Choosing a Martial Arts Class For an Adult

You've decided that it's time for a change and you want to use martial arts as the vehicle to move you along. But how do you choose the best martial art style, school or system for yourself? The first thing you need to do is ask yourself some questions: What do I want to gain from martial arts? What are my limitations? Am I looking for something for myself, or me and my children to do together? Let's look at these questions and some possible answers.

The question of what you hope to gain from martial arts is something only you can answer. If you want general fitness, better balance, some basic fighting skills, then the style of martial art is not really a problem. Almost all styles will give those things, and possibly more. This does not mean that all types of martial arts are the same, but the basic ideas of movement that capture the style of the art will, over time, make you more flexible, stronger and teach you some additional fighting skills beyond simple punching and kicking. Now if you have specific goals, such as learning a style of weapon technique, you would need to hunt down an instructor of that style. Or if you wanted a modern, practical self defense system, you need to locate a school that teaches that system.

What are my limitations? Once again a very personal set of conditions. If you have specific medical conditions, those can limit your training. I had a student who has Fibromyalgia, a nerve sensitivity condition that made it very hard to strike other students with any force. She did a lot of gentle movements and training with very light contact. She liked the style and so we modified the training so she could reap the benefits. Do you have physical or mental conditions? Once again these are questions that you need to answer honestly in order for your training to be enjoyable.

Training in martial art can be a family affair, a solo project, a social event or a combination of the three. While the answer to this is driven by what you hope to gain from your martial arts practice, the feel and attitude of the school will be the biggest factor in your ability to decide where you train. The gym, school or dojo you train at must fit the ideals and goals that you want to achieve, not what the trainer, teacher or instructor wants. The instructor is the guide on the journey to your goals, not driving force. You are the one who must push though the training to fore fill your goals (more on staying motivated in a late article).

Now this may seem like of a lot of introspection, but you need to ask yourself these questions to make sure you don't waste your time or money. If you can pull all of these factors together, and find the right program to fit your goals, you can start to unravel the wonderful fruits the study of martial arts can provide.

Louis Charron operates Close Combat and Fitness, LLC in Metairie, Louisiana, just outside of New Orleans. He teaches Krav Maga self defense and has developed the reality based system of self defense for children, Kids Maga. Louis Charron has formal training in Kung Fu, holds a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and is a Certified Krav Maga Instructor. He monitors and runs the website http://www.closecombatandfitness.com

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