Location: 111 S CEDAR RIDGE DR, SUITE 114, DUNCANVILLE, TX 75116.
Class Times (effective 9/1/2011)
Beginning Kids / Advanced Kids (7 – 12 years old):
Monday through Thursday: 6:15 - 7:15 pm,
Sat: 9:00am – 10:15 am
Youth / Adults* (13+ years):
Monday through Thursday**: 7:30 - 8:45 pm,
Sat: 10:30am – 12:00 noon
* Based on skill level, attitude, etc. students younger than 13 may be invited to participate in the adult class.
**Students are allowed to attend up to three classes per week (monthly average)
Note: All class schedules are subject to change without notice.
Student Monthly Tuition: $80 per month1,2
Notes:
1) For each additional student from the same family (same household, single bill & single payment) the monthly fee is reduced $10, through the 5th student.
2) Students are allowed to attend up to three classes per week (monthly average).
There is also an annual registration fee of $40
for the first family member ($25 for additional
family members). This fee covers the Association membership fee, Association
patch (1st year only), etc. that is due with a new student's first month's dues.
This fee is subsequently collected on a yearly basis from any student who is an
active member of the dojo.
PROMOTIONS AND PROMOTION FEES**
Students are promoted based on work ethic and progress in technique, kata and
attitude. Each student is considered individually for promotion and there is no
comparative progress assessment.
Promotion Fees:
10th to 9th*, 9th to 8th, 8th to 7th
$12.00 each
7th to 6th*, 6th to 5th, 5th to 4th
$17.00 each
4th to 3rd*, 3rd to 2nd, 2nd to 1st
$22.00 each
Shodan
$40.00
*Note: add $5.00 for each level up to shodan for belt color changes.
** All tuition and fees are subject to change without notice. It is our goal to keep the tuition rate constant for any active student. Any student who becomes inactive (two months with no payment) will have their tuition rate reset to the current rate for new students should they choose to rejoin the dojo.
By observation over a number of years and a number of students, I believe the more important factor is simply for the student to show up for class. It sounds simple, but students that show up regularly seem to progress better than more naturally gifted or more motivated students that attend classes on an infrequent basis. We currently have three classes a week available for students to attend – and I keep records on number of classes and training time since each students’ last promotion. By observation, students that attend class infrequently require more hours to reach the same level of improvement and readiness for promotion than a student with a smaller number of training hours obtained over a shorter period of time. Bottom line, we can’t work with student that are not here – so please make every effort to make as many classes as possible. One old rule of thumb is that is takes two classes for every class missed just to get back to where you were before the missed class.
Parents can help by ensuring students arrive on time, with their uniform and sparring gear. Note that class start time is when the students are to be lined up in their proper place, ready to bow in and begin class.
If you accept that the most important factor is to show up for class, then I believe the 2nd most important is to pay attention to the instructors. Said another way, focus on the class. We can’t teach if a student is not in attendance, but if the student is physically here but is not paying attention or focused on the instructors (i.e. looking out the window, worrying about some sound at the back of the room, worrying about what the person next to them is doing, etc.) then they don’t have a chance to learn. Part of what we expect the students to learn is how to focus and pay attention for the duration of the class.
If a student attends class and pays attention, then the third factor would be to just try (motivation). I believe a motivated student that attends regularly, pays attention, and tries can achieve anything – including a Black Belt at our dojo. If any of these three factors are missing, then history says the student will not be able to effectively learn and progress. Another observation is that parents can take care of #1, to some extent the instructors can demand #2, but #3 is up to the student. I have seen a number of students that show up every class, pay attention, but really don’t seem to care about anything but getting to the end of class (or maybe to the sparring session). That is ok, because it is likely the classes are doing the student some good – but also that student should not expect to be promoted to higher ranks.
I can’t provide an answer that covers all students. I can say that it would be difficult to achieve a Black Belt (starting with no martial arts experience), in less than three years. Our current Association guidelines call for a minimum three years training to achieve Shodan - assuming all kyu rank requirements have been met. A general observation would be that a student whose only goal is obtaining a Black Belt will probably never get there. Students who care about the training, about perfecting their techniques, and learning new skills (the journey) will progress and will pass Brown Belt, 1st degree Black Belt, etc. on their journey. Those who only care about the belts as a badge to show their achievement – will tire long before they reach Black Belt.
While we generally formally test students only at major kyu rank changes (yellow belt to green, green to brown, and brown to black), we often award the intermediate ranks based on class attendance, performance, attitude, and technical skill versus a specific point in time test. We try to stress to students that every class is really a test and they are consistently being evaluated, and should approach each class with that attitude. The tests we do administer provide a formal checkpoint to be sure they are able to perform as required under a stressful situation, but also provides a check for the instructors on how well we are doing in preparing the students for advancement. The downside of testing is that students who do not try hard in class or have behavior issues can work hard during a test and meet the minimum requirements, then revert back to their old habits until the next test. We do not schedule a student for a test until we believe they deserve the next rank based on all the factors described above.
Beware of schools that have turned student advancement into a cash flow opportunity, and test students every two months, etc. Or a school that advances student only on the basis of how long they have been their current rank. We only advance students when we feel it is appropriate.
Advancement in our school is not based solely on physical skills. See the answer on "Testing for Advancement" and "Most important factors for success". A student who attends regularly, shows improvement, pays attention, tries to the best of their ability to do what we ask and learns the katas assigned to them will advance. Alternately, a physically gifted student who does not pay attention, who does not try hard in class, who gives less that a full effort will either not be allowed to advance or will advance over a much longer time frame as we attempt to correct those issues. We have time frame guidelines for advancement. Motivated students often can advance in a much shorter timeframe than the guidelines, while unmotivated students – even though capable of performing very well when specifically being observed – will usually be held at their current rank well after the guideline timeframe. A general dynamic is that all students who attend regularly are advancing, just at different rates - so that motivated students will eventually pass the unmotivated student who has been here longer. That is how it is meant to be in our dojo, and should provide students a glimpse at what to expect in later life.
The performance we hold the upper ranks to is generally in the areas of attitude, effort during class, class procedures, respect for others, etc.. Every student should be capable of paying attention and making an effort. Beginning students are brought along fairly gently as they learn what is expected. However, as they advance and we become convinced they know what is expected, our expectations of them rise. You will never hear us giving a student a rough time over physical performance in class if we believe we are getting their best effort. That does not mean they do not get corrected, but we will be correcting issues with techniques, not trying to work on attitude and motivational problems. We have little sympathy for those who just want to advance to higher ranks but do not accept the expectations of how that advance rank should perform in class.
Having said that, please keep in mind the only reason we correct students is that we have an expectation they can and will improve. We want to advance students, and we want them to perform in a way that allows us to do so.
If you hear us giving a student a tough time for lack of performance, it is because we believe that student is still worthy of our time and effort. If we stop pushing a student to perform to the standard of the next rank, it means we have given up on that student – and it would be considered a major insult to that student to do so.
You (your child) may not be ready for promotion if:
1) You do not have the majority of the training time required for your next rank. One of the instructor's can tell you where you are regarding time in current rank.
2) You cannot do all the katas required for your next rank (as well as all previous kata) with proper technique, focus, and smoothness appropriate for the desired rank.
3) You have not been attending at least two classes per week, on average.
4) You never work on your techniques and kata on your own, outside of formal dojo classes.
5) You still have to be corrected on basic warm-up exercises, stretching, basic techniques and class etiquette (again, appropriate to the next level). This is especially difficult to overcome if you hold green belt or above and are expecting to advance.
To expand on item #5, if you already have rank (a yellow belt or above) and we still are having to correct you on paying attention during class, on not speaking out inappropriately, on not being attentive during all portions of class, then you are not likely to be promoted. If we have repeatedly corrected you on specific items -- and you continue to ignore the correction and continue to do things the same way you always have, then you are not ready for promotion.
6) You are still performing in class the same way you were performing at your previous rank. At each rank advancement, we expect to see more effort and more precision in everything you do - from how you tie your belt, how you execute warm up and stretching exercises, how you perform all your basics, how you set an example for the lower rank students, etc.
[This is the answer to the question.]