This is one part of the series, Get Started In The Martial Arts: A Beginner’s Guide.
With a good martial arts book or DVD, you will receive information on strikes and blocks, holds and throws, stances and movements, drills and other training methods, and maybe a few history and language lessons too.
When you participate in a good martial arts class, you get all that, and much more. First, you get a teacher who can personally observe and correct your mistakes, and address your questions and concerns. Second, you get a set of classmates who can inspire, support, and otherwise enhance your progress. Third, you gain access to a safe and well-equipped training environment.
Even with all the benefits of dojo attendance, less than 5% of martial artists ever reach black belt status. Mastering a martial art can be fun, but it is also hard work, and when you try to learn exclusively from a book or DVD, you are making the task doubly difficult. Therefore, we recommend using such materials only to supplement a living, breathing expert instructor, and not to replace one.
[...] any local martial arts school. How then can you start, or continue your martial arts practice? Relying exclusively on books and videos will definitely hinder your progress; you need real human feedback. You need a training [...]