How much it costs varies between schools, so you're going to have to look at the website of the school or call and ask.
Martial arts is for all people, any physique, in shape or not. You do not need to be fit to join. There have been plenty of out of shape people that join, and it's possible that you will get in shape as a result.
Now go forth, and good luck with training.
Yeah, you are going to die the first few weeks. I was in Karate for almost 15 years and in really good shape, then I joined Kung Fu classes and was crawling out of those the first month. I found muscle groups I never knew I even had. Then I joined Aikijutsu. While it was easy to keep up with the beginner classes as they hardly have aerobic qualities, taking falls for 2 hours without being really good at it took a whole different level of conditioning I was not used to either and I had to adjust. Bottom line, no matter what you train, you will be feeling a little sore at least if they take it easy on you in the beginning and that is actually a good thing because if you are not sore they are not training hard enough. No matter how much you feel like dying in class it is still a good feeling that you actually are accomplishing something. So go take the plunge and suck it up.
Cost varies by dojo.
Just a bit of concern. "American Karate" or "American Freestyle" is something you might want to reconsider. Everyone one of my experiences with dealing with black belts in it has been less than impressive. In fact, based on what I've seen, I'd highly suggest that you look at other schools and compare them before you train in that style. To say the black belts I've met couldn't fight out of a wet paper bag would be too mean to the bag. Now granted I don't have a huge sample but enough of one to suspect that the issues I see are more than one dojo.
So please look around with an open mind and know what you're getting into if you decide that it's the right style for you as you may find a decent dojo in that style down there.
As stated different schools have different prices. Contact the local schools to get prices.
No one comes in in shape for what they will begin training to do. Some are in good shape and some aren't, but even those in good shape are not in shape for that training. You get into football shape by training in football. You get into hockey shape by training in hockey. You get into judo shape by training specifically for judo while doing judo. You get into karate shape by doing karate. I hope this is painting a pretty good picture.
We all have had guys come in that lift weights, run track, box, or wrestle that are in great shape, but the conditioning is different depending on what you are doing and they soon find that our work out is tough. They question how good of shape that they are in. It is not that thy are not in shape but they are not in shape for judo, aikido, kung fu, karate, bjj, mma, etc. Our training prepares us for what we will be doing. This is what Liondancer is talking about. You will find that you have sore muscle that you didn't know existed no matter what you decide to train. Most schools will not make it to rough on a new student, but you will be expected to get into better shape as you train. I've seen guys that come in cocky thinking they are in great shape and throw up because of training. Those guys ask for some hardcore training, nit understanding how hard core the training really is. Very few of the cocky guys come back. If they do they are humbled and they begin to learn and get in better shape for that martial art.
How much does American karate cost in Texas? I don't want to die the first few weeks, so how good of shape should I be in?
