What should you be looking for in an instructor?

Would you learn to drive by someone who has never driven a car?

Would you learn to shoot a gun by someone who has never shot one?

So why would you learn how to defend your self from someone who has never used their skill in a real life situation.

Has your instructor ever been in a confrontation?

Maybe your instructor is teaching what he/she was taught by their Sensei

Has your instructor's Sensei ever been in a confrontation?

How do you know if a technique works if you have never tried it on a unwilling attacker.

Nothing can substitute real life experience