Looking to find my way.... pleas read in..

[mryddin]

I litle background:
I live in Southern Indiana, 15 min from Louisville, KY. I am 36 years old and have not trained in ofer 10-15 years. I had back surgery in 2000 to repair a bulging disk that had caused me agony for over a year to the point of not being able to walk. After the surgery it was night and day I felt a lot better. From time to time I have low back pain and have had to spend a day in bed here and there from having pain... never the less I have recoverd as well as I think I am going to... I play raquetball, scuba dive, and exersize just fine... Well now I want to reclaim a few things I loved when I was younger I loved MA and still do but have not been able to get back into it. I now have a family and work just about all the time but I want to add MA back to my life... I need exercise and cant think of a better way to do it. Please offer your thoughts and help me find my way...

dojo's I am researching:

I have found a school in Louisville that teaches Hung Gar I am thinking of looking into his class to see how I feel about that, his info below:
http://www.allabouttheart.com/index.htm

I guess he is highly recommended for Kung FU....

Only other traditional school is Shaolin DO school and from what I understand for some reason no one gives them a good review...
http://www.sdlouisville.com/
thing is from reading the threads on there forums I really like the process they use and the traditional feel it displays... however if a lot of people say it’s a bad idea... then I got to do the math I guess.

A strong possible choice that can offer me close to JKD and some kali would be:
http://www.louisvillemartialarts.net/index.php
this place looks more official, more businesslike (bigger school) that has a lot to offer as well... but no old school traditions...

I will visit all 3 and try to decide but thoughts are welcome and I could use constructive ideas as well... I think the Hung Gar has most of what I am looking for... I am one who can become wrapped up in the tradition as well as the art.

Please offer any advice or thoughts... and if you know of the instructors please offer info.

Mike

 

[Steel Tiger]

Well I would definitely visit them all with a critical eye. The websites for the Hung Gar and Shaolin Do schools don't inspire.

Marshall Sifu comes across as a shameless self promoter, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know his stuff (a few too many references to David Carradine for my taste though).

There was something that just felt wrong about the Shaolin Do school. A school that professes to teach internal arts but has large Iron Body adds eveywhere? I don't know. I looked through the brochure and it looked like their branch of Shaolin was founded by a hairy muppet. I suppose the guy could have been one of those people who have excessive hair growth, but it looks very strange. And looking at the instructors, you might have to grow a mustache to train there .

Louisville Martial Arts Academy looks pretty good. A good combination of quality arts (not that Hung Gar and Shaolin Do are bad by any means) with a big professional atmosphere.

Unltimately though, these are just my impressions based on checking out the websites. MA training is about more than just finding a school, its about finding a school at which you are comfortable. That is something very individual.

So I say, go along, check 'em all out, talk to the instructors, and then you will be able to make the best decision for you.