How to choose a good CMA teacher?

Question

I'm considering in enrolling into a Bagauzhang class soon, but I'm not sure what to look for in the teacher. I also want to know how to spot a phony Bagua teacher (just in case). My focus is overall health and self defense. This weekend I will be visiting the class, so any helpful advice to use then would be very appreciated. =]

Answer 1

guy above pretty much nailed it- I would thumbs up him but I'm only level one since bluto 55 bit the bullet today for asking theists if they approved of some L*****n kissing (no nudity) videos in R&S.

the only thing I would like to add, is aside from breaking down the types of issues you should encounter, that application can only be learned by "live testing" the moves against another person who is resisting. (progressive resistance, meaning that at first you might do co-op, but soon after you would move to fully resisting).

while I do CMA as well- and admittedly I might be biased becasue my school is pretty much t-shirts and sweat pants, a majority of poor teachers are found in the ones who adhere too much to the "pajama party" mentality where dress, and dogma are so heavily emphasized.

also many traditionally taught schools might be teaching you aspects you don't want to learn and have no interests in such as excessive form use and weapons forms that you have no desire to learn.

it depends on what you are looking for.  if you are in a large city, its easier to find a legit cma teacher- but be warned, cma is one of the areas of martial arts that has a lot of bullshido teachers that don't know anything themselves and try to pass themselves off as teachers- largely becasue many of the concepts are not something you encounter regularly, and many more cma styles train to fight primarily against "our style"- so unless you fight another person of the same style, much of what you learned is not going to help you.

you should look for a school that trains against common attacks.

If you can deal with a boxer then odds are you've met this.

(i have a lot of friends who still box and its the most common martial art- any similar art applies)

Answer 2

I have written in length about this on my website:  here is one of the articles.

Quality of instruction:

First of all, many martial arts schools will be named after or be affilitated with popular, well-known martial artist. However, that actual classes are often taught by someone else. This falicy of advertising isn't always detrimental to the quality of instruction. Often, the instructor heading the school is very qualified and has been given the "blessing" of the more popular instructor. But it is still something you should be wary of.

You should also try and guage the attitude of the instructor. Look for things such as, whether they are responsive to your questions, if they dismiss your concerns and are only trying to get you to sign a contract, and their 'general attitude'. Ask if you can attend a class or two for free. Most will allow this and this gives you an opportunity to not only judge the quality and type of instruction, but also the instructor's demeanor and how the other students react to the instructor. Typically, the instructor should be well respected and treated as such.

Traditional, modern, aggressive, or passive?

Segwaying from the instructor's attitude is guaging the school's overall atomsphere. You should already have an idea of what kind of instruction you are looking for.

Martial arts schools fall into two general categories, and two general approaches towards instruction:

Traditional or modern.

Aggressive or passive.

Traditional atmospheres typically have more strict rules and focus on tradition and heritage. These schools often teach forms, katas, traditional weapons training, and include certain dress codes and practices known to that style. The interactions between the students and the instructors is often more formal.

Modern approaches of martial arts focus primarily on the combative aspect of martial arts by teaching a mixed curriculum of different martial arts. Generally, there is a more relaxed atmosphere when it comes to student to student, or student to instructor interaction. This is also known as MMA.

Also decide if you want to participate in an aggressive or passive atmosphere. Many martial artist are not looking to spar or compete in tournaments and simply enjoy the instruction and tradition of martial arts. Some schools have a passive approach, where the main focus is tradition, physical fitness, or instruction and technique.

More aggressive schools include sparring and contact drills. Much of the technique learned is through application on other students. Live sparring drills are frequent (and should be closely monitored for safety). Typically, these types of schools will be heavily involved in tournaments and competition.

Full articles on this can be found here:  http://www.socalmartialarts.com/choosing...