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Finding a martial arts school is easy - finding a good school is difficult. There are people who will actually write checks for $2000 up front, yet have not even looked at other schools. Since most students do not know what to look for and are usually pressured into signing a contract, we have written this to help students find the right school without getting scammed by bad practices.
Stay away
from
"Belt
Factories"! These
type of schools are a waste of your time and money! Click
here to see criteria for a belt factory. Any school
that promises to make you a black belt or an expert in less than 3 years
is a scam!
Most schools focus on one thing - sport, art, or self defense.
What is
your objective? Don't be too concerned with the style if the program meets your needs. Our kids program is primarily sport
and art, but our adult Taekwondo program is a mix of all three, leaning more toward self
defense and art rather than sport & tournaments. Our adult Combat
Jujitsu is strictly self defense.
Check out the school and
the size of the school. While we have over 2000 square feet of
WORKOUT space (and that is hard to find at most schools), there are
schools as small as 10 ' x 25', no lobby/viewing area and one
bathroom! Usually these will be the schools in the strip malls next
to a grocery store or high traffic area.
You
may see an entire family at the same belt rank, or all students progressing
at the same pace. This implies all students learn at the same
pace. EVERYONE learns differently! The reason this is done is to keep
the student "happy" and to keep them from quitting. The
problem is - in reality the student learns little.
There must be minimum time
AND skill requirements from one belt rank to the
next, and each student should be tested on requirements for their previous
belts on every test!
Politics have allowed some to test for their
next rank and bypass certain parts of their physical test. EVERY
student should physically test for ALL parts of the curriculum - NO
EXCEPTIONS! If there are physical impairments modifications can be
made, however one cannot skip sparring for example just because they have
"bad knees".
Steer clear of schools
that use "character building" and "self esteem
building" as their main criteria. It is usually a mask for not
requiring any martial arts skills. Amazingly, we have so many students that transfer from
these schools and have NO martial arts skills or knowledge. The sad
part is that if they ever need to use their martial arts and fail because
they are overconfident, they will lose that confidence forever.
If a school tells you
they are the "#1" or have the "best instructors", keep
looking. You can count on instructors with huge egos if they tell
you they are the best. Those descriptions should be left for YOU to
decide. The amount of students enrollment is not an indication of
their ability to train you. While a school with only 25 students is
questionable, a school with 250 students can easily be unethical.
If a school guarantees you will get a
black belt, then it is EASY and the belt is WORTHLESS. This is
like attending a college that will guarantee a diploma regardless of
grades. Typical
signs are schools
that promote students automatically every 2-3 months. A good martial arts
school should never emphasize the belts or how quickly one will get
to the next rank.
Make sure you are ready to
commit! Most people
want to learn self defense, get into shape, etc., yet quit after 3-6
months. Martial arts is a way of life.
Call the school and make sure their program will meet
your goals. Then ask about tuition rates. If they want you to
come in to discuss prices, it WILL be expensive. Some owners actually
take seminars on how to answer the phone and get you to come in - expect
the high pressure tactics and expect to be bullied into a 3 year
commitment.
If you see "black belts"
under the age of 10
- leave immediately! An 8 year old cannot possibly understand the basics
of martial arts, the philosophies of martial arts, teach adults or even
defend themselves (all basic requirements of the black belt), regardless of how talented or bright that child may be!
Simply ask one of these "black belts" what they would do in a
given self defense situation - just listen to their explanation.
Do NOT sign a contract for
more than 1 year!
Most contracts include an agreement that automatically deducts your monthly payment.
Once you sign, you
are totally committed whether you like the school or not. You will
likely hear "we
will work something out if you do not like it here". While you need
to commit
to your training for many years to be proficient, the school should not force you.
Our school has month to month, 6 month and 1 year agreements and you can
pay be check or credit card.