The most common method of choosing a martial arts instructor is by the location of a nearby martial arts school. Actually the most important factor in selecting the right martial arts instruction is by picking the best martial arts instructor for you. Some of the key areas to consider to find the best martial arts instructor are: teaching style, martial arts experience, and instructor credentials and affiliations.

Martial Arts Instructor Teaching Style

Look for an instructor who you are comfortable with; whose martial arts instruction skills are taught in a manner that suits you to learn them. Martial arts instructors are like coaches; they do not have to be able to perform what they teach, but they must have the ability to get students to perform what they teach, and perform it well. If you learn best or are most comfortable in a rigidly formal martial arts instruction atmosphere, you probably won't do as well if you choose a martial arts instructor who likes to joke around in class. If you prefer a more relaxed, informal atmosphere, then a strictly traditional martial arts school with bows and rigid formality will probably stifle you, and you will not learn as well.

Martial Arts Instructor Experience

Martial arts instructors may be tournament champions in sparring or forms, but it does not necessarily mean they offer excellent martial arts instruction. Study with martial arts instructors for what the instructors can teach you to do, not for what the instructor can do. A martial arts instructor who knows their stuff will generally have students who display it – higher level students will be skilled appropriately, a demonstration of the instructor's teaching abilities and communication skills. Ask the instructor how long they have been teaching martial arts instruction to students.

Instructor Affiliation and Credentials

Talk to the martial arts instructor, ask the instructor about their martial arts instruction credentials. Instructors are usually affiliated with a national or regional organization (see the organizations topic for more information). Often instructors will display their qualifications and certificates. If the school focuses on martial arts instruction for tournaments, is the instructor certified in the rules of the governing body for these tournaments as a coach or referee? Unless you are familiar with the ranking system within the martial arts instructionmartial arts instruction organization with which the instructor is certified, then do not place much emphasis on the rank of the instructor. Each major organization has it own rank structure, so it is difficult to compare ranks between them. Do not base your decision on where to train solely on the rank of the martial arts instructor.