You might consider the age of the Sensei. I know that it is not proper to discriminate based upon age, but you might want to consider the following.
A very young Sensei will be very energetic and enthusiastic, but will still be learning the art. When you learn from a young Sensei, you will grow with him, and may find that that his emphasis and even basics change over the years.
An older Sensei will usually have reached a deeper and more stable understanding of the art and how best to teach it to a wide range of students. However, if the Sensei is too old, a new student will not have many years of training with him to look forward to. In fact, a senior Sensei might restrict his new students to ensure that he will have the time to complete their training.
I have trained with several Sensei, most much older than me (over 50 years) and some closer to my own age (about 9 years difference). I am 48 and have learned from my first Shorin-Ryu Sensei for over 3o years. He is only 9 years older than me, but was "old" in the art at a very young age.
I, on the other art, am pretty young at the art at an older age!
Respectfully,
Charles C. Goodin
