What is the #1 thing you look for when visiting an kung fu school for the first time?

[Wuxia007]

What is the #1 thing you look for when visiting a kung fu school for the first time?
This question is asked under the assumption that the school offers a style you want to study.
I understand that, ultimately, the decision comes down to a multitude of factors, but I am looking for just one thing. What's your top priority? The first major thing you look for when you open up the doors and visit a kung fu school for the first time that will have the most influence or impacting impression of the school.

- Is it the size of its class?
- The location? (i.e; stand alone school, in the back of a magic and costume shop, in a plaza strip, someone's garage, etc.)
- The price to join?
- Awards and trophies that are showcased or lack thereof?
- The appearance of the instructor?
- The ability of its students.
- It's lineage?
- Is it independent or part of a larger organization?
- etc.?

For me, it comes down to my first impression of the instructor, not in regards to his physical appearance, but his ability to communicate honestly with me. Are we able to immediately establish a trusting teacher/student relationship. Whether his school is filled with talented students or terrible students is irrelevant to my personal growth and study in a given school, I want to know if he can personally teach and communicate with me effectively.

[Yum Cha]

Does the teacher earn respect by sharing his knowledge and demonstrating his skill
or demand it with lots of narcissistic ceremony and martial bull shirts.

How is the practical application managed? What is the path to convert training into live combat? Does it create fighters?

Is this stable and durable as a going concern so I can put in enough time to learn something.

Are these the kind of people I want to hang out with.

[GeneChing]

...but I always do look to see if they are using Tiger Claw gear.

[MasterKiller]

I count the MILFs

[mickey]

Greetings,

At one time, it was the weapons. It quickly evolved to looking for evidence of fighting and gloves.

mickey

[Wuxia007]

Greetings,

At one time, it was the weapons. It quickly evolved to looking for evidence of fighting and gloves.

mickey

Was there any specific weapon or weapons you would look for? Or were you simply looking for the quantity?

[Wuxia007]

One thing that I have gotten tired of when walking into a kung fu school and speaking to the Sifu for the first time is getting the overly used paraphrased quote/philosophy from Bruce Lee about "empty your cup". To me it's just become so expected and such a formulaic marketing technique of almost every sifu to try and capture the interests of potential new students. "Bruce Lee" and "empty your cup" have become such buzzwords in the kung fu school world.
And I get it, there are still large majority of potential new students who have never visited a martial arts school before and therefore have never, or at least very rarely, came across the quote/philosophy. But it's like, there are other MA philosophies and great martial artists out there to rip off, lol.