Adult Reality Martial Arts
Think about this, if your going spend money and time in the pursuit of a Martial Art, what do you want out of it? Statistics tell us that well over 90% of us first want to be able to defend ourselves, second, we want the discipline and fitness. And then people look at the sport aspect, maybe.
At A.F.T.A. Martial Arts our first concern is that you can truly defend yourself. So now we must be realistic. This means you must know holds, locks, throws, boxing, kicking, ground fighting, knife and gun defense. It must be taught in a safe, informative and interesting atmosphere by the master instructor of the school, not by students. Again, its your money and time, so take the time to get the most form your time and money! I have lots of Black Belts from other Martial Art Schools that have nothing that even resembles self defense, yet they were told upon joining other Martial Arts schools that they were being taught self defense. These students knew after one lesson that what they had been taught was going to do nothing for them if they had to defend themselves. This is a problem for true Martial Art instructors that instruct for a living.
Example: If you go to a sport school and they tell you that they teach self defense, then one day you need it and it fails you, what are you going to tell your friend that says they are thinking of taking Martial Arts? You’re going to tell them not to waist there time because it doesn't work. In actuality you didn't shop the other schools. Remember, there is a big difference between Sport and Combat Martial Arts Schools and they are as different as a Yugo and a Cadillac.
What you need is an instructor that is dedicated to their craft (this does not mean a part time instructor). The facility should be a proper Martial Arts training facility not a basement, old building or a shed out in the back yard. The Martial Arts facility is a place of training; it should be well staffed with highly trained assistants, state of the art equipment and a master instructor who teaches the students personally. In other school the only time you see the master instructor is when you look at his picture on the wall!
In closing, what I am saying personally and as a twenty eight year student of Martial Arts is this: Don't waste your time pursuing a Black Belt or Martial Art that will not back you up if needed.