What is YOUR suggestion?

[Yung Apprentice]

Maybe yall can help me out with this.I'm deciding between to schools here in Las Vegas. I've heard both schools are good and have reputable teachers, plus I've gotten recomendations on them both. Prolly the deciding facter of course will be when I go visit them both. But I was wondering what the majority of the people on this board would think(It may or may not sway my opinion, I just want to see what you guys think) O.k. one is a Lohan school that teaches Northern Shaolin,iron palm and iron body tecniques.And you can eventually get into the mantis class(It's for advanced students) The other is Tang style Hsing-I,that also teach Chi-Na.It also teaches iron palm and iron body. Now I've been very interested in Hsing-I,dragon, and mantis styles. I also want to learn iron palm and iron body,correctly. I want to study something that will help me with good footwork, help me strategise, hit harder, be offensive,and defensive,good grappling, great hand tecniques,and some kicking tecniques as well. I want to learn something effective, that I can apply to in self defense. I'm out of shape currently, and I want to eventually become a cop. The Hsing-I school seems to have more hours. Both schools spar every now and then but the Hsing-I school seems to do it a little more often. The Lohan school is a little cheaper. Based on this what do you guys think? The deciding facter is when I visit, but I just want to know YOUR opinion.(please none of this find whats right for you stuff I already said the deciding facter is the visit)

I'd study at the Xingyi school if they practiced the Xingyi the way my sifu told me they do in China.

[Jaguar Wong]

Here's the shocker. I'm from the Lohan school, but I would suggest the Hsing I school if you're looking for something straight forward and ready to use quicker. The only sparring that I've seen at the Lohan School was when a group of us got together and sparred after class, or on the weekends. There is no organized sparring class, or group. It was always done outside of the class structure. The Sifu isn't against it at all, and in fact encurages it, as long as we're careful and we take care of the more inexperienced guys, instead of just forming a "fight club".

It just seems like in the Hsing I school you would be more focused on the one art, plus if you want to be a cop, the Chin Na will server you better. I mean we practiced Chin Na, but it was all very basic stuff, and didn't have as much emphasis as I would have liked (again, I do a lot of Chin Na work on my own with other guys that are good at it).

If the Hsing I school is in fact of the same lineage as Hsu Hong Chi (the same lineage that Mike Patterson's guys use in full contact Kuo Shu tournaments), then you'll still be welcomed by the Lohan School if you stop by to visit (The Sifu used to study under Master Chi, John Price, and some of his other students).

I don't know about the other school, but I do know that the Lohan School will whip you into shape, though. As long as you're putting in 110%, you'll get the same out. I mean, I'm not in shape anymore, but I haven't been to the school in a hardcore manner for almost two years now.

You can always get together with us to spar, if you want to. :) It's a pretty open invitation, as long as you're not there to prove anything. Watchman keeps saying he'll show, but I think he's afraid of me :p

[Yung Apprentice]

I would like to spar with you guys......eventually! Since I've never really studied martial arts outside of TKD(and that didn't each me anything)and just recently taken interest in CMA, I would probably want to spar after I learn more about my art that I'm going to study. I wouldn't blame watchman if he's a little intimadated! Not here to prove anything. Just here to learn!

[xiong]

It looks to me like the Xing Yi school would suit your goals the best.

Of course going there and seeing how the school "feels" to you is really the most important thing. Good Luck.