Please
Be Careful!
A mother showed
up shocked and amazed. Having never been to any school but ours,
she was astonished when her friend talked about her own daughter
testing for black belt at another school - the mother wondered "Where
am I going to come up with $300 for the Black Belt test?"
Our mom was
stunned. "$300? MY daughter's school doesn't charge anything
for belt tests!"
We don't charge for tests because we've seen too many abuses of the Belt Test system. For one, many schools hide "monthly fees" in their tests. They TELL you the monthly fee is such-and-such, but there are tests every two months that cost $50 a test, so they "split that up for you" so you "just" pay $25 a month for the testing. "Wait a minute!" You might say, I thought you said lessons were only this much?"
It gets worse.
Some schools also add Promotion Fees. Not only do you pay for
being tested, but you have to pay to actually GET your belt once
you've passed the test. Sometimes this is called a Belting Fee.
Usually, you are only permitted to wear belts they award you,
so there's no way around it.
Of course,
all these fees are "optional." After all, you don't
HAVE to test for a belt, and you don't HAVE to get promoted.
You can stay a White Belt for the whole duration of the contract.
Which is another
issue. Sometimes they add Annual Dues to the school, AND Annual
Dues to a Martial Arts Association, AND Insurance Fees - but
at many places you must sign a contract for Six Months or a Year
of classes JUST TO BEGIN! Before you've gotten to try out a class,
before you know if the instructor is any good, before you know
if your personality is a good match for the class, you have to
sign a contract guaranteeing that you'll pay for six months or
a full year.
Then in just one year, they will try to get you to sign a contract for three years, or four years, in which you PROMISE to pay, you are legally bound to pay, whether you come back to class or not! Once they have you committed to the class - you suddenly discover that the next level of training is even MORE expensive. They got you to sign for a year, and now, to get the rest of the way to Black Belt, the cost increases by as much as double!
Some places
are nice about it. Some places aren't. Most schools are pretty
up front with their fees, and others won't tell you until you
sign on the dotted line. You just have to be careful about what
you sign until you have the answers to all your questions. You
want to make sure you keep the power in YOUR hands, not their
hands, until you KNOW that you want to study at that school.
So shop around, but BE CAREFUL! What looks like the better deal might be a trap. What sounds good when someone says it to you may not be everything they said. Don't be afraid to ask questions, and don't sign up unless you're satisfied with the answers.
Happy
Shopping!
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