We had a few people in the last month from other Karate schools and they ask us a lot of questions. This is what you should look for in finding a good legitimate Martial Arts school.
(1) Look for a school that doesn’t require additional enrollment fees @ signup. You should be paying for a uniform and your first months lessons.
(2) Look for a school that has traditional values and follows the proper martial arts philosophy. The most important thing is character development.
(3) Avoid schools that pressure you to buy videos, merchandise, and seminars this does not mean don’t go to a school that sells these things just avoid if they use pressured sales tactics.
(4)The school’s facilities should be clean and organized. If they don’t look professional, their services probably aren’t either. You should also ask to see the school’s first aid kit. If they don’t have one or all they have is a box of Band-aids you might want to look elsewhere for your own or your children’s safety.
(5)Unethical rank and Instructor standards. That means students being promoted way too fast.
(6)Make sure you check the Head Instructors credentials. Make sure that they weren’t credentialed online, by video and sending off, or by purchasing instructor credentials online or thru magazines. These are called catalog black belts.
(7) Instructors should be a high level student both physically and mentally who qualified for their position within their school by demonstrating leadership skills and a concise knowledge of the cirriculum. They should also be physically fit and able to demonstrate and practice what they preach. An overweight and unskilled instructor is not what you want.
(8) Beware of schools that don’t pay testing fees this can be deceiving you are paying a higher tuition fee each and every month but you don’t test every month. It is better to offer a student a lower tuition fee and then pay a fair testing price when the student is able to test.
(9) Be wary of schools that promote students by their performance at a tournament. Tournaments are sport karate and have nothing to do with the requirement to attain your next belt rank. Testing is conducted under the close supervision of an instructors. That way each student passes the necessary requirements. Rank is not given away. It is earned.
(10) Watch out for Martial Arts schools that charge too much for belt advancement, or schools that promise guaranteed Black Belts in a short amount of time. These are usually too good to be true and therefore scams.
Master Low