How to Choose a Martial Art

Video Transcript

"Hi everybody I'm John Graden from the Martial Arts Teacher's Association and johngraden.com. One of the questions I have been asked through the years how do you choose a martial art? It really varies it depends on what your goal is. Are you trying to get in better shape, do you want to learn self defense, do you want to compete or are you just interested in the mental benefits of the martial arts offer you, mental benefits such as self confidence, self discipline, self control, respect, so there is a lot of variables. In my mind when people say what style is best, what style should I do the only style that is really important is the teaching style of the instructor. So how do you choose a good martial arts? It is really more about choosing a good martial arts instructor, it's about choosing a good martial arts school, so when you are going to make the decision make sure first you know what your goal is. If you really want a strong self defense oriented system you want to be working with an instructor who may have a police background a law enforcement background, some practical application in street self defense. If you are just looking to become a martial artist or a good black belt here is the key. You want to go and visit and watch the students, watch the beginner students and study in particular the teaching style of the instructor. How does that instructor interact with the students, how does that instructor conduct a class? Then go look at the advanced students. We want to make sure that they're impressive, we want to make sure that they're in shape, we want to make sure there is lots of them. What does that mean if there is lots of advanced students? That means the school has a high retention. That means that it is a good school or she is a good instructor and she is able to keep her students for a long time. When you have a school that has lots of brown and black belts and they are impressive then you know you have an instructor that has a curriculum designed to keep students in the school so the teaching style is the most important style of any martial art. There are a variety of different styles, Tai Kwon Do, Kempo, Kung Fu, Karate, I'm not that interested in the style, I'm interested in the teacher, making sure that teacher can help me or you to reach your goals. I'm John Graden for the Martial Arts Teacher's Association. Thanks. Tune in for more martial arts excitement. Thanks."