From: mary@Cayman.COM (Mary Malmros)
Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts
Subject: Re: Martial Arts Interest
Date: 3 Sep 92 15:23:51 GMT
	<1992Sep3.032144.8535@udel.edu>
Distribution: usa
Organization: Cayman Systems Inc., Cambridge, MA
In-reply-to: weigand@pecan.cns.udel.edu's message of 3 Sep 92 03:21:44 GMT


In article <1992Sep3.032144.8535@udel.edu> weigand@pecan.cns.udel.edu (Steve Weigand) writes:

   In article <1992Sep3.014902.25155@ucsu.Colorado.EDU> fcrary@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (Frank Crary) writes:
   >In article <laadkoINNf4@jethro.Corp.Sun.COM> bugsy@theoasis.Corp.Sun.COM writes:
   >>#1 Does anyone have a list of all the martial arts disciplines, with
   >>      a description of main emphasis.  ie Kenpo - self defense, low kicks etc???
   >
   >All? I really doubt it: There are, at least, a few hunderd (though perhaps
   >only a few dozen have become widely popular here in the United States...)

     Much more than a few hundred. Just take kung fu, for example. 

[snip]

True, but what Lavonne seems to be looking for is a book that's got a 
general description of some common styles.  My standard recommendation
is "The Complete Martial Arts" by Paul Crompton.  It isn't complete -- 
as Frank and Steve note, there are bazillions of different styles -- but
I think it covers most of the styles you're likely to run into.  Granted,
it does not go into great detail about sub-styles (e.g., different karate
styles or kung fu styles), but if the general description of one of those
larger style groupings interests you, you can always investigate further.
This is a good book for someone who's never studied martial arts.  The 
text is simple but not simplistic, it's accurate (or at least I can say
that it is with regard to the arts that I know something about), and it
has a lot of pictures, which are very helpful if you don't have an idea
what a particular style looks like.  

Overlook Press also publishes something similar...think it's "The Overlook
Martial Arts Handbook".  It doesn't cover as many styles, I don't think, 
nor does it have as many illustrations.

Finally, the rec.martial-arts FAQ can be FTP'd from cs.huji.ac.il.  It's
in the /pub directory.

   >>#2 Does anyone have an idea of the average rate for lessons???
   >>I'm from San Jose, CA and it seems the going rate (I called kenpo, judo & take won do
   >>schools), averaged  $70.00 per month, including 1 private lesson.
   >
   >There is a guy in Berkeley who teaches Ba gua, Shing-yi (sp?) and Tai Chi
   >for $10 per week (up to 5 hours each week of whatever you like) or
   >$25 per hour for private lessons. That might not help you much, since
   >he likes small informal classes (e.g. he doesn't take many students) 

     Hmmm... $70.00/mo. sounds rather high. My experience has been about
   $60.00/mo. at most. Maybe it's just the area, but I've seen really good
   instructors charge only $40.00/mo. and you can take every class that 
   instructor offers (4 classes/wk usually). The best deals are the schools
   that are really cheap, charging bare minimum just to maintain the school's
   costs. They're usually non-profit schools with an emphasis on the student
   and not on the student's wallet. (although these schools are scarce.)

Prices are all over the map, for all kinds of different reasons.  I don't
think $70 a month is unreasonable, but it depends on what you're getting.  
There's an aikido school in this area that charges something like $85 a 
month, but that includes unlimited lessons.  My brother studies at a 
school in another area and pays about $60 a month, but that's only for 
two or three lessons a week.  I pay about $50 a month at a taekwondo
school, which includes unlimited lessons.  All of those are commercial
schools, where the students' fees have to cover the facilities costs, 
the teachers' salaries, and other incidentals.  If you cut out some of
those costs, you generally cut the fees as well.  Classes that are 
sponsored by universities are generally quite inexpensive, because there's
no rent to pay, and often the instructor's fee (if there is one) is 
partly or completely covered by other sources.  And then there are 
people who have a separate day job and teach in the evenings or on
weekends or something, out of their garage.  They aren't making a living
at it, so they'll generally not charge much, if anything.  I'm studying
jodo with a teacher like this now, and the only cost is what we pay to 
rent practice space.  

   >>#3 Any other information to share, esp. regarding testing and time
   >>required to graduate to different levels???

Even within a particular style, you can't give a good estimate for this.
Criteria vary from school to school, and rank has no universal meaning.  

   >>I would like to focus on self-defense, techniques for women.

Visit schools and look for one with that orientation.  All styles have
self-defense applications -- it's a matter of what a particular school
emphasizes.

[snip]

[Steve again]

   From my experience, testings will usually cost an extra little bit of 
   money. First testing is around $20.00, while the black-belt or black-sash
   testing could be as much as $200.00. I recommend you take that into 
   consideration when looking for schools. 

What he said.  Some schools expect you to test frequently, every few months
or so, and charge you $30-$50 a pop.  That adds up.  

   Also, padding for external martial arts such as Taekwondo and Karate is
   usually necessary.... Figure an extra $100.00 for head, hands, and feet
   pads. 

Maybe a little more if you also need to get a chest protector, but not much.
You can shop around, but as a rough guess, try $30 for a chest protector, 
$25-30 for simple foam headgear, $12 for shin/instep protectors, $10 for
forearm protectors, $15 for sparring gloves, $15 for foam boots if you 
wear them.  A simple mouth protector is only a couple of bucks.  Additional
expenditures I had were about $30 for shoes (useful if you work out on
carpet at all), $30 for bag gloves, and $5 for hand wraps.  

If you're studying a weapon art, obviously you have to consider the cost
of the weapons.  Most wooden practice weapons aren't too expensive...but
not all styles use wooden practice weapons.

   If you're interested in self-defense, I would say that most martial arts
   are very well equipped to teach it... There's no one martial art that 
   doesn't at least take time to deal with that issue. 

True in general, although I do study one that comes damn close.  

Personally, I think that empty-hand styles are probably of most practical
value.  The problem with weapons styles is that the older ones seem 
largely oriented towards dealing with other archaic weapons; and the 
newer or more modernized ones such as eskrima or gun fu, while quite
effective, do require you to carry a weapon in order for you to be 
able to defend yourself.  Aside from the fact that a weapon can be
broken, misplaced, stolen, or just left at home that day because you're
sick of lugging it around, carrying it may run you afoul of various 
weapon laws.  

   As far as which one
   is best as a self-defense, I think you should see many different 
   martial arts for yourself and decide which one is best for you. You see,
   while one person may be able to use Aikido very fluidly, another may have
   a body that resists it. Look around. See which one looks like you'd be
   comfortable with it. Aikido isn't too bad. I've also heard that there are
   a high number of women in Judo (lower center of gravity allows women to
   throw men easier). 

What he said...and it's not just the style, it's the school.  It's good to 
do some reading-type research first, because you don't have time to go see
every single style out there.  But ultimately you need to confirm, via 
first-hand impression, that a particular style AND a particular school 
is right for you.  
--
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