Most people begin their search for a martial arts school with a simple process in mind. They wish to find a school that is conveniently located, affordable, with a workable class schedule that teaches an art in which they are interested and can derive the desired benefits. Unfortunately, the owner’s manual for how to find a martial arts school was not written and widely disseminated prior to their initiation of the search, and so one is likely to run into a few surprises along the way.
Modern scientists have discovered a principle, which establishes that the conclusions we draw can be tied to our mindset prior to launching the investigation. For example, drug manufacturers perform double blind studies on medications to make sure that even the doctors dispensing the medication do not know which medication the patient is taking, so they will not influence the patient’s psychology, thus creating a placebo effect.
Similarly, in the search for a school, we tend to focus on our initial understanding of martial arts. For example, if we believe self defense must be violent and destructive, we will tend to choose a violent school. If we seek moderate physical benefits, some social benefits and only want to dip our toe in the water, we may tend to choose a school that emphasizes the superficial, as we would not look deeper into the instruction to evaluate it at that level. The problem with this approach is rooted in the nature of martial arts training. If we knew everything there was to know about martial arts before we began, no one would need a school. The fact is, martial arts training is not designed to take us from the beginning stages and leave our level of understanding there on a permanent basis. Rather, the intention is to spur growth in our understanding and outlook over time. Otherwise, why would we start?
While clearly the best scenario is that every school is run by the highest level master available, we are unfortunately not in that situation. Some instructors are more knowledgeable than others. So when we start by searching for violence or “martial arts lite,” so to speak, that is precisely what we may wind up with. As we grow over time, however, we may change our thinking. We need to be sure the instructor has already trafficked in the territory in which we venture over time. For example, violent technique is only useful at the very inception of training in some art forms. As one builds confidence, stepping back to investigate the technique is important. Also, learning to control rather than harm is critical in all forms of self defense. To the extent we wish to move past violent technique and the instructor has not explored that arena, where will we be then? Time to find a new school. If we have to change schools and styles frequently as we grow, then we will only skim the surface of a variety of training methods. A better approach is to stick with one method of practice and dig progressively deeper into it. By finding a teacher who understands the art more fully in accordance with its underlying principles, they will begin by showing us the violent technique we desire. Then, when we wish to move on, they will be right there with the next step. We will not need to change arts, styles or schools as we grow.
So finding an instructor that possesses a deeper understanding of the art is quite critical to our development over time. However, to the extent we do not examine their understanding of the principles, but only investigate based upon our initial and limited understanding of the art forms, we leave our chances of success in this most critical aspect of our decision completely up to chance. While more in depth examination may be challenging, the benefits clearly suggest the attempt is warranted. In the same way that we hold the steering wheel of a car when we drive, we should attempt to steer the direction of our practice so that we do not waste potentially an entire lifetime of training. The remainder of this section is dedicated to providing insights and suggestions into that process.
Before discussing the various aspects of the search, a brief synopsis of the availability of the various arts for individuals residing in Westchester County or the Bronx in the general vicinity of Yonkers, White Plains and New Rochelle (and the Bronx) is given below. Those not so detail oriented may skip to the next article of choice.
Yonkers offer schools of Karate, Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do and Tai Chi Chuan. Jujitsu, Judo and Aikido are offered within commuting distance. New Rochelle also has Karate, Jujitsu, and Judo. Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do, Tai Chi and Aikido are offered within commuting distance of New Rochelle.
White Plains maintains a similar profile as the above with a particular emphasis on the prevalence of Tae Kwon Do schools within the city itself.
The Bronx has an assortment of martial art schools. In particular, they have certain forms of Ju jitsu that are very street oriented. However, the Bronx has no Aikido schools and there seems to be very little in the way of Tai Chi Chuan. A fair number of people looking for martial arts not generally present in their environment tend to commute either northwards into Westchester or southwards into Manhattan.
To find a style in a particular region, the internet may be a useful tool. Unfortunately, the best martial artist, by definition, may not be the best internet marketer. That said, a simple search on Google or various yellow pages is unlikely to provide all available options. Some martial arts schools are members of national organizations, and may be found through the web sites of the organization. There are also a number of dojo directories on the internet (searching for them on the search engines is useful), and certain local web sites such as westchester.com, etc. Flyers in your local community may also be effective, particularly during the fall and new year's seasons. Many schools no longer advertise in the hard copy yellow page books any longer. Of course, word of mouth is useful, but you should not place too much weight on that avenue. How knowledgeable was the person who made the recommendation? Driving by schools that have a visible location may also seem to bring out the most established schools. Unfortunately, established and good are not necessarily the same thing. Basically, it is important to shop for martial arts instruction in a wholly different manner than one selects a car, i.e. shedding one's preconceived notions of what will yield the best results. More on this below.