Just some quick background on myself - I'm 20 years old, a skinny dude but a great deal weaker and more out of shape than I would like. I have a strong martial arts background (I took up to a brown belt in TKD when I was very young and up to a yellow or orange belt in Jinenkan a few years ago) and now I'm looking for a school to call home.
Okay, cool. When it comes to the Jinenkan, there are actually only three kyu grades below Black Belt, typically using a green belt. Individual schools (and their Dojo-cho) can elect to have further grades below that, and give them a belt ranking as they see fit (with Manaka Sensei's approval), however "yellow or orange" is far from universal, and probably won't mean anything even to members of the Jinenkan.
Things I look for in training: - practicality (am I learning techniques at full speed? is there sparring and reaction drills?)
Practical training is not necessarily going to be the same to everyone, or within different systems. For example, what we class as realistic training involves no sparring at all, as it is considered an unrealistic scenario or environment for survival or self defence use. Full speed means you can't do things full power, and so on. You can do full speed, full power into impact equipment, but that is not nexessarily realistic either (although it's not meant to be, as it's giving you a way to generate power and speed, rather than techniques per se).
- useability (will I be able to implement the techniques I learn in a self-defense situation?)
Most systems will tell you that what they teach is of course great for self defence, although that is not really the case. To begin with, I have been saying a fair bit recently that no martial art is designed for self defence, as that is not their aim. Of course, the technical curriculum can be used for self defence, but that is a different thing altogether. Then the question comes up, how can you qualify what is or is not "useable" in a self defence situation? Because I have to tell you, it's far less to do with the techniques and a lot more to do with the way things are trained and the mindset you have.
- depth (am I learning how to turn every part of my body into a weapon?)
Every part? How do you propose using your eye-lashes? Really, using every part isn't necessary. I typically recommend if someone just wants to get decent for street defence quickly for them to take up boxing, and they certainly don't use every part of the body. It's kind of one of those annoying martial art myths that "every part of your body becomes a lethal weapon!" Look instead for someone who understands how to use their body in the way their system works, because when they can get across the principles of their art, boundaries tend to expand and disappear....
- size of classes (am I going to see the instructor once per session as he walks around to 50 different students? or will I get more one on one attention from advanced students and the instructor?)
Each type of class has it's benefits and issues. The larger classes will give you a greater range of training partners, getting you used to a greater vartiety of body shapes, ranges, and so forth, while losing some of that personal attention. However, you should still be able to organise more private sessions for the one-on-one time if you feel that is required. So don't rule a school out because it's bigger than others, it may be just what you're looking for in all other ways.
- intensity (after the first session will I be able to walk? how hard is the training?)
Intensity can be very different things in different groups. Within my schools, the intensity is typically more to do with confrontation of adrenaline (and it's effects), pushing past comfort levels, and so on, in the BJJ class I attended the intensity was definately physical (those guys gave me one of the most intense work-outs that I've had in a long time'!), classical Japanese systems are typically quite intense on a spiritual or emotional level (it's not uncommon for people in certain sword schools to be sweating profuesly after only 10 minutes or so of performing the techniques, and that is nothing to do with physical exersion).
Again, each will have it's benefits and issues, and you will need to find the school that suits yourself. One persons "intense" may be easy to you, but what you find overwhelming may not bother them in the slightest. If all you're after is a good work out, though, look to sporting systems, or better yet, join a gym for that side of things. It's not necessarily what you will get in a more "practical" system as the needs are very different.
- will I learn how to take a hit properly while using the techniques so I don't lose my composure in a self-defense situation?
That will depend on the school and the way it teaches. Different schools will have different ways of teaching it, and whether or not it works for you will be up to you to decide. For example, again in my schools, we do a lot of work with adrenaline, focusing on supressing the effects after we feel the "twinge", we have also put on protective equipment, hit each other near full force, and then continued onto various drills (blocking/covering an assault, counter-striking, prevent a grapple etc). Others work purely on the emotional side of things (the Japanese concept of mushin), others simply expect you to "work through it" by putting you in situations where you either get past the problems of being hit, or you don't.
I am very interested in taking some kind of Kung Fu but the only place that is close to me is White Tiger Kung Fu and I've heard mixed things about their system. The Inosanto academy is the closest school to me but the classes can get really big and due to the vast differences in skills of people in the class, some students are just flailing around trying to grasp the intricate locks and grabs while others just seem bored.
Just a small note here, intricate locks and grabs would be what are classed as fine-motor skills, and those will be some of the first to go in a real situation, so if you are learning those you are learning a martial art, not self defence. Self defence (physically) will be made up pretty much exclusively of gross-motor techniques and applications, as that is what you will find available to yourself in a real situation. Just so you know.
Ideally I want to find a school that will challenge me and make me feel at home. If the people who I'm training with are warm and friendly it makes it a lot more fun to throw eachother around the room with no hard feelings. Also, a dojo filled with people with huge egos just isn't my scene.
Well, yes, that is the ideal. My suggestion is to look for a school that suits you (in this way) rather than a system, and it seems like that's what you're doing. Cool. In that regard, the best advice is to visit as many schools as you can, and see who "speaks" to you. Find a teacher that you can respect, a group of people you can work with, and you'll be fine. I wish you all the best with that.
Any recommendations for schools in the LA area? Preferably in the Marina Del Rey/Venice/Santa Monica area but I'm willing to make a drive if its worth it.
