Martial Arts Payment Plan Scheme

M., This sounds like a scam to me. My daughter achieved her black belt last June from John Bain at Plano Self Defense. We had been in another program in Allen and she was due to test for blackbelt in October of 05. Due to a management change and things like that, we opted to change schools. We felt like a lot of the schools around now are simply "belt factories" and in essence you are paying for all of your belts instead of earning them.

Check out Mr. Bain's site at www.planoselfdefense.com to read the info regarding selecting a school. He is fantastic, he works with the Chuck Norris's Kickstart program in local schools. He is very well trained and believe me, your children will EARN the belt. We paid around $150 a month for unlimited classes, never paid a fee for a belt. We did pay extra when she got her black belt to have the belt embroidered with her name, etc and for the certificates of authencity for her black belt. I wish we had started with Mr. Bain.

Best wishes. Susan

1 mom found this helpful

My son takes karate, & we don't pay like that. Sounds like a
scam. You shouldn't have to pay that far in advance. You should
pay based on his skill level...meaning pay a class at a time.

I just researched places for martial arts for my kids and did not hear anything like this and we are looking at the same age range as you. All places were monthly except one place had a special for $99 for 9 weeks including uniform. I was told safety equipment would be extra but that would come later and testing for belts would be extra as they are needed.

I don't know if this is typical or not, as martial arts hasn't been our 'thing'. However, when we were in CO, my son wanted to try it, and took one trial class and hated it. During the sales spiel, though, it sounded very much like what you're talking about; I recall having to pay a huge amount of tuition up front to the tune of about $1000 (might even have been pay by the year), and the tuition increased as his level increased, etc. It sounded and felt 'scam-y' to me, too, and a little ridiculous for me to have to pay all of that up front for a (then)5 year old who might not like it after a month. I'll be interested to see the other responses.

My daughter takes karate and has attained her junior black belt. She has taken the classes at the same place for almost 4 years. We pay $85/month for unlimited classes. I think the price has gone up for new students, but I think it is only $100/month for unlimited classes. At my daughter's school, they have 3 different levels, Little Dragons (age 4-6), Juniors (age 7-13) and Adults (14-up). I believe it is the same price for all levels. Also, you don't have to make a long-term committment unless you want to. You can go month-to-month or he will allow you to commit to a 3, 6, or 12 month term at a discounted rate.

By the way you describe it, it sure does sound like a scam. Let me know if you need more info. The school is in Carrollton (www.powerkenpo.com), but he has been talking about opening a location in Plano.

Good luck!

My husband is a martial arts instructor and this doesn't sound right. At his school you pay a monthly fee and he progresses the kids to different levels, as needed, without any increase in payment. The only thing that changes is the time they come to class. He also has said to never pay more than $100/month for 4 classes (once per week). I would definitely look into another martial arts school.

Absolutely sounds like a scam to me. I wonder how they stay in business?

That does sound VERY shady! I just enrolled my 6 y/o in martial arts classes for the first time a few weeks ago. I looked into USA martial arts because they are super close to us, but I found Vision Martial Arts (www.visionmartialarts.com) to be a lot more family oriented and flexible. I pay 89$ a month and additional siblings/family members get a 20% discount. All classes cost the same whether an adult or child. And this is for once per week class. They have rates for 2xweek also. You might explore them as an option.