Re: Krav Maga
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Any style is good if the instructor and student are good. This one is incredibly hyped in a way that can get a bit nauseating sometimes, but it has its good practicioners and students too.
See if you get a good vibe from the instructor and students. An instructor who doesn't keep his students respectful and demands nothing more out of them than a check is your ticket to injury and a miserable time. A good instructor who helps establish camraderie in his class and holds people accountable for not being jerks is a great thing.
Never join a class before you've had a chance to watch at least one full class. Watching for an hour is crap; anyone can make a class not look crummy for an hour, especially to an inexperienced student. An instructor who doesn't want you to watch before you pay, or wants you to watch only a very little bit, is sending off a warning sign a thousand feet high -- STAY AWAY.
A good one will want you to be comfortable with how things look before you join, and is not so interested in your money that he's more interested in it than you. P.S. this description unfortunately doesn't fit many instructors, even ones who are quite good physically. Being a good teacher is about a lot more than being Mr. Macho or physically accomplished.
Ideally you should not give yourself just one choice, either. It's usual to see a class and get excited and then join up right away. You might think you couldn't be more thrilled after something you see. But going to several different classes to see several teachers will give you an idea where you want to commit to. Because martial arts is a very long term commitment if you actually want to learn the style.
I know that advice won't be followed, but it's the smart thing to do. Don't make commitments too hastily. Look around. You could find many things that interest you, but some will interest you more. So leaping on the first good thing is kind of dumb.
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I agree completely. I'd personally learn Kung Fu, but Krav Maga is a pretty badass martial arts form.
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