Establish whether classes are informative and organized. Note whether the overall emphasis and training methods of the class are consistent with your expectations. Talk to senior students to get a feel of the club s training philosophy. Be wary of schools that do not allow spectators and demand long-term contracts. The American public often confuses violence with physical contact.
Violence is defined as the exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse.
In one form or another, martial arts, when executed in a self-defense situation, will produce physical injury, whether the technique is a punch, kick, sweep, or throw. Nevertheless, the philosophy of traditional martial arts is that these actions are intended for self-preservation only, and are not to be carried out as acts of aggression. The goal of martial arts training involves extensive physical contact of willing participants. Within the same school, a higher rank implies improved proficiency and experience. Unfortunately, other than a handful of well established styles, there are no uniform standards for granting black belt ratings.