People typically come to martial arts training in search of self defense, exercise and/or personal growth.  Yet many people in the New Rochelle region do not have extensive knowledge of martial arts training.  We tend to rely upon what we see or assume to be the case based upon our preconceived notions.  The problem with this approach is that the reason why we seek an instructor to begin with is to learn, i.e. these preconceived notions may not be correct.  Chances are we may very well follow these misconceptions in selecting a school, thus propogating them endlessly.  Alternatively, we might spend a little time evaluating our own objectives and then approach the task with an open mind.  One aspect that all martial arts have in common is the importance of developing positive character, and so the focus on finding an instructor who is sincere, kind and humble is recommended.  Then effectiveness can be considered in broad terms.  As long as one targets the cause of effective self defense in their training, they are more likely to end up with that result.  Understanding the cause, however, is more of a profound search than most people imagine.  As a general rule, all martial arts tend to be effective, although their approaches differ.  Finally, all martial arts provide exercise, but the types and purpose can vary. 

That said, the following examples illustrate an important caveat to the search for an instructor: A Chinese instructor emphasizes a quote from the Chinese classics.  However, the quote does not conform to the ideas in the classics for those who have read them.  When asked where to find the particular quote, he refuses to answer.  This instructor also refuses to disclose his teacher.  While these are important red flags, he boasts students following his instructions for over 15 years.  Certain other schools only teach the physical techniques, but have no knowledge of the principles underlying the techniques.  Without such knowledge, they do not know how to close openings to avoid being defeated, and so the training is not complete.  After one learns the techniques, that's it.  Then it is time to find a new instructor, or very possibly switch arts if a better instructor in the same art is not available, a wrenching decision.  While it may be difficult to find an instructor in this area with a profound understanding of his/her art, consider studying with someone who encourages people to train with higher level masters traveling through the region in their respective styles.

If you know what you seek, designing a plan to accomplish your goals is more straight forward.  The self defense aspects must include techniques and understanding of principles.  One can find the art that provides appropriate exercise.  Personal growth is actually something difficult to avoid in martial arts training over long periods of time, as this aspect is intertwined with the effectiveness of the art itself.  In this vein, by following one's preconceived notions without considering the ideas promoted by those who have come before us can lead to trouble.  Instead, reading the classic texts of one's art is important even while selecting an instructor.  One should also know that all people eventually learn the techniques, so you should plan ahead.  Answer the question "what happens next?" before you begin.  By following these steps one can target their interests very directly and avoid wasting countless years in the wrong place, possibly leading to more serious problems.

Many instructors point to the rank, titles or broad teaching responsibilities they have accrued during their training to indicate their skill level.  These simple tools, while possibly helpful, can sometimes be like anything else in this world, representative of political skill.  Who awarded the rank, title or teaching assignments and what was their level of skill?  When someone discloses their lineage, was their teacher genuinely knowledgeable or was the lineage weak?  Sometimes, the politics of religion enters the equation and a teacher will assign a higher position to a weaker practitioner due to his/her religion.  Martial arts training is not a perfect world.  While these symbols can ultimately be helpful in weeding out instructors who might be fraudulent, they cannot be used as pure measures of skill themselves.  The 3rd degree black belt quite possibly may be more knowledgeable than a 5th degree black belt.  For this reason, the evaluation process discussed above becomes even more relevant.

As for mixing arts, only in the rarest of events has a martial arts master achieved a sufficient level to invent his/her own art.  Many try mixing them anyway.  The problem is that their understanding is usually well below the level of the people who invented the underlying arts, and quite often they are a convoluted patchwork of different ideas that don't fit properly together.  This sort of phenomenon is common in Asia and can indicate some degree of arrogance in its founder.    That said, there are some extenuating circumstances where combinations are okay, but for our purposes, we should remain skeptical.