How to Choose a Martial Arts School

by Mike

Martial Arts schools are intimidating. They're full of people who essentially make a part-time job out of hanging out with other sweaty guys and learning more efficient ways of hurting people (yup, the ultimate goal of your martial arts training is to hurt other people. Someone had to tell you - best we get that out of the way first. Hopefully you'll never actually need to hurt anyone, but all the same....).

Most guides to finding a good school are, in our opinion, crap. The information is either common sense or unhelpful the standard - "First choose, your style, then choose you instructor, then choose your gym" is just backwards. We're going to be looking at how to find what you want, then finding a school, then finding a style. It's much more intuitive and we think you'll be a lot happier in the long run.

Two things to keep in mind while you look for a school:

• You are putting your health in the hands of other people. There will always be things you do that you initially don't feel comfortable doing (for me it's judo throws, for some people, it's sparring) - do you trust these people to not injure you? If you do get injured, do you feel safe in their ability to help you?
  
  
• You are going to be paying a lot of money to spend a lot of time with these people. You don't need to want to go out to the bar with these people, but if you can't stand them personally (for whatever reason), why bother?

Why do you want to train?

This is the most important question. Think about it for a bit and take a look at The Wrong Reasons to Start Training and Fighting and Fighting Schools.

Do you have plans to become an amateur or pro fighter? Looking for an interesting way to keep in shape? Trying to find discipline and focus? Just looking to get out of the house and spend some time with a new crowd?

It's entirely possible to find a gym that will do all those things and more, but be aware that a gym tends to attract a certain type of person whose personal goals are in line with the gym's, so showing up to the Y's Shotokan class with dreams of UFC gold around your waist is not likely a good idea, nor is going to Windy City to meet girls.

That said, it's entirely possible that your goal when you start training is superseded by another goal as you put in more time. There's nothing wrong with that - it's just likely that you found the real reason you wanted to start training.

Consider why you want to train now. Don't think about why you wanted to train when you were a kid or why you think you'll be glad you're training in five years - those may be good hints as to why you really want to train, but thinking Bruce Lee must have impressed the ladies with his slick moves when you were a kid is not why you want to train now and thinking that you'll enjoy your new athleticism when you finally get it still leaves the hell of a lot of time between now and then.

Nail down why you want to train today. Not ten years ago, not ten years from now. Not what you think other people want to hear. If your answer to a coworker asking why you train is not the answer that you tell yourself when you're alone, you're kidding yourself.

Make a list of schools

Flip through the phone book, search the internet, ask the weird guy who wears TapouT shirts on Fridays - make a list of schools. Consider how much time you're willing to put into training (figure that you'll need at least two days a week to start if you want to see improvement) and figure those in to your schedule.

The PR material for most schools is identical, so you're not going to be able to make a decision based on these alone - you're going to need to visit the schools. A lot of schools.

Start by looking at places by your office or home. These will obviously be the easiest for you to get to.

Check their schedules (if they have them posted). No use in spending your time rushing back and forth or getting home at midnight.

Two things to be careful about: McDojos and guys that teach out of their garage.

McDojos (aka Belt Factories and Take Yer Dough franchises) are schools that are more interested in getting you to sign a long-term contract than in making sure you get what you want out of your time in class. McDojos are often a semi-weekly daycare replacement, either for kids or adults.

I do want to set one common misconception straight: long term contracts do not equal a McDojo Long-terms contracts are a smart business decision and allow the school to offer you a discount on your tuition in exchange for guaranteed income and lowered collection costs.

Pressuring you into signing a long-term contract, or only offering long-term contracts, are much better indicators of a McDojo. Initiation fees are always bullshit.

Likewise, having a lot of students with no intention of competing or fighting is not a good indication of a McDojo - fighters are extremely expensive in terms of taking up the school's teaching resources and "normal" students (especially kid's classes) keep the doors open.

Then again, the school I train at hits most of the commonly cited McDojo qualities and I think it's one of the best gyms around. One man's McDojo is another man's favorite gym.

Don't read those stupid lists of what a McDojo is or isn't. We're going to visit a lot of schools and you'll learn how to recognize them instantly.

Guys that teach out of their garage might be a lineaged multi-time Mundial winner, but it's more likely there's a reason they can't get a commercial space. Unless you've thoroughly vetted a place like this and received excellent personal recommendations, stay away from these sorts of places.

Don't forget to ask your friends if they train, or if they know someone who does. A personal recommendation is worth a lot and if you can get a buddy to show up with your to a new school or to walk you around theirs, you'll be in a much better spot.

Your list doesn't need to be a dozen schools across the state - three or four is a fine place to start.

Once you've got your list, we make the calls.

Start making calls

This step is to help weed our list down a little. If they're jagoffs on the phone, they're likely going to be worse in person. If what they tell you is materially different than what you saw elsewhere, either they're disorganized or lying somewhere. Neither are reasons to discount them entirely, but definitely something to keep in mind.

At this point, we just want to get some basic information and stop by to visit. Don't agree to anything over the phone other than to set up a time to come in and watch a class/take a tour.

I'd recommend asking what their busiest time/day is and stopping by then. When you show up, you'll really see how organized they are and get to see a good cross-section of their students and instructors.

Confirm their schedule, rates and whether or not they offer a trial membership.

Visit the schools

This is where we start to have fun.

My recommendation here is, if you're new at all this (i.e. have never taken a class before), rank the schools in order of the ones you think you'll like least to the ones you think you'll like the most. Go to the ones you don't think you'll like first - walking into a new school is intimidating and you'll get some practice asking the questions and knowing what to look for so you'll be in a better position to judge the merits of the other schools better.

Here's what we're looking for on our visits:

• Are the students primarily there for the same reason you are? There's no sense in going to a fighting school if all you want is to work out.
  
  
• Notice who's teaching the classes, and how. Most how-tos will tell you to see how organized and respectful the class is - this isn't necessarily helpful. If the students are just going through the motions, you probably don't want to be there. If the teachers remind you of Sgt. Hartman, you probably don't want to be there either. Better to see how seriously the students take their training.
  
  
• Ask to watch a beginner's class and a high-level class. You'll see what's expected of you in the future as well as what you can expect off the bat.
  
  
• How clean are the locker rooms? This is the best way to find out how well maintained the place is.
  
  
• Can you work out there when you don't have class? Is there room to?
  
  
• How experienced are the instructors? How accessible are they outside of class?
  
  
• How do the students treat each other? Is everyone there trying to punk each other down, or does it look like they're all there for some Brazilian Ass-Grabbing?
  
  
• Did people go out of their way to make you feel welcome? It's a warning sign if they did. Likewise, it's bad if the ignored you.
  
  
• See if you can grab a random student and ask how they like it. They're going to say yes, of course, but what they say is indicative of what the school's all about. Don't try to talk to someone training, working the bags or in the locker room. If you can talk to a couple, so much the better.
  
  
• Find out what equipment is required for new students. Can you buy it anywhere, or do you need to use their pro shop?
  
  
• Overall, did you get the sense that you'd be comfortable here?

Ask any last questions you have and thank them for having you. Tell them the school looks good, but you want a few days to make up your mind. Bonus points for saying, "you know, I'm also thinking about X school. What do you think of them?" Seeing their response will likewise tell you a lot about their attitude.

Ask about the contracts and trial memberships, but do not sign or agree to anything. If they tell you about a "today only" special, get out of there and don't feel bad about leaving. Remember this is a business and they're qualifying you as a lead as much as you are them.

Check out the other schools on your list. If you have any questions about schools you've already visited, feel free to call them back.

When you've gone through your list, think about the different schools and compare them - you'll have a good idea of which ones you definitely don't want to go to and ones that you think you'll be happy at.

Pick the ones you like best (whether it's one or three) and sign up for some trial classes.

Trial classes

Trial classes are good, but trial periods are better. Generally, there's a reduced-rate or reduced-term contract offered, anywhere from one class to six weeks. It's hard to judge a school based on one class, but if you find a multi-week one, take full advantage of it. Go when they open, stick around until they close. Try different days. Talk to everyone you can without being a pest.

It may be too much to take all the trial periods at once, but don't join a school without taking a trial month or so.

Making a final selection

This entire process may seem like it's more work than a term paper, but keep in mind we're going to be looking at this as something you're going to be doing several times a week for the next 10+ years. An extra month looking around isn't going to hurt anything.

If you've got two or three schools to look at, you're able to compare their merits for what they are and you'll be able to make a good decision. We'd recommend still going month-to-month or taking out a 6-month contract if it's offered just to be sure that this is something you definitely want to do (and allowing for things like life to happen).

Part Two of this series is going to give you some extra things to think about and to expect when you get started with your training.

CC-licensed photos from:

taminator "Kendo48"

Clemson "Martial Arts School"

anarchosyn "Cobra-Kai Dojo"

Christian Bachellier "Action"