I have said many things about what to look for and what to expect from a martial arts school. There is no single school or instructor that will be perfect in every aspect. So do not think that because some aspects of a school, instructor or program may not meet every criteria perfectly that it is not a good school. Many schools will stack up about the same on any list of criteria or questions. Your goal is to become familiar with what can be expected so that you are a better educated consumer going into your martial arts experience.
My experience has been that generally speaking many commercial schools are pretty similar in what they offer, what they cost and the quality of instruction that you receive. You will need to do a lot of study on your own as you should in any academic or artistic endeavor. Read books, buy videos, surf the internet and check out martial arts magazines. There is much to learn and you will not find all of it at your school, but it should be your home base where you put into practice what you have learned. Do no rely on a single instructor to be your sole source of martial arts knowledge or
41 training. There is too much out there to learn, experience and enjoy so don’t limit yourself.
