Choosing The Right Martial Art

By Peter Vermeeren

Every day new martial arts are born and other disappear. Theylook so different yet so alike. When choosing a martial art foryourself or for your children it is sometimes very difficult topick the right one. If you choose the wrong martial art foryourself or your children than you will end up with hundreds ofdollars thrown away on equipment teaching fees, and so on.

This is what happens to many people and after giving it a try in2 or 3 different martial arts they decide that martial artsaren’t for them.

They are wrong; everybody can train and enjoy martial arts. Itis just a matter of picking the right one.

Now how can you know what martial art is the right one for youor your children?

First of all you should start with a question list for yourself.

Q1. Why do you want to practise martial arts?

The answer to this question will make a basic selection of themartial arts and will leave you with the ones that are bestsuited for you.

Some people want to practise martial arts to get a betterphysical condition; others want to boost their self confidence.Another answer might be that you want to be able to defendyourself. Some people even go to the martial arts dojos to havea good time or for the community feeling.

Make sure you find information about the different martial artsand compare the information. Don’t only look at the informationabout a martial art in from 1 source. Find relevant informationfrom different sources on the same subject.

Only after having read sufficient information about the martialarts you like you will be able to choose.

So now make a pre-selection of the martial arts you like

Q2. What do you want to achieve practising a



martial art?

Do you want to be able to win tournaments, defend yourselfagainst many attackers or is your ultimate goal to become aninstructor? Off course there are probably as many goals as thereare practitioners but you get the idea.

The final goal of becoming a practitioner will determine the wayto go, the time to spend on training, etc…

When you have answered this question you should take a look atthose martial art systems that will enable you to reach yourgoal. Most schools and systems provide lot’s of information onthe possibilities they have for students.

One important point here is that you should be very selectiveand ask around when choosing a martial arts system or school.There are many strange systems out there that only want to getyour money instead of teaching you.

The best way to know what school is right for you is to take alook at the human and martial arts quality of the high levelstudents. Ask yourself: Do I want to be of the same level asthey are?

This will allow you to narrow the possibilities to only a fewdifferent systems

Q3. How much do you want to invest in your training?

I do not mean only spending money in tuition fees but also intime. Do you have the time to travel to the dojo and spend thehours needed to train? Are you willing to buy the equipmentneeded? How much do you want to spend on travelling to seminarsor tournaments?

This question is as important as the previous ones; some martialarts equipment is very expensive like the kendo or kyudoequipment, other martial arts are a lot cheaper. How much do youwant to spend on equipment.

Next, check out how many schools there are close to you wherethey teach the martial art you selected. VISIT THEM ALL!!!! Talkwith the instructor, ask him if you can witness a session, lookat the behaviour of the other students, ask if you canparticipate in a free session to give it a try and makeinquiries about the tuition and insurance fees.

After visiting ALL of them sit down and write down on a piece ofpaper the pro’s and contra’s of each of them. Take a look at thelist and compare. Listen to your inner voice and after waitingfor at least 1 week decide which school you will become a memberof.

By answering these 3 questions and following this guideline youcan easily find the right martial art for you.

About the author:Peter Vermeeren is a martial arts practitioner and teacher forover 30 years and runs the martial arts and fitness informationportal called Kamikaze : http://www.kamikaze-portal.com , home of the magazine called RENSHU. Peter teachestraditional martial arts all over Europe. Here is his personalsite : http://www.takaharudojo.org