The 1st thing to do is call them up and request very nicely whether they can teach you a fast karate course and give you a black belt in a few months. Also tell them that you are willing to pay more for the super fast black belt course. Those who reply in the affirmative -just ignore them.
I'm serious- this does happen.
After that ask for the age of the youngest black belt student they have. If you find anyone below 18 wearing a black belt or conducting a class -cross them off your list. Now there are exceptions to this rule. If there's this 15-16 year old kid who is competing in the adult division and winning-then yes. A black belt will be justified in this case.
Some other questions to ask for:
Is strength important?
If they say no then strike them off. Strength and conditioning is extremely important. A lot off Hollywood karate fighters say that all you need to do is learn the proper technique. Strength and conditioning don't matter. Not true.
Can you teach me how to take down multiple guys?
If they say yes- then again it would be best to ignore them. Anyone who has been in a real fight (sports tournament or otherwise) will tell you it's so damn
difficult taking down one guy- multiple guys is just not possible- at least not without weapons.
After that- I guess its up to you.
Why do you want to practice martial arts?
To defend yourself on the street? In that case I would recommend taking up boxing for a while. Compete in as many tournaments as possible and once you've won a few matches consecutively, then start taking shooting lessons and buy a hand gun. No amount of martial arts training will teach you how to handle yourself on the street as well as a gun in your hands.
(You might ask- If that's so then why boxing? That's to train your nervous system. So that you don't freeze up when adrenaline hits your system when you are accosted on the street.)
Do you want martial arts to fight better? In that case look for 'full-contact' karate schools. Look for Kyokushin. (If you want to know what full contact is then go to youtube and sarch for Kyokushin). Personally I would recommend Boxing , Judo, Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu over Karate. But thats personal preference.
Confidence? Then look for a sports oriented school. Not form based (kata / kuen) but real fights. Going toe to toe against others and holding you own ground against them will be great for self confidence.
Good luck!
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