Hi there,
I'm interested in starting martial arts. I'd like to get some exercise and be more fit. I've been dieting and am down to 245 (at 6') and hopefully lower soon. Clearly to lose more weight I'm going to need to start introducing exercise as well, and I thought MA would be a great method of getting fit.
Kung Fu in particular is interesting to me, it seems to have more culture behind it than some other martial arts, but what do I know? Anyway, entertaining my brain while learning how to defend myself and getting fit all at once sounds so much better than a treadmill!
I've been looking around for schools that teach, and there are 2 I know of very close to me, one teaches Kung Fu San Soo, and the other one Shaolin Kung Fu (haven't checked this one out yet, I know there are different styles within shaolin, so I'm going today to see how things are).
Apparently, San Soo is sort of free form, which sounds very appealing, yet very complex. I'm wondering if my mind is ready to be so adaptive yet without knowing anything about MA. Shaolin from what I understand is based on forms of animals, so very specific, and also has a lot of spirituality and culture behind it which is also very appealing to me. Is this accurate? I'm trying to get a picture of the different styles before jumping in.
What kind of things should I look for? Am I too heavy (245) to consider MA as a form of exercise yet? What should I look for in the instructor? What are some average costs per lesson at most schools?
I would really love to listen if anyone has time for some advice, thanks in advance! Also if you have any links to great Kung Fu resources online I'd appreciate it!