Hi Anulong,
I'm going to be completely, bluntly honest here. Please understand that this is not meant as a discouragement at all… in fact, exactly the opposite… I would highly encourage you as much as I possibly could here… but there are some realities that you might not be aware of yet.
If you want to know what is involved in the dojo, what is trained, how it's trained, what the make-up of the classes are etc, you will have to go to the school and ask the instructor or the students. Even if someone here trains in the same organisation, or in the same system in a different organisation, that's no guarantee that their experience will match what is found in the dojo local to you. The instructor might have a great love (and therefore emphasis) on conditioning… or might ignore it completely. And honestly, the same goes for the self defence question… the answer is always "yes and no, it depends"… as there's no way to know. Can it be used in a physical confrontation? Sure. Is it good for that? Maybe… maybe not… it might be good, but not taught in a way that gears itself towards that application, or it might not be particularly suited, but the instructor could have a great sense of such needs, and is able to present it in that context very well.
To be completely frank, whenever we get questions from new, inexperienced, and interested people asking "what system should I do?" or similar, it's like someone asking you what they should eat, as they're feeling a bit hungry… there's really no way to tell. What do you like? Something sweet, or savoury? Are you on a health kick, or do you enjoy binging on junk food? Are you between meals, and this is a snack, or is it a main source of sustenance? Do you have any allergies, or dietary requirements, or any preferential tastes? Do you like Chinese food, or pizza? We don't know what you like, and we don't know what restaurants are open around you. In other words, all we can say is "try a number of things, and see what you like".
The most important thing is that you enjoy attending the school you choose. The style is really largely irrelevant. If you find the most amazing system, but the teacher is someone you can't respect, or can't learn from (for whatever reason), then it's not a good school for you… if you find an okay system with a fantastic teacher, and a great, supportive student body, then that's the best choice. So visit the schools… don't worry what some random, largely anonymous people you've never met on the internet say based on minimalist knowledge of the entire situation (yours, the schools, the systems etc)… you're the one who'll be attending the school. Find the right one for you, and stick with it.
After all… do you want to know the real secret of martial arts? The true secret knowledge? The one thing that makes everything work? The magic which takes you from being a largely clueless, inexperienced newbie to a genuinely skilled, knowledgable, insightful, powerful practitioner of your chosen system? The genuine hidden truth that has been passed down through the centuries, protected by the blood and sacrifice of warriors of all cultures?
Start your training. And don't stop.
