How much do you charge?
Of course, price will be a factor in deciding
where you will take up martial arts.
However, this question provides no insight into what each respective
school has to offer. Many people call and just ask for the price, looking
for the lowest, but without knowing what you are paying for, a price is just
another number.
All Martial Arts
schools in town charge between $50 and $150 a month for lessons. When you come in, we can
explain the different programs and prices we offer to find a program that
fits your budget.
There are so many different martial art
schools, aren't they all just the same?
Though there
will be similarities in some schools, all schools vary in quality and
educational value. There are many factors that change the value of the
experience you or your child will receive from school to school, and
foremost among them is the people in the school.
Try to get a feel for the Instructor and whether or not you feel
comfortable atmosphere they create with the other students.
If you have a good report with the Instructor and his or her
students, you will be more likely to attend classes and benefit from your
experience.
There seems to be many styles taught,
which style is the best style to learn?
The best
style to choose is the one that holds your interest, challenges you, and
keeps you motivated to learn.
There are many Martial Arts schools and styles to choose from, which can
make finding the right one difficult. Remember, the style is not as
important as the teacher. Therefore look first at the teacher, his or her
lineage, abilities, and teaching style, curriculum of the school, then
style, and price. That way you can make an educated decision and not waste
time and money.
What is the best way to find a good
school?
The best approach is to call and schedule an
appointment, and then come into the school and watch the Instructor teach
and see how the students perform. It can take as few as five minutes and
that way you can meet the owner and know if he or she is the right one to
teach you or your child.
It is usually possible to try a free class as well.
This is a more hands on way to get a feel for the classes offered.
Does it matter what age and rank the Main
Instructor is?
Time in rank is a requirement in some systems, but
not in others.
Experience and
the ability to learn and assimilate that experience into proficiency is not
dependant on age.
Neither is the
ability to communicate that information to another.
As in all things, do not bring any undo bias into decision making and
it will be easier to make the right choice.
The Martial Arts
community is full of talented performers and teachers of all races and
ethnicities.
I'm worried about my child starting and
then quitting, do I have to join for a long term commitment?
We have many programs to choose from. Our beginner Green Belt Program is a 7
- 8 month program. Some parents have doubts about making commitments. They
worry that their children will quit or will lose interest. We do not want to
trap people into joining and paying for something they are not benefiting
from or enjoying. Please do not worry, just support your child and encourage
them to work hard and go to class. Teach them to make a commitment and see
it through till the end. Remember that anything great in a person's life
requires a strong commitment, whether it is college, marriage, family, or a
career. Learning this lesson through martial arts will help you or your
child learn this important fact of life.
I recently read about Shaolin Monks and
Ninjas, can I be one?
The martial arts industry is rich with a storied history, and many styles benefit from the mystic associated with their arts. Instead of looking to indulge a fantasy, take a sober look at what aspect of the myth you would choose to fulfill personally. Do you really wish to lead a monastic life? Do you wish to be a secret assassin? Likely not. Look into what you really wish to accomplish from your training, and investigate whether the school you are looking at provides those things.
Why are there so many TAE KWON DO schools around?
Is it so popular because it is the best?
Tae Kwon Do (TKD) is one of
the most popular martial arts styles practiced in the world today, this is
true, and there are several factors leading to its popularity. Not all
of them are good. Rather than addressing this myself, I will cite the
National Korea Martial Arts Federation website:
A note about
Taekwondo:
... most Taekwondo schools used other generic martial
arts' names for business purposes. The World Taekwondo Federation
began
promoting the sport of Kukki-Taekwondo under the single name
of Taekwondo and
has become an Olympic discipline and has changed from an art to a sport.
Since
Taekwondo has also become a generic term, many public schools now use
other
generic art names in conjunction with the Taekwondo name, which has
further
damaged the traditional Taekwondo identity. In Korea the
Korea Taekwondo
Association and the International Taekwondo Federation still teach
Taekwondo as a
classical martial arts while World Taekwondo Federation schools
falsely promote
their sport under the same name creating great confusion among the
general public
and even poorly educated Taekwondo sports instructors who shamefully
believe
that what they teach is also a martial art."
Again, this brings to light the importance of making an informed, well
thought-out decision about training in martial arts.
TKD is an easy cover for those who wish to delude the public, as it
is so widely practiced and popularized.
This is by no means to say there is no value in the TKD system.
Simply be conscientious when evaluating any school you enter, and you
will make a better decision.
Adaptivity
