude and competency of students, it demonstrates a good teacher.
3. Sit and observe a full class and see if it fits what you're looking for, a lot of places usually do 2 free lessons as an intro or such. I think something like Aikido would probably suit to begin with, it does not incorporate many kicks in it's style, and also family orientated, good foundation for undestanding balance, body and energy sense and tactics. Though there are more violent styles out there if that more your preference.

wellbert

$100/month as an average.
Watch out for belt farms. Find out if there are belt fees, and what they are. Belt farms tend to have high belt fees. Avoid.

Are the instructors in shape? Do they hold any real titles? IE: Did they make it up like Frank Dux, or can you actually find the organization they fought in?

Let them tell you about the art, then do some fact checking. You might be enthralled by Joe Smith's explanation of Tae Kwon Do, an ancient Japanese art derived from panda spirits and passed down 10,000 years-- but some fact checking will separate the crap.

Mobility? Anything can be worked around, really. FIL is in a wheelchair, and does karate. So.

cordianet

Are you doing it for fitness or self defense?

Thanks for the reply! My initial motivation is self defense skills for my daughter, but also some for myself. I also like to vary my fitness routine so this sounds like it would fit right in.

How often can you go? Everyday? Every other day? Once a week?

I'm not really sure, I was thinking probably no more than 3-4 days a week. May seriously depend on the schedule!

JBuck1914

Aikido doesn't have any kicking involved neither does Judo. So, there are two options. To someone else point you don't have to kick in any art if you physically can't and a good instructor should be able to work with you and teach you other elements of the art you choose.

Determinednoob

Wing Chun. Awesome if taken from a good school. No high kicking no mess with your knee.

Tyrone_S

Would recommend a grappling MA like Aikido or Judo. As you seem to realise, it is the quality of instruction far more than the style that matters. Visit a few clubs and see what the training is like, even join in a few classes before you make a decision. Look closely at the instructors AND seniors. If you are going to commit a few days a week for 1, 5, 10, 20, ?? years then you want to have a good look around.

One thing you can do is research the local tournaments for the martial arts you are interested in, take a look at the winners of the various divisions and try to spot trends (ie one particular club cleaning up). It's not a fail safe, as there are many other aspects to martial arts than the "sports" side, but it's a good start.

Source: 11 years of competitive MA. Instructor.

Tat2dDom0105

Hapkido is another art where there isn't kicking involved. It's mostly wrist grabs and joint locks, and some ground work. I currently take Tae Kwon Do, but that art is obviously the opposite of what you're looking for. My suggestion would be to look around for styles mentioned by the previous poster, and take a trial class to see if you like the instructor and how well he teaches his (or her) curriculum. Good luck to you!

sgthaggard

Wing Chun. Awesome if taken from a good school. No high kicking no mess with your knee.

I'll second that. Luckily, I have a good instructor in the family.

0145528

1. A monthly fee is typical. A lot of places have gone away from contracts, they scare some prospective students away. Some will offer family pricing, which can be a plus. I've found individual monthly fees, at least in the southeast, between $55 and $100 dollars a month.

2. Definitely go watch classes. Things you will want to watch for are cleanliness of the training space, that the chief instructor and assistant instructors pay attention to the class and don't allow horseplay. Ask them about their criteria and training, and use your intuition about what they tell you. Most places will allow you an introductory class, take advantage of that.

3. Depending on how impacted your knee is, your choices may be fairly limited. Judo and Ju-jitsu don't have kicks, but do depend on a strong base for stand-up work transitioning to throws and the ground. Aikido uses a lot of momentum redirection which is less stressful on the body, but can require some nimble, yet smooth footwork. Okinawan styles of Karate (Shorin-ryu, Gojo-ryu, Isshin-ryu, etc.) tend to have low kicks, There's also always Tai Chi. I've got a bad knee myself, and had issues with it while shifting weight doing throws. I'm actually in Tae Kwon Do now, and haven't had any issues with my knee in there.

You may be capable of more than you think, just be cautious. And thank you for your service.

MattTheWaterRat

If you're interested in self-defense, a gun would be a lot cheaper than the amount you'd pay in tuition at a martial arts studio. A gun would also be more effective.

dbevisjr

As a teen I studied Taekwondo, never really wanted that style since everybody and their brother studies it. But it was the best school in my area. I learned much from that school that I still carry in my mind and heart today. But there was still always the desire to learn something less common. As an adult I studied Choy Li Fut Kung Fu. A very old but less wide spread style. I'm not necessarily recommending either style to you but if there is a style you desire to study, do everything that you can to find a quality and reputable school at which to learn that style.

That being said, since you can't kick, I was going to recommend Tai Chi, but it takes years of dedication in that art to effectively use it as a self defense form. So I would tend to agree with some others above that Judo or Aikido would be a good choice. There are some dialects of Kung Fu that have very little or no kicking. But with almost every style mobility is a key factor since you will often side-step an attack. I would be very interested to know what you decide on.

hiddensvelte

+1 on what the other posters say. Visit the classes - observe - even the children's classes and see what is taught! My style is Kwon Shu, which is a form of kenpo.

Kids: Our studio concentrates on developing listening, focusing, and discipline skills for the children in a fun, respectful manner. For these kids (about 5-6) they are taught basic self defense and to run away! How do the instructors teach children?

Knees: One of my classmates has had both knees replaced in the last 7 months and is still participating. The instructors should work with you and help adapt the appropriate techniques. There are kicks expected, however, if you can't-you can't. I took a period of three months off from kicking due to torn menisci in both knees. I have still done well!

End Goals: Are the instructors concerned about YOUR goals and to help you achieve them.

Tilran

If you're interested in self-defense, a gun would be a lot cheaper than the amount you'd pay in tuition at a martial arts studio. A gun would also be more effective.

While I dont disagree that a gun is an effective form of self-defense, you could also end up destroying your life because you needlessly shot someone and now have a manslaughter charge coming on you because you cant prove it was absolutly "vital".

MA Self Defense is much more practical and will not get you into the legal mess a weapon will...unfortunately the "bad guys" dont always think in this way and sometimes higher force is your only option.

Tilran

Are you doing it for fitness or self defense?

Thanks for the reply! My initial motivation is self defense skills for my daughter, but also some for myself. I also like to vary my fitness routine so this sounds like it would fit right in.

How often can you go? Everyday? Every other day? Once a week?

I'm not really sure, I was thinking probably no more than 3-4 days a week. May seriously depend on the schedule!

If this is for both you and your daughter, I'd highly recommend Krav Maga for self defense. Krav is not a competition style so it does not teach you fancy moves like other styles...however it teaches you pure practical applications in real world environments. This is also a really good style for females to learn because it focuses on soft spots...so opposed to having to overpower an opponent, it focuses on disabling them by soft spots such as the throat, groin and eyes.