saint.panda, I've practiced martial arts for a while, but am no expert. I can say that I have researched the various styles myself quite a bit. One place I can lead you to is:
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/...f86005d54ea1f7
That's part 1/4. It's very long, but has a lot of very good information. If you're interested in really being serious about the martial arts and not just being another western idiot (not to imply that you are), researching the topic well will be very beneficial. There is a TON of crap out there. The overwhelming majority of martial arts schools in the West and in America in particular are pure crap. They are all to often self proclaimed "masters", who either invented a style or mastered a style or made their own version or amalgamation of styles. Also, look out for the "McDojo's", the joints in strip malls which usually teach "karate", which isn't exactly a style, more like a category meaning 'open handed' (unarmed).
Also, after you research and get a better idea of what you exactly want, you should visit a few places. Hopefully visit at least three to get an idea of what is out there. The first place I went was total crap. It was in a stip mall, the "master" was fat, didn't seem to care much for his students, didn't do much teaching, and quickly tried to get me to sign up for lessons, at an extremely high price and in a lenghty contract.
Here are some things to look out for, but which don't necessarily mean that the place is all bad:
- Out of shape master
- Master who doesn't teach any or many of the classes and allows classes to be taught by un-qualified or certified instructors
- "dojos" in strip malls
- invented or modified styles
- tai kwan do (no joke, a great majority of crap dojos are either "karate" or tai kwan do)
- high prices, lengthy contracts
- no changing rooms for women
- high belt fees (like $20... I pay $4 for my belts!), large black belt "testing" fees
- a large array of belt colors (belts are a modern thing, not traditional. Mine has white, green, and black. You have white while you're unranked which is for a short while, green for the 10 kyu ranks, and black for the 10 dan ranks)
- schools that are overly dangerous or overly safe
- them allowing you to join without first observing the class
- participation in tournaments (tournaments and ESPECIALLY schools which train you to fight like they do in tournaments, are very impractical. They teach you to fight in non-lethal, non injurious ways. Tounaments make you hold back, and make you wear padding, and not strike the most realistic target areas.
Of course there is more to this, and a lot of it will be based on intuition. I got lucky, and my second visit was incredible. I'll describe it a bit so you get an idea of what I've come to believe everyone should expect, who is genuinely interested in martial arts.
I e-mailed the instructor there and asked if I could oversee one of his classes. He was glad that I asked, as it was required that one watches two hours of class before one joins. The dojo is in the upper level of an old library. It has mostly wood floors with a two person wide tumbling mat, and it's well furnished with various weapons and training equipment. It was a small class that day, just him and two students. They began by bowing into the kami-za, a shrine that's assembled in the front of the room. He explained that this was traditional, and that you can place mystical meaning on it if you wish, or not if you don't (I'm not mystical), but he explained that the purpose of it was to give us a sense of unity, to commit us all to a good day of training, which will create a better and safer training atmosphere. He would ask if they had anything in particular they wanted to work on, and let them do that for a bit if they wanted to, but he would also have a plan for the day, which he makes based on the history of the group and what he thinks should be focused on. It's really interesting that all levels are able to train together there, and all are able to gain something. He deomonstrates a technique, and then watches us perform it with partners. This particular style is not so much focused on mass repetition in order to gain muscle memory. It doesn't teach you prescribed "kami", or sets of movement for each level, but he enforces us with the core stances of the style, the core philosophy of the style, which in turn influences the way we move, etc... I can't really go into all the details of the style, but I was once in a McDojo, and this is absolutely a stark contrast, and I think it's incredibly more real and effective.
Anyway, between demonstrating the techniques and answering questions, he would sit down with me and tell me a lot about the philosophy of the style, and the history of it, he asked me why I wanted to be in martial arts, among other questions. He was certified, and the school was official. The art is called Bujinkan Budu Taijutsu, or as it was previously known, Ninjitsu. I know you might have some preconcieved notions about what ninjitsu is, but I would be willing to bet that you and the other 99.9% of the population don't have any idea about what it really is. That doesn't really matter.
For fees, it's a monthly fee of $35, there is a $4 belt fee (the cost of the belt, discounted even) each of the three times you change belt color in about 6 years or so. Classes meet 2 or 3 times weekly, for 2 hours, 2 hours, and 4 hours. Also, you can choose your Gi (uniform), but a normal very tough Gi will cost about $60, and this should last you a while. Oh, we also do a bit of practice with a Bokken (wooden sword), which costs $8.
One thing I get there that I really wanted was the phillosophical side. He would really make you understand why you are learning martial arts, what fighting is really for, what the purpose of a fight really is, and how to realistically handle the fight, among many many other things. I love that we could just sit down for an hour and discuss martial philosophy. This also includes the philosophy of the art as applied to actually practicing the art. There is a lot more to a real art than just throwing the punch with the right form. Really understanding the art and the philosophy behind it is what's necessary for real martial arts ability.
Of course, this may not be what you want. When it comes down to it, it doesn't matter much what style you choose. They can all be rewarding and effective if taught by a good instructor. I'm inclined to believe mine is the most effective, as is most every other person on the earth. I'm more informed than many, but that doesn't make me right by any means. There are legitimate schools of very many forms, but some forms have a much much higher percentage of legitimacy, and some don't really have any. Jeet Kun Do is a modern invention, not a well established art with proven effectiveness (arguably). Tai Kwan Do is a modern american invention (1950's about). My art has the longest continuous lineage, dating back over 1000 years. It has been used in combat for 1000 years, it has survived, that's what proves its effectiveness.
Anyway, I would really recommend reading that FAQ, and maybe asking some questions on that rec.martial-arts.moderated group. They could tell you where some decent schools are locally.
Martial arts is really something that can change your life. I would highly recommend it to anyone.
So, if you have any specific questions about a style, I might be able to help you out. I can tell you that hapkido, for instance, is an extremely repetitive and simple style. There are something like 20 core moves which are drilled and drilled and drilled into you. It makes for quick reactions, but honestly I think it lacks in the spontaniety which a real fight requires. If I remember correctly, it focuses a lot on boxy style punching. (japanese arts are often more square, straight, boxy, whereas chinese arts are more circular and flaily. Take swordsmanship. The chinese broadsword is flailed around in circular patterns and waved a lot, where the katana is used in various mostly straight line, box like cuts).
Wow, that was long. Please don't flame me over insulting your style. I don't really care.